ABBREVIATIONS — parties and committees
AG | Australian Greens | LP | Liberal Party of Australia [Govt] |
ALP | Australian Labor Party [Opp] | Nats | The Nationals [Govt] |
CA | Centre Alliance | PHON | Pauline Hanson's One Nation |
Ind | Independent | SC | House of Representatives Selection Committee |
JLN | Jacqui Lambie Network | SBC | Senate Selection of Bills Committee |
KAP | Katter's Australian Party | | |
(Health portfolio)
Amends the Aged Care Act 1997 to enable the Secretary of the Department of Health (or their delegates) to allow approved providers of residential aged care to move provisionally allocated residential aged care places from one region to another, within a state or territory.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Passed 17/9/19
Assent: 20/9/19 (Act No. 71, 2019)
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Aged Care Act 1997 to: require approved residential care service providers to notify the secretary of the ratios of aged care recipients to staff members, broken down into categories of staff members, on a quarterly basis; and require a review of the proposed amendments 12 months after their commencement.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Health portfolio)
Amends the Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Act 2006, Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Levy Act 2006, Aged Care Act 1997 and six other Acts to: transfer certain aged care regulatory functions and powers from the Secretary of the Department of Health to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner in relation to the approval, monitoring and enforcement of regulatory compliance of providers of aged care; and provide for the reconsideration and review of decisions in relation to the new functions of the commissioner. Also provides for transitional arrangements.
Senate:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/10/19
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 to establish a database for nationally consistent worker screening to enable employers to search the database to screen potential employees for any history of misconduct.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Agriculture portfolio)
Amends the: Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 in relation to: information to be taken into account by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) in determining applications; approval and registration for prescribed active constituents, chemical products or labels; limits on use of information; computerised decision-making by the APVMA; management of errors in an application at the preliminary assessment stage; variation of relevant particulars and conditions; variation of approval or registration during suspension; suspension or cancellation of approval or registration for provision of false or misleading information; notification and publication of voluntary recalls; obligations on holders and applicants to inform the APVMA of new information where it relates to the safety criteria; definition of 'registered chemical product'; supply or registered chemical products with unapproved label; safety, efficacy, trade and labelling criteria; clarification that the 'expiry date' is the date after which a chemical product must not be used; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Products (Collection of Levy) Act 1994 and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 to simplify reporting requirements for annual returns; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 in relation to: the establishment of civil pecuniary penalties for providing false or misleading information; the Maximum Residue Limits Standard; and minor and technical amendments, including the removal of redundant provisions; and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 to: remove the requirement for the APVMA to prepare an annual operational plan; and establish a governance board for the APVMA and cease the existing APVMA Advisory Board. Also repeals the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Legislation Amendment (Removing Re-approval and Re-registration) Act 2014.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 18/9/19
Senate:
(Prime Minister's portfolio)
Repeals the Australian Meat and Live-stock Corporation Amendment Act 1990, National Residue Survey (Consequential Provisions) Act 1992, Wool International Act 1993 and Wool International Privatisation Act 1999.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 2/7/19
- Read a 1st time 2/7/19
(Senator Rice — AG)
Amends the: Air Services Act 1995 to: provide that the functions of Airservices Australia (AA) include undertaking activities to protect the human and natural environment, community amenity and residential areas from the effects of the operation and use of aircraft, and associated effects; introduce new consultation arrangements for AA and persons affected by aircraft noise; require AA to consider the need to minimise the impact of aircraft operations on the human and natural environment, community amenity and residential areas when preparing corporate plans; expand the AA board by up to two members and require that it include an expert in environmental management and a representative of a community group affected by aircraft noise; and provide for the creation and operations of the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman and related reporting arrangements; and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to require the minister to appoint an independent Community Aviation Advocate to represent communities affected by aircraft noise.
Senate:
- Introduced 27/3/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 27/3/18
- Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee 28/3/18 (SBC report 4/18); extension of time to report 18/6/18; report tabled 16/8/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development portfolio)
Repeals the ANL Act 1956 and ANL Guarantee Act 1994 to: remove restrictions on the use of 'protected names' relating to the former Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited; and remove outdated and unnecessary legislation.
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/passed
- Passed 14/10/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 15/10/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 88, 2019)
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to: expand the circumstances in which reporting entities may rely on customer identification and verification procedures undertaken by a third party; explicitly prohibit reporting entities from providing a designated service if customer identification procedures cannot be performed; prohibit financial institutions from entering into a correspondent banking relationship that permits its accounts to be used by a shell bank; require banks to conduct due diligence assessments before entering, and during, all correspondent banking relationships; and expand exceptions to the prohibition on tipping off to permit reporting entities to share suspicious matter reports and related information with external auditors and foreign members of corporate and designated business groups;
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 to replace existing 'designated agency' information sharing provisions (relating to the use and disclosure of AUSTRAC information) with a more general information sharing power; Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Surveillance Devices Act 2004 to create a single reporting requirement for the cross-border movement of monetary instruments; Criminal Code Act 1995 to: clarify that the existence of one Commonwealth constitutional connector is sufficient to establish an instrument of crime offence; deem money or property provided by undercover law enforcement as part of a controlled operation to be the proceeds of crime for the purposes of prosecution; and provide for transitional arrangements; and Australian Federal Police Act 1979 to create a new offence of dishonestly representing conferral of police awards.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Finance portfolio)
Appropriates money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- Passed 19/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- Passed 11/11/19
Assent: 12/11/19 (Act No. 100, 2019)
(Finance portfolio)
Appropriates money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- Passed 19/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- Passed 11/11/19
Assent: 12/11/19 (Act No. 101, 2019)
(Finance portfolio)
Appropriates money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the parliamentary departments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- Passed 19/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- Passed 11/11/19
Assent: 12/11/19 (Act No. 102, 2019)
(Mr Wilkie MP — Ind)
Gives effect to certain provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by: declaring an Australian Bill of Rights; providing that any Commonwealth, state or territory law that is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency; specifying that Commonwealth, state and territory laws must be interpreted consistently with the Bill of Rights; and providing the Australian Human Rights Commission with a range of additional powers and functions in relation to the rights and freedoms in the Bill of Rights.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/9/19
(Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts portfolio)
Amends the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 to: amend the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Charter to require the ABC to broadcast programs that contribute to a sense of regional and national identity, and inform and entertain, and reflect the geographic and cultural diversity of, the Australian community; require the ABC Board to have two members with a substantial connection to, or substantial experience in, a regional area through business, industry or community involvement; establish a Regional Advisory Council to advise the ABC Board; and require the ABC Board to report annually on a range of additional matters, including the total number of individuals employed in regional and metropolitan areas, and the journalist to support staff ratio of employees.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 31/7/19, 16/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/pending
(Senator Di Natale — AG)
Establishes the Australian Cannabis Agency to regulate the production and distribution of recreational cannabis in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
Senate:
- Introduced 27/11/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 27/11/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the: Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to: replace the current arrangements, whereby a person's Australian citizenship automatically ceases through certain conduct, with a discretion for the Minister for Home Affairs to determine that a person who is a national or citizen of a country other than Australia ceases to be an Australian citizen if they have: engaged in specified terrorism-related conduct; fought for, or been in the service of, a declared terrorist organisation outside Australia; or engaged in conduct that results in a conviction for a specified terrorism offence; include transitional provisions to deal with cases where the minister is unaware that a person may have lost their citizenship under the current provisions; reduce the sentence term threshold for which a person convicted of a specified terrorism offence may be considered for citizenship cessation from 6 to 3 years; and extend the period in which persons convicted of a specified terrorism offence resulting in at least 3 years imprisonment may be considered for citizenship cessation from 12 December 2015 to 29 May 2003; and Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Act 2010 and Intelligence Services Act 2001 to enable the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to review the operation, effectiveness and implication of the citizenship cessation provisions.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 19/9/19
- Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security 19/9/19; report due 1/12/19
(Senator Griff — CA)
Amends the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Act 1987 to require accredited assisted reproductive technology (ART) centres to provide certain statistical information to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and require the AIHW to publish this statistical information and a list of non-complying accredited ART centres.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee 25/7/19 (SBC report 3/19); extension of time to report 11/11/19; report due 4/12/19
(Senator Di Natale — AG)
The bill: enshrines the principles of diversity and multiculturalism; establishes the Australian Multicultural Commission and provides for its functions, powers, constitution, operation and inquiries; and provides for annual reporting requirements for Commonwealth entities.
Senate:
- Introduced 23/8/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 23/8/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio)
Amends the Australian Passports Act 2005 to enable the minister to make Australian travel document data available for the purposes of, and by the automated means intrinsic to, the identity-matching services to which the Commonwealth, states and territories agreed in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Identity Matching Services, agreed by COAG on 5 October 2017.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 31/7/19
- Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security 2/8/19; report tabled in House 24/10/19
(Education portfolio)
Amends the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to: apply indexation to existing appropriation amounts for the financial years commencing on 1 July 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 July 2021; and insert a new funding cap for the financial year commencing on 1 July 2022.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 18/9/19
(Senator Faruqi — AG)
Amends the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to remove ministerial discretion in relation to the approval of research grants administered by the Australian Research Council.
