A bill is a proposal for a law or a change to an existing law. A bill becomes law (an Act) when agreed to in identical form by both houses of Parliament and assented to by the Governor-General.

Bills introduced to Parliament are scrutinised to make sure they meet certain standards and to consider whether they should be referred to a committee for further investigation. This can include feedback from stakeholders and the general public, and a report recommending potential improvements to the bill.

Keyword(s)
Status
Current Bills
Previous Bills
Type

TOTAL RESULTS: 84

  • Date
    30 Jul 2025 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    POCOCK, Sen David 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to prohibit the authorisation of certain electoral and referendum matter that is inaccurate and misleading to a material extent, including material that has been modified using digital technology, such as ‘deepfakes’; and require electoral and referendum matter that has been created or modified using digital technology (including AI) to carry a statement to that effect;
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to establish an Electoral Communications Panel; and
    Broadcasting Services Act 1992
    and
    Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991
    to remove the ‘media blackout’ period that prohibits electoral or referendum advertising in the last 3 days of voting in an election or referendum. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    20 Nov 2024 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    POCOCK, Sen David 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to: increase the number of senators from the Australia Capital Territory and the Northern Territory to half the number of senators for a state; and provide for 3 senators from each of the territories to be elected at each federal election giving territory senators a 6 year term. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    04 Sep 2023 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    WATERS, Sen Larissa 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    to prohibit political donations being made by corporations or close associates of the corporation in certain circumstances. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    08 Feb 2023 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    STEELE-JOHN, Sen Jordon 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
    and
    Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
    to: lower the minimum voting age in Australian federal elections and referenda from 18 to 16 years; provide for 16 and 17 year olds to be included in the certified list of voters (but not to be given a penalty notice if they do not vote); and provide that an eligible voter, who is not yet on the electoral roll or enrolled at their correct address, is able to cast a provisional vote on election day. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    29 Oct 2025 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    HUME, Sen Jane 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998
    to remove the moratorium on nuclear energy in Australia;
    Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011
    to enable the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to exercise its functions in relation to ‘clean emissions energy technologies’, which includes civil nuclear energy and nuclear technologies; and
    Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012
    to remove the prohibition on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's ability to invest in nuclear technology or nuclear power. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    05 Sep 2022 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    HANSON-YOUNG, Sen Sarah 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
    to: require actions that would emit between 25,000 to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent scope 1 emissions in any one year to be assessed for approval under Part 9 of the Act; require the minister, when approving any such action or when considering whether to enter into a conservation agreement, to consider Australia’s national carbon budget and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; require the minister to reject the approval of actions that would emit over 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent scope 1 emissions; require the Climate Change Authority to develop a national carbon budget to 2050 and to annually assess the budget; prohibit the minister, subject to certain exceptions, from using alternative approval processes for certain emissions intensive actions; and introduce penalties for undertaking certain emissions intensive actions without approval if the action has, will have or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    08 Oct 2025 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Before House of Representatives 
    Portfolio
    Treasury 
    Summary
    Introduced with the Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, the bill amends the
    Excise Tariff Act 1921
    to pause the indexation of excise duty rates on draught beer for two years, from 1 August 2025, 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    26 Mar 2025 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    WATERS, Sen Larissa 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Fair Work Act 2009
    to enable employees to access 12 days of paid reproduction health leave in a 12 month period and to request flexible working arrangements when experiencing symptoms of perimenopause and menopause; and
    Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2023
    to enable the collection of certain data. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    05 Nov 2025 
    Chamber
    Senate 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Sponsor
    POCOCK, Sen Barbara 
    Summary
    Amends the
    Fair Work Act 2009
    to give employees the right to request to work from home for up to 2 days per week. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

  • Date
    03 Sep 2025 
    Chamber
    House of Representatives 
    Status
    Before Senate 
    Portfolio
    Attorney-General 
    Summary
    Amends the:
    Freedom of Information Act 1982
    to implement or respond to certain recommendations from previous reviews and inquiries in relation to the Freedom of Information framework, including the
    Review of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010
    (the 2013 Hawke Review); and
    Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010
    and
    Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013
    to make consequential amendments. 

    Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

Bills lists

All bills before Parliament for the current calendar year and details of their progress.

Bills Digests

Summaries of bills, their purpose, background and financial implications.

Legislative Instruments

Parliament delegates the power to legislate so details of law can be changed quickly by others. These delegated laws are referred to as legislative instruments and can be overruled – disallowed – by Parliament.

Disallowance Alerts

Legislative instruments subject to a notice of motion to disallow. The progress and eventual outcome of any such notice is also recorded.

Tariff proposals

The introduction of a tariff proposal is the formal procedure for initiating the collection of customs and excise duties.

Legislative Analysis

Parliamentary Library analysis of bills, including the purpose, background and key issues.

Bills currently referred to Senate committees

To inquire and report views on the bill from organisations and individuals.

Bills currently referred to House committees (PDF 313KB)

To inquire and report views on the bill from organisations and individuals.

Double dissolution triggers

Bills that could trigger a double dissolution.

Statistics on legislation

Printed bills and explanatory memoranda

Order printed versions at the Federal Register of Legislation by clicking the print icon at the document level.