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TOTAL RESULTS: 4139

• Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  15 Nov 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Sponsor

  SMITH, Sen Dean 

  Summary

  Amends the:

  Marriage Act 1961

  to: redefine marriage as ‘a union of two people’; introduce non-gendered language so that the requirements of the Act apply equally to all marriages; enable same-sex marriages that have been, or will be, solemnised under the law of a foreign country to be recognised in Australia; amend the definition of ‘authorised celebrant’ to include new categories of religious marriage celebrants and certain Australian Defence Force officers; enable ministers of religion, religious marriage celebrants, chaplains and bodies established for religious purposes to refuse to solemnise or provide facilities, goods and services for marriages on religious grounds; and make amendments contingent on the commencement of the proposed

  Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2017

  ; and

  Sex Discrimination Act 1984

  to provide that a refusal by a minister of religion, religious marriage celebrant or chaplain to solemnise marriage in prescribed circumstances does not constitute unlawful discrimination. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Treasury Laws Amendment (Improving Accountability and Member Outcomes in Superannuation Measures No. 1) Bill 2019

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  14 Sep 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Treasury 

  Summary

  Introduced with the Superannuation Laws Amendment (Strengthening Trustee Arrangements) Bill 2017, the bill amends the:

  Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993

  to: require trustees to assess on an annual basis whether the outcomes that are being delivered by MySuper products are promoting the financial interests of MySuper members; allow the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to refuse, or cancel, an authority to offer a MySuper product if it has a reason to believe the registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensee may fail to comply with its obligations; impose civil and criminal penalties on directors of RSE licensees who fail to execute their responsibilities to act in the best interests of members, or who use their position to further their own interests to the detriment of members; enable APRA to refuse authority for a change in ownership or control where it has concerns about the person seeking ownership or control, give a direction to a person to relinquish control of a RSE licensee and remove or suspend an RSE licensee where it is subject to the control of its owner; align APRA’s directions powers in relation to the superannuation industry with its broader directions powers in the banking and insurance industries; and require RSE licensees to hold annual members’ meetings;

  Corporations Act 2001

  and

  Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993

  to require superannuation funds to disclose on a semi-annual basis investments that they hold directly or through associated entities and initial investments into non-associated entities;

  Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001

  to provide APRA with the ability to obtain information on expenses incurred by RSE and RSE licensees in managing or operating the RSE; and

  Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998

  to make consequential amendments. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Consumers First—Establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  14 Sep 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Treasury 

  Summary

  Amends: the

  Corporations Act 2001

  and 12 other Acts to introduce a new external dispute resolution scheme, known as the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), to resolve disputes about products and services provided by financial firms; and five Acts to: require firms that must participate in the enhanced internal dispute resolution (IDR) framework to report their IDR activities to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in accordance with ASIC requirements; provide ASIC with additional powers to determine the content and form of IDR reporting by IDR Firms and to publish this data at both the aggregate and firm level; and allow ASIC to specify, by legislative instrument, requirements for trustees and retirement savings account providers to provide written reasons for decisions in relation to complaints. Also repeals the

  Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993

  and makes consequential amendments to 11 Acts. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  13 Sep 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Finance 

  Summary

  Implements measures relating to public communications in the conduct of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, including: requiring authorisations on all forms of communication of marriage law survey matter and providing the Electoral Commissioner with related information-gathering powers; imposing obligations on broadcasters to give reasonable opportunities for broadcasting opposing views; providing for offences for bribery and threats and civil penalties in relation to vilification, interference, discrimination and misleading or deceptive publications; providing for injunctive relief in relation to the statistics collection process and related activities; and enabling the Electoral Commissioner to make rules prescribing certain matters. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Australian Grape and Wine Authority Amendment (Wine Australia) Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  05 Sep 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Agriculture and Water Resources 

  Summary

  Amends the:

  Australian Grape and Wine Authority Act 2013

  to: enable the Australian Grape and Wine Authority to implement, facilitate and administer programs for cider and in relation to international wine tourism, and to administer grant programs for wine; change the authority’s name to Wine Australia; and amend the short title of the Act to the

  Wine Australia Act 2013

  ; and

  Freedom of Information Act 1982

  ,

  Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999

  ,

  Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999

  and

  Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991

  to make consequential amendments. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Amendment Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  20 Jun 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Industry, Innovation and Science 

  Summary

  Amends the

  Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987

  to provide greater flexibility to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in its activities, including the use of its property, facilities and resources for science, technology, innovation and training purposes. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2018

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  22 Mar 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Attorney-General 

  Summary

  Amends the:

  Acts Interpretation Act 1901

  and

  Legislation Act 2003

  to clarify the validity of ministerial acts and the operation of provisions about the management of compilations prepared for the Federal Register of Legislation;

  Archives Act 1983

  to: provide the National Archives of Australia with tools to manage high-volume applicants requesting access to records; and make other minor technical amendments;