Senate:
- Introduced 15/11/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 15/11/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 to extend the operation of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's questioning and detention powers for a further 12 months to 7 September 2020.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Consideration in detail amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 30/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- Committee amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 1/8/19
Assent: 12/8/19 (Act No. 61, 2019)
(Youth and Sport portfolio)
Implements certain recommendations of the Report of the Review of Australia's Sports Integrity Arrangements (the Wood review) by amending the: Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 and Australian Sports Commission Act 1989 to abolish the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel; and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 to: extend statutory protection against civil actions to national sporting organisations and their staff in the exercise of anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) functions; extend the current protection that allows an entrusted person to resist production of protected information to a court or tribunal to any person in possession of protected information; change the statutory threshold at which the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority CEO may issue a disclosure notice from 'reasonably believes' (that a person has information, documents or things that may be relevant to administration of the national anti-doping scheme) to 'reasonably suspects'; allow a person entitled to inspect or view a document produced pursuant to a disclosure notice to do so only at such times and places as the CEO thinks appropriate; increase the penalty for non-compliance with a disclosure notice from 30 to 60 penalty units; and provide that a person is not excused from complying with the requirement to answer a question, and give information or provide a document or thing on the grounds that doing so may incriminate them or expose them to a penalty. Also makes amendments to three Acts contingent on the commencement of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment (Sport Integrity Australia) Act 2019.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Youth and Sport portfolio)
Implements a recommendation of the Report of the Review of Australia's Sports Integrity Arrangements (the Wood review) by amending the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 to: establish Sport Integrity Australia to bring together the functions of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the National Integrity of Sport Unit within the Department of Health, as well as the sports integrity functions of Sport Australia; and amend the short title of the Act to the Sport Integrity Australia Act 2019. Also makes consequential amendments to eight Acts; and makes amendments to three Acts contingent on the commencement of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment (Enhancing Australia's Anti-Doping Capability) Act 2019.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Veterans' Affairs portfolio)
The bill: provides a general recognition of veterans and their families; sets out the Australian Defence Force Covenant; provides statements that veterans' affairs portfolio legislation will be interpreted with a beneficial intention and that the Commonwealth is committed to working cooperatively with veterans, their families and ex-service organisations to address issues facing veterans; and provides that the Commonwealth may issue pins, cards and other artefacts to veterans and their family members.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Committee amendments: 3 JLN/passed
- Passed 29/7/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 30/7/19
- Passed 22/10/19
Assent: 30/10/19 (Act No. 96, 2019)
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Banking Act 1959 to impose certain obligations and requirements on authorised deposit-taking institutions in relation to loans of up to $5 million to small primary production businesses.
House of Representatives:
(Senator Steele-John — AG)
Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to: require national broadcasters, commercial television broadcasting licensees and subscription television licensees to provide a minimum number of hours of television audio description per week; and provide for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce and review the new requirement.
Senate:
- Introduced 12/2/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 12/2/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development portfolio)
Amends the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to require the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, in developing and promulgating aviation safety standards, to take into consideration the impacts of costs and the relative risk environment of the different aviation industry sectors.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 2 JLN/negatived
- Passed 22/7/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- Passed 24/10/19
Assent: 6/11/19 (Act No. 99, 2019)
(Senator Di Natale — AG)
Prohibits the Commonwealth government or its agencies from funding the refurbishment, building or purchase, or assisting in the transfer of ownership, of a coal-fired power station.
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/17
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/17, 19/3/18, 10/9/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 4/7/19 (SBC report 2/19); extension of time to report 14/10/19; report due 31/3/20
(Mr Bandt MP — AG)
Prohibits the Commonwealth government or its agencies from funding the refurbishment, building or purchase of, or providing indirect assistance to, a coal-fired power station.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Mr Bandt MP — AG)
Amends the: Customs Act 1901 to limit, and prohibit from 2030, the importation and exportation of thermal coal unless it is being used for research, analysis or display; and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 14/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 14/10/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Implements a number of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by amending the: Crimes Act 1914 and Criminal Code Act 1995 to: introduce two new offences, and related defences, court rules and protections, for failure to protect a child at risk of a child sexual abuse offence and failure to report child sexual abuse; and introduce a new offence, and related defences and changes to the definition of 'child pornography material', of possessing a doll or other object that resembles a child or part of a child intended to be used by a person to simulate sexual intercourse; Customs Act 1901 to prohibit the import and export of child-like sex dolls and similar objects; Surveillance Devices Act 2004 to allow applications for the emergency authorisation for use of a surveillance device to be made in relation to the new offence of possession of child-like sex dolls or other objects; Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to provide that the new offence of possession of child-like sex dolls or other objects is a serious offence for the purposes of the Act; Criminal Code Act 1995 to: introduce a new offence, and related presumptions and defences, for the possession or control of 'child abuse material' in the form of data held in a computer or on a data storage device; provide that the existing offence of persistent sexual abuse of a child outside Australia applies to the commission of two or more separate occasions of underlying child sex offences overseas over any period of time; amend the existing definition of 'forced marriage' to explicitly capture all marriages involving children under 16; remove the rebuttable presumption that a person under 16 is presumed to be incapable of understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony; require the Attorney-General's consent to commence proceedings in relation to the offences of causing a person to enter a forced marriage and being a party to a forced marriage; clarify that forced marriage offences involving a child under 16 will automatically attract the aggravated maximum penalty of nine years' imprisonment; and narrow the existing defence to offences involving engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual activity with a child or young person outside Australia, and procuring or 'grooming' a child for sexual activity outside Australia; and Crimes Act 1914, Criminal Code Act 1995, Customs Act 1901 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to remove references to 'child pornography material' and reconstitute the current definitions of 'child abuse material' and 'child pornography material' into a single definition of 'child abuse material'.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- Passed 12/9/19
Senate:
Assent: 20/9/19 (Act No. 72, 2019)
(Senator Steele-John — AG)
Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to: lower the minimum (non-compulsory) voting age in Australian federal elections and referenda from 18 to 16 years; allow 14 and 15 year olds to be added to the electoral roll in preparation for their eligibility to vote at 16 years of age; 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.
Senate:
- Introduced 18/6/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 18/6/18, 21/6/18
- Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters 25/6/18; extensions of time to report 20/9/18, 28/11/18; report presented out of sitting 29/3/19; report tabled in House of Representatives 2/4/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Mr Bandt MP — AG)
Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to: lower the minimum (non-compulsory) voting age in Australian federal elections and referenda from 18 to 16 years; allow 14 and 15 year olds to be added to the electoral roll in preparation for their eligibility to vote at 16 years of age; 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.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 21/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 21/10/19
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to require political parties, state branches of political parties and political campaigners to provide a notice to the Australian Electoral Commission of political donations received over the disclosure threshold amount of $13 800 within five business days of receiving the donation.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/9/19
- Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters 19/9/19 (SC report no. 6)
(Communications and the Arts portfolio)
Amends the: Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to: remove duplicative requirements for licensees, publishers and controllers to notify the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) of certain changes in control of regulated media assets; remove requirements for certain television broadcasters to apply different classification standards for films when developing industry codes of practice; remove certain classification-related licence conditions on commercial television and community television broadcasting licensees and providers of open narrowcasting services; and amend two statutory publication requirements; National Broadband Network Companies Act 2011 to permit an NBN corporation to supply non-communications goods to another person in certain circumstances; Telecommunications Act 1997 to: correct a technical error in relation to the admissibility of certain evidence in court proceedings; remove the requirement for the ACMA to consult with an advisory committee before declaring a submarine cable protection zone; and remove the ability of NBN Co to issue and keep a register of statements that it will not be installing fibre in a new real estate development; Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to restore an inadvertently repealed provision clarifying that certain determinations of the minister are not legislative instruments; Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Act 2017 to: increase the transitional support payment for Network Investments from $632 000 to $819 000; and provide for transitional arrangements; Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and Telecommunications Act 1997 to amend the statutory information collection powers of the ACMA and the ACCC; Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 to make technical amendments; and Telecommunications Act 1997 and three other Acts to enable the development of an industry-based scheme for the management of telephone numbering resources. Also repeals 53 Act spent and redundant Acts; and makes amendments to four Acts to make consequential amendments and repeal redundant provisions.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/10/19
(Senator Hanson-Young — AG)
Amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to make it an offence to supply or offer commercial goods to a consumer that include Indigenous cultural expression unless supplied by, or in accordance with a transparent arrangement with, an Indigenous artist or relevant Indigenous community.
Senate:
- Introduced 12/2/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 12/2/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 4/7/19 (SBC report 2/19); report due 5/12/19
(Senator Xenophon — Nick Xenophon Team)
Amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to require the minister to make an information standard for goods containing palm oil and ensure that the information standard is in force at all times.
Senate:
- Introduced 21/6/17
- 2nd reading adjourned 21/6/17, 17/8/17
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Senators Griff and Patrick — CA)
Subject to approval in accordance with section 128 of the Constitution, the bill proposes an alteration to the Constitution to provide that the Commonwealth, States and Territories must not limit freedom of expression, including freedom of the press and other media.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/7/19
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Subject to approval in accordance with section 128 of the Constitution, the bill proposes an alteration to the Constitution to provide that the Commonwealth, States and Territories must not limit freedom of expression, including freedom of the press and other media.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 29/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 29/7/19
(Senator Patrick — CA)
Subject to approval in accordance with section 128 of the Constitution, the bill proposes an alteration to the Constitution to: provide the Commonwealth with the power to make laws in relation to the use and management of water resources that extend beyond the limits of a state; and ensure that any Commonwealth law relating to water resources does not have an overall detrimental effect on the environment.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Select Committee on the Multi-Jurisdictional Management and Execution of the Murray Darling Basin Plan 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); report due 1/11/20
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Subject to approval in accordance with section 128 of the Constitution, the bill proposes an alteration to the Constitution to: provide the Commonwealth with the power to make laws in relation to the use and management of water resources that extend beyond the limits of a state; and ensure that any Commonwealth law relating to water resources does not have an overall detrimental effect on the environment.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 29/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 29/7/19
(Attorney-General's portfolio)
Amends the: Crimes Act 1914 to: expand the existing presumption against bail and parole for persons charged or convicted of a terrorism offence to include persons being considered for bail for a further federal offence, persons the subject of a control order and persons who have demonstrated support for, or have links to, terrorist activity; and make it explicit that the best interests of a child must be considered as a primary consideration by the relevant decision maker at the key points in the criminal justice processes of bail, sentencing and parole; and Criminal Code Act 1995 to: expand eligibility for the continuing detention order (CDO) scheme by ensuring that terrorist offenders who are currently serving a period of imprisonment for a terrorism offence and another offence remain eligible for consideration for a CDO at the conclusion of their term of imprisonment; and amend the information disclosure obligations in relation to sensitive national security information in CDO applications.
Senate:
- Introduced 1/8/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 1/8/19
- Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security 2/8/19; report tabled in House of Representatives 14/10/19 and Senate 17/10/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Introduced with the Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019, the bill introduces a temporary exclusion orders scheme to delay Australians of counter-terrorism interest from re-entering Australia.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Consideration in detail amendments: 40 Opp/negatived
- Passed 23/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 CA/negatived
- Committee amendments: 40 Opp/negatived
- Passed 25/7/19
Assent: 30/7/19 (Act No. 53, 2019)
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Introduced with the Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Bill 2019, the bill amends the: Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Act 2010 to enable the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor to review the operation, effectiveness and implications of the temporary exclusion orders scheme; and Intelligence Services Act 2001 to require the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to monitor and review the exercise of powers under the scheme.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Consideration in detail amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 23/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 CA/negatived
- Committee amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG/negatived; 2 CA/negatived
- Passed 25/7/19
Assent: 30/7/19 (Act No. 54, 2019)
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Crimes Act 1914 and Criminal Code Act 1995 to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility for Commonwealth offences from 10 years of age to 14 years of age.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 14/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 14/10/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the: Crimes Act 1914 to: broaden existing identity check provisions and create offences and powers in relation to identity check, move-on and ancillary directions by constables and protective services officers at Australia's major airports; and Australian Federal Police Act 1979 to provide that the offence of contravening an identity check or move-on direction is a protective service offence for the purposes of the Act.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 12/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- Committee amendments: 2 CA/passed
- Passed 14/10/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendment no. 2 and disagreed to amendment no. 1, 15/10/19
Senate:
- Senate did not insist on its amendment no. 1, 15/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 89, 2019)
(Attorney-General—s portfolio)
Amends the: Crimes Act 1914 to: insert community safety as a factor that can be taken into account to revoke the parole of a federal offender without notice; remove the requirement to seek leave before a recorded interview of a vulnerable witness can be admitted as evidence in chief; remove the requirement for vulnerable witnesses to be available to give evidence at committal proceedings; introduce mandatory minimum penalties for certain Commonwealth child sex offences and offenders; require a court to state and record the reasons for granting bail; insert a presumption against bail for certain Commonwealth child sex offenders; insert additional factors which must be taken into account when sentencing federal offenders; require the court to have regard to certain rehabilitation considerations when sentencing Commonwealth child sex offenders; insert presumptions in favour of cumulative sentences and actual terms of imprisonment for Commonwealth child sex offenders; impose certain requirements on Commonwealth child sex offenders under a recognizance release order; add 'residential treatment orders' as a sentencing alternative for intellectually disabled offenders; reduce the amount of 'clean street time' that can be credited against the outstanding sentence following commission of an offence by a person on parole and licence; require a period of time to be served in custody if a federal offender's parole order is revoked; and make amendments contingent on the commencement of the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Act 2019 and Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (2019 Measures No. 1) Act 2019; Criminal Code Act 1995 to: clarify the scope of the definition of 'engage in sexual activity'; insert a range of new aggravated offences for child sexual abuse; insert new offences relating to 'grooming' and the provision of electronic services to facilitate dealings with child abuse material online; increase the maximum penalties for certain Commonwealth child sex offences and breaches of reporting requirements; insert new additional factors for mandatory consideration at sentencing; and make amendments contingent on the commencement of the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Act 2019.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 15/10/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); report presented out of sitting 7/11/19
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Attorney-General's portfolio)
Amends the Criminal Code Act 1995 to introduce two new offences in relation to the incitement of trespass or property offences on agricultural land.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 1/8/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 4/7/19 (SBC report 2/19); report presented out of sitting 6/9/19
- Introduced 9/9/19
- 2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 5 Govt/passed
- Passed 12/9/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendments 12/9/19
Assent: 19/9/19 (Act No. 67, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Introduces offences for entities that make or accept cash payments of $10 000 or more.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Introduced with the Customs Tariff Amendment (Growing Australian Export Opportunities Across the
Asia-Pacific) Bill 2019 to give effect to the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and Hong Kong, China, the bill amends the Customs Act 1901 to introduce new rules of origin to determine preferential rates of duty for certain goods originating from Peru, Indonesia and Hong Kong in accordance with the applicable agreement.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Consideration in detail amendments: 3 AG/negatived
- Passed 21/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/11/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/11/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Customs Act 1901 to empower the Comptroller-General of Customs to cause tobacco products seized as prohibited imports to be dealt with in a manner he or she considers appropriate, including the immediate destruction of the goods.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 9/9/19
Senate:
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 76, 2019)
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Customs Act 1901 to streamline the way in which product specific rules of origin of the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement, Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement, Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement are given effect domestically.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
(Senator Patrick — CA)
Amends the Customs Act 1901 to prohibit the importation of polyethylene core aluminium composite panels.
Senate:
- Introduced 10/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 10/9/19, 19/9/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Introduced with the Customs Amendment (Growing Australian Export Opportunities Across the Asia-Pacific) Bill 2019 to give effect to the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and Hong Kong, China, the bill amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to: specify preferential rates of customs duty for certain Peruvian originating goods, Indonesian originating goods and Hong Kong originating goods respectively, namely, alcohol, tobacco, fuel and petroleum products; provide for 'free' rates of customs duty; and maintain customs duty rates in relation to certain concessional items.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- Passed 21/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/11/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/11/19
(Veterans' Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Defence Service Homes Act 1918 to expand eligibility for the Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme to current and former members of the Australian Defence Force who have at least one day of continuous full-time service, including reservists and peacekeepers.
Senate:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 19/9/19
(Senator Di Natale — AG)
Amends the: Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to remove the exemption for religious educational institutions to discriminate against students and teachers on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, marital or relationship status or pregnancy; and Fair Work Act 2009 to ensure that religious exemptions from anti-discrimination provisions do not extend to educational institutions.
Senate:
- Introduced 16/10/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/10/18, 17/10/18, 18/10/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Education portfolio)
Amends the: Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: increase the combined Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan limit to $152 700 for students undertaking eligible aviation courses with approved providers on or after 1 January 2020; enable the minister to determine the aviation courses for which the higher HELP loan limit will apply; reduce indexation on a person's outstanding accumulated HELP debt while they are teaching in a school in a very remote location of Australia; and provide for all or part of a person's HELP debt associated with their initial teacher education course to be remitted after they have undertaken an equivalent of four years' full time work in a very remote location of Australia; and Higher Education Support Act 2003, Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (Student Loan Sustainability) Act 2018 and VET Student Loans Act 2016 to allow the Department of Human Services restricted access to higher education data and VET student loans data in order to administer student benefits.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/11/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/11/19
(Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business portfolio)
Part of a package of three bills to implement a tuition protection model for students participating in the VET Student Loans program and for higher education students accessing FEE-HELP or HECS-HELP assistance at a private education provider or TAFE, the bill amends the: VET Student Loans Act 2016 and Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: provide for the administration of each sector by a Tuition Protection Director with specific functions; provide for each sector to be supported by a separate Tuition Protection Fund Advisory Board; require non-exempt providers to contribute annual levies, commensurate with their size and risk; establish two special accounts (the VET Student Loans Tuition Protection Fund and the HELP Tuition Protection Fund); provide assistance to students who may complete their studies with another provider or may have their loan balance re-credited for units of study commenced but not completed due to the provider's default; and impose certain obligations on default providers and replacement providers; VET Student Loans Act 2016 to enable the secretary to refuse to revoke an approval on request if certain compliance action is being taken; and Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
(Finance portfolio)
Introduced with the Emergency Response Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019, the bill uses uncommitted funds from the Education Investment Fund to establish the Emergency Response Fund (comprised of the Emergency Response Fund Special Account and the investments of the Emergency Response Fund) as a dedicated investment vehicle to provide an additional funding source for future emergency response and natural disaster recovery. Also establishes the Home Affairs Emergency Response Fund Special Account.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 17/9/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); report presented out of sitting 10/10/19
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 11 JLN/negatived; 8 AG/withdrawn
- Committee requests for amendments: 25 Opp/passed
- Passed 17/10/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives made Senate requests for amendments 17/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 90, 2019)
(Finance portfolio)
Introduced with the Emergency Response Fund Bill 2019, the bill: makes consequential amendments to six Acts to support the establishment of the Emergency Response Fund; provides for transitional arrangements; and repeals the Nation-building funds Act 2008 to abolish the Education Investment Fund.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Passed 17/9/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); report presented out of sitting 10/10/19
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 1 AG/negatived; 1 JLN/negatived
- Passed 17/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 91, 2019)
(Senator Waters — AG)
Amends the: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to impose additional obligations on the minister in making decisions on approvals and conditions; and Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016 to: require the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to assess whether an entity is a suitable person for the purposes of providing financial assistance for Northern Australia economic infrastructure; and provide that, in undertaking an assessment, the facility consults with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Crime Commission. Also provides for a review of certain existing approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in relation to the Adani group.