  Bankruptcy Act 1966

  to clarify that the Family Court of Australia has bankruptcy jurisdiction when a trustee applies to have a financial agreement set aside under the

  Family Law Act 1975

  ;

  Domicile Act 1982

  to provide that it applies to territories currently specified in the Domicile Regulations 1982;

  Evidence Act 1995

  to amend the presumption about when postal articles sent by prepaid post are received;

  Family Law Act 1975

  to: introduce new offences relating to international parental child abduction and to allow a person to request a location order for the purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; clarify who may perform the powers of the registry managers; align financial and other provisions for de facto and married couples; make various amendments relating to the operation of the family law courts; and make minor and technical amendments;

  International Arbitration Act 1974

  to: specify the meaning of ‘competent court’ for the purpose of the Model Law; clarify procedural requirements for enforcement of an arbitral award; modernise provisions governing certain arbitrators’ powers; and clarify the application of certain confidentiality provisions;

  Marriage Act 1961

  to: remove outdated concepts and ensure consistency with the

  Family Law Act 1975

  in relation to parental consent for the marriage of minors; and make minor and technical amendments; and

  Sex Discrimination Act 1984

  to remove the exemption for discrimination against women employed, engaged or appointed in Australian Defence Force positions involving combat duties. Also makes consequential amendments to nine Acts. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  22 Mar 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Attorney-General 

  Summary

  Amends the:

  Racial Discrimination Act 1975

  to: amend section 18C, which prohibits offensive behaviour based on racial hatred, to replace the words ‘offend’, ‘insult’ and ‘humiliate’ with ‘harass’ (resulting in the formulation ‘harass or intimidate’); and provide that an assessment of whether an act is reasonably likely to harass or intimidate a person or group of persons is made against the standard of a reasonable member of the Australian community;

  Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986

  to: replace the defined term of ‘alleged unlawful discrimination’ with ‘alleged acts, omissions or practices’; repeal the requirement for the President and commissioners to act in a way that promotes the collegiate nature of the Australian Human Rights Commission; provide that certain powers to report to the minister must be exercised by the President; expressly provide that the President is responsible for managing the administrative affairs, and is the accountable authority, of the commission; remove mandatory requirements to report to the minister on certain matters and replace them with discretionary reporting powers; provide that the President cannot delegate certain powers; introduce new grounds on which the commission or the President may or must close inquiries or terminate complaints; require the commission to act fairly in the performance of its inquiry functions; increase the threshold for lodging complaints; require the President to consider whether a complaint should be terminated on certain grounds before starting to inquire into the complaint; require the President to act fairly in his or her handling of complaints; allow the President to terminate complaints lodged more than six months after the alleged unlawful discrimination; require the inclusion of a note about the costs jurisdiction of the Federal Court (FC) and the Federal Circuit Court (FCC) in a notice of termination; prescribe procedures for voluntary conciliation conferences; and provide that applications may be made to the FC or FCC in relation to complaints terminated on certain grounds; and

  Native Title Act 1993

  to replace the mandatory requirement for the Social Justice Commissioner to provide an annual report to the minister with a discretion to report when he or she sees fit. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  22 Mar 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Social Services 

  Summary

  Amends the:

  Social Security Act 1991

  to: pause for three years the indexation of various income thresholds that apply to certain social security benefits and allowances and the income test free area for parenting payment single; extend the ordinary waiting period to youth allowance (other) and parenting payment; include additional evidentiary requirements for the ‘severe financial hardship’ exemption from the ordinary waiting period; and remove the ability for claimants to serve the ordinary waiting period concurrently with other waiting periods;

  Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

  to enable automation of the regular income stream review process; and

  A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999

  to maintain the standard family tax benefit (FTB) child rates for two years, from 1 July 2017, in the maximum and base rate of FTB Part A and the maximum rate of FTB Part B. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum

• Fisheries Legislation Amendment (Representation) Bill 2017

  Track (What's this?)

  Date

  08 Feb 2017 

  Chamber

  Senate 

  Status

  Act 

  Portfolio

  Agriculture and Water Resources 

  Summary

  Amends the:

  Fisheries Administration Act 1991

  to: provide that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) must have regard to the objective of ensuring that the interests of commercial, recreational and Indigenous fishers are taken into account in the performance of its functions; provide an additional eligibility criteria for AFMA commissioners of expertise in matters relating to recreational or Indigenous fishing; provide restrictions on the appointment of commissioners who hold an executive position in a fishing representative organisation; increase the maximum size of management advisory committees from seven to ten (in addition to the Chair and the AFMA staff member); and require AFMA to try as far as practical to have memberships of commercial and recreational fishers on management advisory committees; and

  Fisheries Management Act 1991

  to provide that the minister, AFMA and Joint Authorities established under the Act must have regard to ensuring that the interests of commercial, recreational and Indigenous fishers are taken into account in the performance of their functions. 

  Bill | Explanatory Memorandum