Senate:
- Introduced 13/6/17
- 2nd reading adjourned 13/6/17, 15/6/17, 19/10/17
- Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 22/6/17 (SBC report 7/17); report tabled 14/9/17
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to grant National Heritage status to the Great Australian Bight.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Senator Cameron — ALP)
Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to: provide that modern awards cannot be varied to reduce penalty rates or the hours to which penalties rates apply if the variation is likely to result in a reduction in the take-home pay of an employee; and provide that any such determination by the Fair Work Commission made on or after 21 June 2017 is of no effect.
Senate:
- Introduced 14/11/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 14/11/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 17/10/19
(Mr Bandt MP — AG)
Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to: introduce a new category of 'protected climate change industrial action' to provide workers with an express right to take such action; allow employees and employers to include matters relating to climate change in their enterprise agreements; and permit employees to take 'protected industrial action', being action taken in support of securing an enterprise agreement, about such matters.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/9/19
(Industrial Relations portfolio)
Amends the: Fair Work Act 2009 to: prohibit terms of a modern award or an enterprise agreement requiring or permitting contributions for the benefit of an employee to be made to any fund other than a superannuation fund, a registered worker entitlement fund or a registered charity; require any term of a modern award or enterprise agreement that names a worker entitlement fund or insurance product to provide for an employee to choose another fund or insurance product; prohibit any term of a modern award, enterprise agreement or contract of employment permitting or requiring employee contributions to an election fund for an industrial association; and prohibit any action with the intent to coerce an employer to pay amounts to a particular worker entitlement fund, superannuation fund, training fund, welfare fund or employee insurance scheme; Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to: require registered organisations to have written financial management policies that have been approved by the committee of management; require registered organisations to report certain loans, grants and donations; require specific disclosure by registered organisations of the financial benefits obtained by them and persons linked to them in connection with employee insurance products, welfare fund arrangements and training fund arrangements; introduce a range of new penalties relating to compliance by registered organisations with financial management, disclosure and reporting requirements; and make minor technical amendments; and Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 10/9/19
Senate:
(Industrial Relations portfolio)
Amends the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to: include certain serious criminal offences as a new category of 'prescribed offence' for the purposes of the automatic disqualification regime in relation to registered organisations; establish an offence for a disqualified person to continue to act as an official or in a way that influences the affairs of an organisation; allow the Federal Court to disqualify officials from holding office in certain circumstances or if they are otherwise not a fit and proper person; allow the Federal Court to cancel the registration of an organisation on a range of grounds; expand the grounds on which the Federal Court may order remedial action to deal with governance issues in an organisation; expressly provide that the Federal Court may appoint an administrator to an organisation or part of an organisation as part of a remedial scheme; introduce a public interest test for amalgamations of registered organisations; and make minor and technical amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 31/7/19
Senate:
(Education portfolio)
Amends the: A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to: amend the requirement on child care providers for the issuing of Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) certificates by removing the 50 per cent limit on the number of children that a provider can self-certify for ACCS; enable the minister to prescribe circumstances in which a third party may contribute to meeting the cost of an individual's child care fees without affecting that individual—s child care subsidies (CCS); enable the minister to prescribe specific circumstances in which CCS can be paid where the child is absent at the start or end of an enrolment; and include the In Home Care rate alongside the rates for other care types, and the capacity for the minister to specify eligibility criteria and care requirements that must be met for access to Commonwealth-subsidised In Home Care places; and A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 to: increase the number of weeks at which enrolments automatically cease due to non-attendance from 8 to 14 weeks; clarify that certain decisions must first be subject to internal review before application is made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; simplify the process for making claims for CCS; ensure that where an approved provider of child care service is suspended or cancelled, access to CCS is automatically suspended or cancelled; and enable child care providers to request voluntary suspension of their approval in appropriate circumstances. Also makes refinements, corrections and consequential amendments to both Acts.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 18/9/19, 24/10/19
Senate:
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 and A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 to extend family tax benefit eligibility to families of ABSTUDY secondary school students who are aged 16 years or over and are required to live away from home to attend school.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 10/9/19
Senate:
Assent: 20/9/19 (Act No. 73, 2019)
(Senator Hanson — PHON)
Requires separating couples to self-assess and narrow their family law disputes promptly within a defined statutory time frame.
Senate:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 12/9/19, 16/9/19
(Agriculture portfolio)
Amends the Farm Household Support Act 2014 to: maintain the farm assets value limit for farm household assistance at $5 million; and ensure that allowable deductions are offset against the type of income to which they relate.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 1 KAP to Opp/negatived
- Passed 29/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 30/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 30/7/19
Assent: 7/8/19 (Act No. 60, 2019)
(Agriculture portfolio)
Amends the: Farm Household Support Act 2014 and Farm Household Support Minister's Rule 2014 to: increase access to the Farm Household Allowance (FHA) program for eligible farmers and their partners to four years in every specified ten year period; and broaden the circumstances in which the off-farm income offset can be applied and increase the upper limit of the offset from $80 000 to $100 000; and Farm Household Support Act 2014 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: provide for a one-off lump sum payment of $7500 (single recipient) or $6500 (members of a couple) for FHA recipients who have been payable for 1460 days of payment by 30 June 2020; and provide the minister with a power to determine who may qualify for, and the amount of, future relief payments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 23/10/19
Senate:
(Treasury portfolio)
Introduced with the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reducing Pressure on Housing Affordability Measures) Bill 2019, the bill amends the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015 to impose reconciliation fees on developers who sell a near-new dwelling to a foreign person under a near-new dwelling exemption certificate.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 23/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 23/10/19
(Senator Patrick — CA)
Amends the: Archives Act 1983 to require the reporting of external legal expenses incurred by the National Archives of Australia; Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 to: ensure that the Information Commissioner holds specified qualifications; and require the separate appointment of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Commissioner; and Freedom of Information Act 1982 to: enable the transfer of Information Commissioner reviewable decisions to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT); require the consistent application of exemptions by decision makers in the context of a review by the Information Commissioner; prevent the Information Commissioner from making FOI decisions if he or she does not hold specified qualifications; prevent agencies from publishing FOI information until at least 10 days after the applicant has received his or her copy of the information; and require the reporting of external legal expenses for each Information Commission or AAT FOI matter that has concluded.
Senate:
- Introduced 22/8/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/8/18
- Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 23/8/18 (SBC report 9/18); report presented out of sitting 30/11/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Finance portfolio)
Introduced with the Future Drought Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019, the bill uses uncommitted funds from the Building Australia Fund to establish the Future Drought Fund (comprised of the Future Drought Fund Special Account and the investments of the Future Drought Fund) as a dedicated investment vehicle to provide a secure revenue stream to be used for drought resilience, preparedness and response. Also establishes the Future Drought Fund Consultative Committee.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- 2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG to Opp/negatived
- Passed 22/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 23/7/19
- 2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 3 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 1 CA/passed; 17 AG/negatived
- Passed 24/7/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendment 24/7/19
Assent: 30/7/19 (Act No. 55, 2019)
(Finance portfolio)
Introduced with the Future Drought Fund Bill 2019, the bill makes consequential amendments to seven Acts to: support the operation of the Future Drought Fund; and provide for transitional arrangements.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- Passed 22/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 23/7/19
- 2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 3 AG/negatived
- Passed 24/7/19
Assent: 30/7/19 (Act No. 56, 2019)
(Senator Hanson-Young — AG)
The bill: prohibits mining activities, including prospecting or exploring for minerals or other geological material, in the Great Australian Bight marine area; establishes civil penalties for mining in the Bight; and requires the minister to submit the Great Australian Bight for consideration as a World Heritage Site.
Senate:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 25/7/19, 1/8/19
(Health portfolio)
Amends the Health Insurance Act 1973 to introduce a statutory scheme (the Bonded Medical Program) which consolidates the existing Bonded Medical Places and Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship schemes under a single legislative framework.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 31/7/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Assent: 19/9/19 (Act No. 70, 2019)
(Health portfolio)
Amends: the National Health Act 1953 and Health Insurance Act 1973 to: enable information held by the Chief Executive Medicare (CEM) to be subject to data-matching for the purposes of ensuring the integrity of medicare programs including the Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; and enable the CEM to authorise a Commonwealth entity to carry out data matching for the same purposes on the CEM's behalf; four Acts to make consequential amendments; and the Health Insurance Act 1973 and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 to enable services involving a professional attendance provided under certain laws administered by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to be considered for a prescribed pattern of services, but not unacceptable conduct, for the purposes of the Professional Services Review scheme.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 23/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 23/10/19
(Education portfolio)
Introduced with the Higher Education Support (Charges) Bill 2019, the bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: implement an application fee for applications for approval as higher education providers whose students are entitled to FEE-HELP assistance; and provide for the collection and administration of the annual charge on higher education providers.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Passed 15/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 86, 2019)
(Education portfolio)
Introduced with the Higher Education Support Amendment (Cost Recovery) Bill 2019, the bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to impose an annual charge on all higher education providers whose students are entitled to HECS-HELP assistance or FEE-HELP assistance.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Passed 15/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 85, 2019)
(Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business portfolio)
Part of a package of three bills to implement a tuition protection model for students participating in the VET Student Loans program and for higher education students accessing FEE-HELP or HECS-HELP assistance at a private education provider or TAFE, the bill imposes the HELP tuition protection levy, specifies the amounts that are payable by providers, and prescribes the levy components and the manner in which, and by whom, they will be determined each year.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
(Senator Bernardi — Ind)
Amends the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 to: include a definition of 'Australian freedoms'; require the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to explicitly consider 'Australian freedoms' in its examinations of legislation; and require statements of compatibility for bills and disallowable legislative instruments to provide certain information in relation to 'Australian freedoms'.
Senate:
- Introduced 23/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 23/7/19, 14/10/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/pending
(Senator Hanson — PHON)
Amends the Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 to require photographic identification on all Medicare cards to reduce fraudulent usage of Medicare cards.
Senate:
- Introduced 13/2/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 13/2/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 24/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 29/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee 1/8/19 (SBC report 4/19); extension of time to report 9/9/19; report tabled 17/10/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Pursuant to the objectives of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Identity Matching Services (IGA), agreed by COAG on 5 October 2017, the bill provides for the exchange of identity information between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments by enabling the Department of Home Affairs to collect, use and disclose identification information in order to operate the technical systems that will facilitate the identity-matching services envisaged by the IGA.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 31/7/19
- Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security 2/8/19; report tabled in House 24/10/19
(Agriculture portfolio)
Establishes an independent Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports to oversee the Department of Agriculture in its role as the regulator of Australia's live-stock exports.
Senate:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 10/9/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 18/9/19
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 81, 2019)
(Industry, Innovation and Science portfolio)
Amends the Patents Act 1990 to: introduce an objects clause; phase out the innovation patent system; replace the 'reasonable requirements of the public' test in relation to applications for a compulsory licence with a public interest test; provide that only the patentee of a dependent patent can seek a compulsory licence over the use of the original patent; provide for 'omnibus claims' in patent specifications to be removed at stages of consideration subsequent to examination; clarify the Commissioner of Patents' power to redact sensitive information from patent documents; remove the requirement to file a certificate of verification for documents translated into English, unless required by the regulations; clarify that Crown use can be invoked for the provision of a service that any Commonwealth, state or territory government has the primary responsibility for providing or funding; require governments to seek negotiated outcomes with patent owners before invoking Crown use; and require ministerial authorisation for invoking Crown use if a negotiated outcome is unsuccessful or in emergency situations; Designs Act 2003 to modify provisions relating to Crown use consistently with the changes to the Patents Act 2003; and Patents Act 1990 and Trade Marks Act 1995 to enable the Patent Office and Trade Mark Office to keep and use their official seal in electronic form when supplying electronic certified copies of documents to customers.
Senate:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 1/8/19 (SBC report 4/19); report presented out of sitting 4/9/19; corrigendum presented out of sitting 10/10/19
- Committee amendments: 2 Opp/passed; 1 CA/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- Read a 1st time 16/10/19
(Senator Patrick — CA)
Amends the Intelligence Services Act 2001 to expand the functions of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to include reviewing the activities of Australia's national security and intelligence agencies, subject to certain exclusions.
Senate:
- Introduced 14/8/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 14/8/18
- Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee 23/8/18 (SBC report 9/18); report tabled 12/11/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Senator Waters — AG)
The bill: provides that Australian landholders have the right to refuse the undertaking of gas and coal mining activities by corporations on their land without prior written authorisation; sets out the requirements of a prior written authorisation; provides for relief which a court may grant a land owner when prior written authorisation is not provided; prohibits hydraulic fracturing for coal seam gas, shale gas and tight gas by corporations; and provides for civil penalties.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/3/15
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/3/15
- Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 5/3/15 (SBC report 2/15); report presented out of sitting 30/9/15
- Lapsed due to prorogation of first session of 44th Parliament 17/4/16
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 19/4/16
- Lapsed due to dissolution of 44th Parliament 9/5/16
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 31/8/16
- 2nd reading adjourned 24/11/16
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 31/7/19
(Senator Faruqi — AG)
Amends the Export Control Act 1982 to prohibit the export of live-stock for slaughter.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/7/19
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 and Export Control Act 1982 to restrict the long haul export of live sheep and lambs during the northern hemisphere summer months of June, July, August or September in a five year transitional period, or at any time after that period, where the voyage is by ship and of duration exceeding 10 days, and where a place in that voyage is either the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea (regardless of whether it is the final destination).
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 22/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Health portfolio)
Amends the: Medical Indemnity Act 2002 to: clarify eligible related claims for the purposes of aggregation; and clarify that the High Cost Claim Scheme (HCCS) and the Exceptional Claims Scheme (ECS) are only intended to apply in respect of medical practitioners; Age Discrimination Act 2004, Medical Indemnity Act 2002 and Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Act 2010 to clarify eligibility for the Run-off Cover Schemes and permit access for medical practitioners and eligible midwives retiring before the age of 65; Medical Indemnity Act 2002 and Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Act 2010 to: clarify the intent of the medical indemnity law that payments will only be made if the claim relates to the provision of a health service; and make administrative changes to streamline and clarify the operation of the legislation; Medical Indemnity Act 2002, Medical Indemnity (Prudential Supervision and Product Standards) Act 2003, Medical Indemnity (Run-off Cover Support Payment) Act 2004 and Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Act 2010 to restructure and consolidate medical and midwife indemnity legislative instruments; and Medical Indemnity Act 2002 and Medical Indemnity (Prudential Supervision and Product Standards) Act 2003 to: require all medical indemnity insurers to provide universal cover to medical practitioners; and create high cost claim and exceptional claims schemes for allied health professionals, and enable private sector employee midwives to access these schemes. Also: repeals the Medical Indemnity (Competitive Advantage Payment) Act 2005 and Medical Indemnity (UMP Support Payment) Act 2002 to remove redundant payments; and makes consequential amendments to five Acts.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: remove provisions inserted by the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Act 2019 (the medical transfer provisions) which created a framework for the transfer of transitory persons (and their family members, and other persons recommended to accompany the transitory person) from regional processing countries to Australia for the purposes of medical or psychiatric assessment or treatment; and provide for the removal from Australia, or return to a regional processing country, of transitory persons who are brought to Australia under the medical transfer provisions, once the temporary purpose for which they were brought to Australia is complete.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 25/7/19
Senate:
(Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: enable the minister to specify groups of applicants who are required to provide one or more personal identifiers to have a valid visa application; render a visa application invalid if the applicant is required to provide one or more personal identifiers but does not provide them; and enable personal identifiers to be provided either by way of an identification test, or by another way specified by the minister.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/9/19
(Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: amend the character test by providing grounds to consider visa cancellation or refusal where a non-citizen has been convicted of offences involving violence against a person, weapons, breaching of an apprehended violence order (or similar) or non-consensual sexual acts; and make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 19/9/19
Senate:
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994 to: prevent unauthorised maritime arrivals or transitory persons (referred to as members of the designated regional processing cohort) who were at least 18 years of age and were taken to a regional processing country after 19 July 2013 from making a valid application for an Australian visa; enable the minister to permit a member of the designated regional processing cohort, or a class of persons within the designated regional processing cohort, to make a valid application for a visa if the minister thinks it is in the public interest to do so; and prevent a member of the designated regional processing cohort from being deemed to have been granted a special purpose visa or being deemed to have applied for particular visas under the Migration Regulations 1994.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/7/19
Senate:
(Veterans' Affairs portfolio)
Amends the: Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 to replace the existing two treatment pathways with a single treatment pathway that enables medical treatment to be accessed and provided through a Department of Veterans' Affairs Health Card; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 16/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/9/19
(Senator Patrick — CA)
Requires the Prime Minister to direct the Director-General of Security to provide a report on matters relating to security arising from examination of the personal background and circumstances of all current and future ministers of state.
Senate:
- Introduced 12/2/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 12/2/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee 4/7/19 (SBC report 2/19); report tabled 11/11/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 29/7/19
(Senator Hanson-Young — AG)
Establishes a commission of inquiry, with the same powers as a royal commission, to inquire into the management of the Murray-Darling Basin water resources and related matters.
Senate:
- Introduced 13/2/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 13/2/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
- Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 4/7/19 (SBC report 2/19); report tabled 19/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Ms Sharkie MP — CA)
Amends the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 to: impose a cap on the total payments that can be made under a consumer lease (known as rent-to-buy schemes); require small amount credit contracts (SACCs) (known as payday loans) to have equal repayment and payment intervals; remove the ability for SACC providers to charge monthly fees in respect of the residual term of a loan where a consumer fully repays the loan early; prevent lessors and credit assistance providers from undertaking door-to-door selling of leases at residential homes; introduce anti-avoidance protections; and increase penalties.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 16/9/19
(National Disability Insurance Scheme portfolio)
Amends the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 to: introduce new requirements for appointments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Launch Transition Agency and the Independent Advisory Council; establish a 28-day requirement for consultations with host jurisdictions for certain matters that require consultation (with the ability for host jurisdictions to seek an extension for up to 90 days); and re-categorise certain National Disability Insurance Scheme rules.
Senate:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 25/7/19, 17/10/19
- Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee 25/7/19 (SBC report 3/19); report presented out of sitting 6/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/pending
(National Disability Insurance Scheme portfolio)
Amends the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 to establish a database for nationally consistent worker screening for people who provide NDIS supports and services through a registered NDIS provider.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 22/7/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 23/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 19/9/19
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 82, 2019)
(Health portfolio)
Amends the National Health Act 1953 to: introduce a fee for applications by pharmacists for approval to supply Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines at particular premises; and enable pharmaceutical benefits to continue temporarily to be supplied following bankruptcy or where there is an external administrator in relation to the pharmacy.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Passed 19/9/19
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 77, 2019)
(Health portfolio)
Amends the National Health Act 1953 to reduce the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Safety Net threshold amounts that apply to general and concessional patients.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 15/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation Act 2018 to: establish the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme which will enable the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) to provide a limited guarantee to allow first home buyers to purchase a home with a minimum deposit of 5 per cent of the property purchase price; and enable the NHFIC to undertake research into housing affordability in Australia, including housing supply and demand.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 17/9/19
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendment 15/10/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); report presented out of sitting 10/10/19
- Introduced 18/9/19
- Committee amendments: 1 Opp/passed; 2 JLN/negatived
- Passed 14/10/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendment 15/10/19
Assent: 18/10/19 (Act No. 83, 2019)
(Senator Waters — AG)
The bill: establishes the Australian National Integrity Commission as an independent public sector anti-corruption commission for the Commonwealth; provides for the appointment, functions and powers of the National Integrity Commissioner and commissioners; and makes consequential amendments to the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006, Ombudsman Act 1976 and Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013.
Senate:
- Introduced 29/11/18
- Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 6/12/18 (SBC report 15/18); report presented out of sitting 5/4/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 1/8/19
- Passed 9/9/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 10/9/19
- Read a 1st time 10/9/19
(Mr Bandt MP — AG)
The bill: establishes the Australian National Integrity Commission as an independent public sector anti-corruption commission for the Commonwealth; provides for the appointment, functions and powers of the National Integrity Commissioner and commissioners; and makes consequential amendments to the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006, Ombudsman Act 1976 and Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 9/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 9/9/19
(Senator Waters — AG)
The bill: provides for statutory codes of conduct for the members of each house of parliament and their staff; creates a statutory basis for parliamentarians' registers of interests; establishes a Parliamentary Integrity Advisor to provide independent, confidential advice and guidance to parliamentarians and their staff in relation to the applicable codes of conduct; and establishes a Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to assist in the assessment, investigation and resolution of alleged breaches of the applicable codes of conduct.
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Families and Social Services portfolio)
Amends the National Rental Affordability Scheme Act 2008 to: expand and clarify the object of the National Rental Affordability Scheme; expressly identify the constitutional powers being relied upon and giving the Act operation within the scope of those constitutional powers; and expand and clarify the power to make regulations under the Act.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Committee amendments: 4 Opp/passed
- Passed 22/7/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 17/10/19
Assent: 30/10/19 (Act No. 97, 2019)
(Youth and Sport portfolio)
Introduced with the National Sports Tribunal (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2019 to implement certain recommendations of the Report of the Review of Australia's Sports Integrity Arrangements (the Wood review), the bill provides for the establishment and operation of the National Sports Tribunal as an independent specialist tribunal for the hearing and resolution of sporting disputes.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- Passed 9/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 9/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Assent: 19/9/19 (Act No. 68, 2019)
(Youth and Sport portfolio)
Introduced with the National Sports Tribunal Bill 2019 to implement certain recommendations of the Report of the Review of Australia's Sports Integrity Arrangements (the Wood review), the bill makes consequential amendments to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 and Freedom of Information Act 1982 to support the establishment of the National Sports Tribunal.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- Passed 9/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 9/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Assent: 19/9/19 (Act No. 69, 2019)
(Attorney-General's portfolio)
Amends the: Native Title Act 1993 to: allow a native title claim or compensation group to impose conditions on the authority of its authorised applicant and require public notification of any such conditions; clarify the duties of the applicant to the claim group; allow the applicant to act by majority as the default position; allow the composition of the applicant to be changed without further authorisation in certain circumstances; allow the claim group to put in place succession-planning arrangements for individual members of the applicant; allow body corporate Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) to cover areas where native title has been extinguished; remove the requirement for the Native Title Registrar to notify an area ILUA unless satisfied it meets the ILUA requirements; allow minor amendments to be made to an ILUA without a new registration process; specify that the removal of an ILUA from the register does not invalidate future acts subject to that ILUA; extend the circumstances in which historical extinguishment can be disregarded to areas of national, state or territory parks, and certain pastoral leases; allow a registered native title body corporate to bring a compensation application over an area where native title has been extinguished; require the registrar to create and maintain a public record of section 31 agreements; and make a number of technical amendments; and Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) to: require registered native title bodies corporate (RNTBC) constitutions to include dispute resolution pathways for persons who are or who claim to be common law holders, and provide for all the common law holders to be directly or indirectly represented in the RNTBC; limit the grounds for cancelling the membership of a member of a RNTBC to certain grounds; remove the discretion of directors of RNTBCs to refuse certain membership applications; specify that the registrar may place a RNTBC under special administration in certain circumstances; and ensure that proceedings in respect of a civil matter arising under the Act that relate to a RNTBC are to be instituted and determined exclusively in the Federal Court, unless transferred to another court with jurisdiction; confirm the validity of certain section 31 agreements; and provide that a person would be entitled to compensation if the bill effects the acquisition of property of a person other than on just terms (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution).
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
Senate:
(Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs portfolio)
Consequential on the Migration Amendment (New Skilled Regional Visas) Regulation 2019, which created two provisional skilled regional visas, the bill amends seven Acts to provide that holders of these provisional skilled regional visas will have the same access to welfare payments and government services as permanent visa holders where eligible.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 14/10/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); report presented out of sitting 11/10/19
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Senator Bernardi — Ind)
Amends the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to remove prohibitions on the construction or operation of certain nuclear installations.
Senate:
- Introduced 14/11/17
- 2nd reading adjourned 14/11/17, 30/11/17
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio)
Appropriates money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet certain Official Development Assistance Multilateral Replenishment Obligations in relation to the World Bank's International Development Association and debt relief schemes, including the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative; the Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Fund; the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund; and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 24/10/19
(Industry, Innovation and Science portfolio)
Introduced with the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment Bill 2019, the bill amends the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 to: transfer regulatory responsibility for offshore greenhouse gas wells and environmental management from the minister to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA); strengthen and clarify the powers of NOPSEMA inspectors to monitor and enforce compliance by regulated entities with their obligations under the Act and associated regulations; ensure valid designation of certain areas as 'frontier areas' for the purposes of the Designated Frontier Area tax incentive; make minor policy and technical amendments in relation to the operation of the Act; and remove references to specific titles of regulations, and instead enable references to the titles or provisions of regulations to be prescribed by regulations under the Act.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee 1/8/19 (SBC report 4/19); report presented out of sitting 28/8/19
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Committee amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 92, 2019)
(Industry, Innovation and Science portfolio)
Introduced with the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2019, the bill amends the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003 to: enable the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to recover the costs of its oversight of well operations under greenhouse gas titles by imposing a well investigation levy, an annual well levy and a well activity levy in relation to greenhouse gas wells; impose the well activity levy on submission of a five-yearly revision of a well operations management plan and remove the levy imposed on applications for approval to commence well activities; clarify that it is a compliance investigation under the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 in relation to which a safety investigation levy or well investigation levy may be imposed; remove certain spent provisions; and remove references to specific titles of regulations, and instead enable references to the titles or provisions of regulations to be prescribed by regulations under the Act.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 93, 2019)
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 to: enable the paid parental leave work test period for a pregnant woman in an unsafe job to be moved from the 13-month period prior to the birth of her child to the 13-month period before she had to cease work due to the hazards connected with her employment and the subsequent risk to her pregnancy; and extend the permissible break in the paid parental leave work test to enable parents to have a gap of up to 12 weeks between two working days and still meet the work test.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 19/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- Passed 17/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 84, 2019)
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Introduced with the Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty Consequential Amendments Bill 2019 to partially implement the Treaty Between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea (New York, 6 March 2018), the bill makes consequential amendments to the Passenger Movement Charge Act 1978 to remove references to the Joint Petroleum Development Area.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 25/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 29/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 29/7/19
Assent: 7/8/19 (Act No. 58, 2019)
(Senator Hanson — PHON)
Establishes a legislative framework for a national plebiscite to be held in conjunction with the next general election that would ask Australians "Do you think the current rate of immigration to Australia is too high?".
Senate:
- Introduced 15/8/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 24/7/19
- Negatived at 2nd reading 29/7/19
(Senator McKim — AG)
Amend the Product Stewardship Act 2011 to: establish a mandatory product stewardship scheme for manufacturers, importers and distributors of consumer packaging and certain single-use plastics; and prescribe targets, prohibitions, design and labelling requirements, and financial contributions in relation to packaging and products identified under the scheme.
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/9/19
- Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 12/9/19 (SBC report 5/19); extension of time to report 16/9/19; report due Thursday of the first sitting week in May 2020
(Senator McAllister — ALP)
Amends the Productivity Commission Act 1998 to: expand the functions of the Productivity Commission to include the undertaking of research on inequality and its effects on the Australian economy and community; require the commission to have regard in the exercise of its functions to the need to mitigate the negative effects of inequality; and provide for reporting requirements.
Senate:
- Introduced 14/6/17
- Passed 12/11/18
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 26/11/18
- Read a 1st time 26/11/18
- Lapsed at prorogation of 45th Parliament 11/4/19
Senate:
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 17/10/19
(Senator Hanson — PHON)
Amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: require the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to determine a base minimum price for milk for each dairy season; require the minister to refer to the Productivity Commission for inquiry the effectiveness of determining a base price for milk and the potential effectiveness of a divestiture regime for the dairy industry; and establish a mandatory industry code for the food and grocery industry, including the dairy industry.
Senate:
- Introduced 16/10/19
- Negatived at 2nd reading 11/11/19
(Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development portfolio)
Implements Australia's obligations in relation to sulphur emissions from ships under Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships by amending the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 to: enable ships to use non-compliant fuel from 1 January 2020 if they are fitted with a scrubber or other equivalent compliance methods to reduce sulphur from their emissions to below the prescribed limit; prohibit the carriage of high sulphur fuel for propulsion purposes on board a ship from 1 March 2020 (carriage ban); exempt naval and foreign government vessels from the application of the Act; and clarify obligations of fuel oil suppliers to verify fuel quality.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Mr Wilkie MP — Ind)
Establishes the Asia Pacific Asylum Seeker Solution as a regional framework for the Australian Government, in partnership with other countries within the Asia Pacific region, to provide for the protection and processing of asylum seekers and refugees.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 21/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 21/10/19
(Senator Rice — AG)
The bill: repeals the Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002; and makes consequential amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Senate:
- Introduced 7/9/17
- 2nd reading adjourned 7/9/17, 8/2/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development portfolio)
Amends the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 and Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2018 to postpone the commencement of the substantive provisions of these Acts.
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 22/7/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 23/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 9/9/19
Assent: 13/9/19 (Act No. 66, 2019)
(Prime Minister's portfolio)
Amends the: Royal Commission Act 1902 to: enable a Royal Commission to hold private sessions where a regulation is made authorising it to do so; enable the Chair of a multi-member Royal Commission, or a sole Commissioner, to authorise Assistant Commissioners to hold private sessions; and impose limits on the use and disclosure of private session information and certain information given to the Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission; and Freedom of Information Act 1982 to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 31/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- Committee amendments: 8 Govt/passed
- Passed 10/9/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendments 10/9/19
Assent: 13/9/19 (Act No. 64, 2019)
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: provide that the Secretary of the Department of Social Services is the decision maker for all cashless debit card exit applications; broaden the criteria for the exit provisions to enable the secretary to take into account a person's ability to manage their affairs generally, including their financial affairs; clarify that exit applications need to be made in a form that is approved by the secretary; and expand the wellbeing exemption provisions so that they apply more broadly across all regions.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 30/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 9 Opp/negatived; 4 AG/negatived
- Passed 1/8/19
Assent: 12/8/19 (Act No. 62, 2019)
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: extend the end date for existing cashless debit card (CDC) trial areas from 30 June 2020 to 30 June 2021 and establish an end date for the CDC trial in the Cape York area of 31 December 2021; remove the cap on the number of CDC trial participants; remove the exclusion to allow people in the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay trial area to be able to voluntarily participate in the CDC trial; establish the Northern Territory and Cape York areas as CDC trial areas and transition income management participants in these sites onto the CDC trial in 2020; enable the secretary to advise a community body when a person has exited the CDC trial and remove the requirement that an evaluation be conducted by an independent expert within 6 months of the completion of a review of the CDC trial.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/9/19
Senate:
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 to: restrict access to the relocation scholarship to students relocating within Australia and students studying in Australia; align pensioner education supplement fortnightly rates with the amount of study undertaken by eligible students; and provide that payments of the pensioner education supplement cease during semester breaks and holiday periods; and Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to align education entry payment rates with the amount of study undertaken by eligible students.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/9/19
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to establish a two year drug testing trial in three regions for 5000 new recipients of newstart allowance and youth allowance; Farm Household Support Act 2014 to make consequential amendments; and Farm Household Support Act 2014, Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to substitute references to the newstart allowance with references to the jobseeker payment following commencement of the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Act 2018.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 17/10/19
Senate:
(Senator Siewert — AG)
Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 to: increase the maximum single rates of newstart allowance, youth allowance (away from home rates only), austudy, sickness allowance, special benefit, widow allowance and crisis payment by $150 a fortnight; standardise the indexation arrangements for certain pensions and allowances; and make amendments contingent on the commencement of the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Act 2018; and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to provide that these payments are made from monies appropriated by the Parliament.
Senate:
- Introduced 10/9/18
- 2nd reading adjourned 10/9/18, 18/10/18
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 22/7/19
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to require certain welfare recipients aged 80 years and over, who have been absent from Australia for at least two years, to provide a proof of life certificate at least once every two years in accordance with a notice sent by the Secretary; and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to repeal certain provisions as a consequence of the cessation of Widow B Pension and Wife Pension from 20 March 2020.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Consideration in detail amendment: 1 Govt/passed
- Passed 9/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 10/9/19
- Passed 17/9/19
Assent: 20/9/19 (Act No. 74, 2019)
(Social Services portfolio)
Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 to: amend the residency requirements for the age pension and the disability support pension by changing certain timeframes which need to be met before claims will be deemed payable to eligible recipients; and increase the maximum liquid assets waiting period for youth allowance, austudy, newstart allowance (or jobseeker payment from 20 March 2020) and sickness allowance from 13 weeks to 26 weeks; proposed New Skilled Regional Visas (Consequential Amendments) Act 2019 to make contingent amendments to a transitional provision; and Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to cease payment of the pension supplement after six weeks temporary absence overseas and immediately for permanent departures.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/9/19
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to defer to 30 September 2020 the legislative deadline for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to report on its third review of the operation of the amendments introduced by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation (Assistance and Access) Act 2018.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Senator Griff — CA)
Amends the: Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to require voice calls communicating an electoral matter to a person must identify the use of any actors at the beginning of the call; Do Not Call Register Act 2006 to enable consumers who register on the Do Not Call Register to opt out of receiving phone calls from charities; Spam Act 2003 to require political parties to provide an unsubscribe function for all unsolicited electronic communications containing political content; and Telecommunications Act 1997 to make consequential amendments.
Senate:
- Introduced 13/2/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 13/2/19
- Lapsed immediately before commencement of 46th Parliament 1/7/19
- Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 4/7/19
(Education portfolio)
Amends the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 to implement certain recommendations of the Review of the impact of the TEQSA Act on the higher education sector by: removing references to specific categories of non-threshold standards; removing unnecessary references to 'the Research Minister' and requiring that advice on new standards need only be sought from that minister in certain circumstances; requiring TEQSA to advise the minister and the Higher Education Standards Panel (the panel) before it undertakes a quality review that could have certain impacts; providing that overseas universities can offer a course of study not wholly or mainly provided from Australian premises, and use the word 'university' to represent its operations, without committing an offence; providing that a quorum for TEQSA meetings is a majority of commissioners; expanding the skill set that the minister must ensure is encompassed by the panel members; expanding the functions of the panel; providing a consent-based exception to the offence of unauthorised disclosure or use of information; allowing TEQSA to disclose certain higher education and personal information to the minister, the secretary and relevant officers; and allowing TEQSA to disclose information for research purposes and to a complainant in relation to a complaint without the consent of the body to which the information applies.
Senate:
- Introduced 25/7/19
- Passed 12/9/19
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 23/10/19
Assent: 30/10/19 (Act No. 98, 2019)
(Resources and Northern Australia portfolio)
Introduced with the Passenger Movement Charge Amendment (Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty) Bill 2019 to partially implement the Treaty Between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea (New York, 6 March 2018), the bill amends 25 Acts to: permanently delimit the continental shelf boundary and the exclusive economic zone boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste; allow for a future adjustment of the lateral continental shelf boundaries subject to specific conditions being met; and establish the Greater Sunrise Special Regime in the Special Regime Area.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Consideration in detail amendment: 1 Govt/passed
- Passed 25/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 29/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 29/7/19
Assent: 7/8/19 (Act No. 57, 2019)
(Home Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 and Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003 to: prevent the use of aviation and maritime transport or offshore facilities in connection with serious crime; establish a regulatory framework to implement harmonised eligibility criteria for the aviation security identification card (ASIC) and maritime security identification card (MSIC) schemes; clarify and align the legislative basis for undertaking security checking of ASIC and MSIC applicants and holders; provide for regulations to prescribe penalties for offences; and insert an additional severability provision to provide guidance to a court as to Parliament's intention.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 23/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 23/10/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Corporations Act 2001 and National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 to allow regulations to provide for exemptions from the Australian Financial Services Licence and Australian Credit Licence requirements for the purposes of testing financial and credit products and services under certain conditions; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to amend the venture capital and early stage investor provisions to ensure that they operate as intended in relation to capital gains tax transactions, managed investment trusts and the early stage investor tax offset; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to amend the definition of public trading trusts. Also provides for an independent review of the operation of the exemptions from the Australian Financial Services Licence and Australian Credit Licence requirements.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Consideration in detail amendments: 8 Opp/negatived
- Passed 15/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 17/10/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to enable certain employees with multiple employers to apply for an employer shortfall exemption certificate which prevents their employer from having a superannuation guarantee shortfall if they do not make contributions for a period; Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to make consequential amendments; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to ensure that a superannuation entity's non-arm's length income includes income where expenditure in gaining or producing it was not an arm's length expense; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Taxation Administration Act 1953 and Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to ensure that, in certain circumstances involving limited recourse borrowing arrangements, the total value of a superannuation fund's assets is taken into account in working out individual members' total superannuation balances.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 12/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- Passed 19/9/19
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 78, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to extend the concessional tax treatment for genuine redundancy and early retirement scheme payments made to individuals who are 65 years or older provided the dismissal or retirement occurs before they reach pension age; A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 to increase the refund amount that eligible primary producers and tourism operators can receive when luxury car tax is borne on the supply or import of an eligible vehicle; Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: increase the size of the board of the Australian Energy Regulator from three to five members and make changes to the operation of the board; and create a requirement that consumer data rules include an obligation on accredited data recipients to delete consumer data right data in response to a valid request from a consumer; Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 to enable the Commissioner of Taxation to pay interest on amounts held by the commissioner that are proactively reunified with a person's active superannuation account; and Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Regulations 1999 to prescribe the rate of interest payable on inactive low balance accounts and amounts proactively reunified by the commissioner.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 17/10/19
- Passed 17/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 94, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to: remove a tax deduction which arises upon repayment of principal under a concessional loan by certain privatised entities; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: introduce a new additional basic condition in relation to partnerships for the small business capital gains tax concessions; and limit tax deductions for losses or outgoings incurred that relate to holding vacant land; Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to extend to family trusts the anti-avoidance rules that apply to other closely held trusts that undertake circular trust distributions; Taxation Administration Act 1953 to: allow taxation officers to disclose the business tax debt information of a taxpayer to credit reporting bureaus certain circumstances; and enable the Australian Taxation Office to develop and/or administer a framework or system for electronic invoicing; and Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to ensure that an individual—s salary sacrifice contributions cannot be used to reduce an employer—s minimum superannuation guarantee contributions.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 1/8/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 25/7/19 (SBC report 3/19); report presented out of sitting 4/9/19
- Introduced 1/8/19
- Committee amendments: 1 Govt/passed; 2 Opp/passed; 2 CA/passed; 5 CA/negatived
- Passed 16/10/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendments 22/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 95, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends: the Corporations Act 2001 to: introduce new criminal offences and civil penalty provisions for company officers that fail to prevent the company from making creditor-defeating dispositions and other persons that facilitate a company making a creditor-defeating disposition; allow liquidators to apply for a court order in relation to a voidable creditor-defeating disposition; enable the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to make orders to recover, for the benefit of a company's creditors, company property disposed of or benefits received under a voidable creditor-defeating disposition; and prevent directors from improperly backdating resignations or ceasing to be a director when this would leave a company with no directors; the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to enable the Commissioner of Taxation to collect estimates of anticipated goods and services tax (GST) liabilities and make company directors personally liable for their company's GST liabilities in certain circumstances; the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to authorise the commissioner to retain tax refunds where a taxpayer has failed to lodge a return or provide other information that may affect the amount of a refund; and five Acts to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 4/7/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 and Privacy Act 1988 to create the Consumer Data Right to provide individuals and businesses with a right to access specified data in relation to them held by businesses.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 30/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 31/7/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 31/7/19
- Passed 1/8/19
Assent: 12/8/19 (Act No. 63, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Implements a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry by amending the Corporations Act 2001 to: remove grandfathering arrangements for conflicted remuneration and other banned remuneration from 1 January 2021; and enable regulations to provide for a scheme under which amounts that would otherwise have been paid as conflicted remuneration are rebated to affected customers.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 1/8/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 10/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/9/19
- Passed 14/10/19
Assent: 28/10/19 (Act No. 87, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to: give legislative authority to the Convention between the Government of Australia and the Government of the State of Israel for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance; and correct an incorrect cross-reference to the specific source rule that applies in relation to an earlier agreement with Germany; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to introduce a deemed source of income rule to ensure that Australia can exercise its taxing rights under the convention and future international tax agreements.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 19/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
- Introduced 11/11/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 11/11/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: require an entity to use the value of the assets, liabilities and equity capital that are used in its financial statements; remove the ability for an entity to revalue its assets specifically for thin capitalisation purposes; and ensure that non-ADI foreign controlled Australian tax consolidated groups and multiple entry consolidated groups that have foreign investments or operations are treated as both outward investing and inward investing entities; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 to require offshore suppliers of rights or options to use commercial accommodation in Australia to include these supplies in working out their GST turnover; and A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 to remove liability for luxury car tax from cars that are re-imported following service, repair or refurbishment overseas.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 31/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 1/8/19
- Passed 9/9/19
Assent: 13/9/19 (Act No. 65, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: prohibit certain conduct in electricity retail, contract and wholesale markets, broadly relating to retail pricing, financial contract market liquidity and conduct in wholesale spot markets; provide powers and remedies which the ACCC may use if it reasonably believes a corporation has engaged, or is engaging, in prohibited conduct in the electricity sector; enable the Treasurer, following the receipt of a prohibited conduct recommendation from the ACCC, to issue a written order to a corporation or another body to make offers to enter into electricity financial contracts with third party entities; enable the Treasurer, following the receipt of a prohibited conduct recommendation from the ACCC, to apply to the Federal Court (the court) for a divestiture order and for the court to make related orders that a corporation or another body corporate dispose of interests in securities or assets that are part of its electricity business; set out the notice and recommendation procedures that must be followed before an order can be made in respect of a corporation or another body corporate; confer new compulsory information gathering powers on the Australian Energy Regulator (AER); allow the AER to share information with other agencies; and facilitate the conferral of functions related to the regulation of retail electricity prices on the AER.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived
- Consideration in detail amendments: 3 Opp/passed; 11 AG/negatived
- Passed 23/10/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 19/9/19 (SBC report 6/19); report presented out of sitting 7/11/19
- Introduced 11/11/19
- Committee amendments: 1 Govt/passed; 1 Opp/negatived; 11 AG/negatived; 2 CA/negatived
- Passed 12/11/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to prevent trustees from providing insurance on an opt out basis to members who are under 25 years old and begin to hold a new product on or after 1 October 2019, and to members who hold products with balances below $6000; and Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 to make consequential amendments.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Consideration in detail amendments: 16 Opp/negatived
- Passed 16/9/19
Senate:
- Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 4/7/19 (SBC report 2/19); report tabled 23/7/19
- Introduced 16/9/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/withdrawn
- Committee amendments: 16 Govt (4 as amended by 4 PHON)/passed; 10 Opp to 10 Govt/negatived; 16 Opp/negatived; 19 AG/negatived
- Passed 19/9/19
House of Representatives:
- House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendments (10 Opp to Senate amendments negatived) 19/9/19
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 79, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to provide for a one-off amnesty to encourage employers to self-correct historical superannuation guarantee non-compliance; and Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to limit the Commissioner of Taxation's ability to remit penalties for historical superannuation guarantee non-compliance, where an employer fails to disclose information relevant to their historical superannuation guarantee shortfall.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 18/9/19
Senate:
(Treasury portfolio)
Introduced with the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment (Near-new Dwelling Interests) Bill 2019, the bill amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: remove the entitlement to the capital gains tax (CGT) main residence exemption for foreign residents; and clarify that, for the purpose of determining whether an entity's underlying value is principally derived from taxable Australian real property under the foreign resident CGT regime, the principal asset test is applied on an associate inclusive basis; Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to provide for transitional arrangements in relation to the main residence exemption; Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 to require a reconciliation payment to be made by developers who sell dwellings to foreign persons under a near-new dwelling exemption certificate; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to provide an additional affordable housing capital gains discount of up to 10 per cent.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 23/10/19
- 2nd reading adjourned 23/10/19
(Treasury portfolio)
Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: increase the base and maximum amounts of the low and middle income tax offset to $255 and $1080, respectively, for the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years; and increase the maximum amount of the low income tax offset from $645 to $700 from the 2022-23 financial year; and Income Tax Rates Act 1986 to reduce the tax payable by individuals from the 2022-23 financial year by increasing the top threshold of the 19 per cent income tax bracket from $41 000 to $45 000, and from the 2024-25 financial year by reducing the 32.5 per cent income tax rate to 30 per cent.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 2/7/19
- 2nd reading amendments:1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG to Opp/negatived
- Consideration in detail amendments: 5 Opp/negatived
- Passed 2/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- 2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG/negatived
- Committee amendments: 4 Opp/negatived; 2 AG/negatived
- Passed 4/7/19
Assent: 5/7/19 (Act No. 52, 2019)
(Treasury portfolio)
Further to the Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty Consequential Amendments Bill 2019 and Passenger Movement Charge Amendment (Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty) Bill 2019, the bill gives effect to tax arrangements required to implement the Treaty Between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea (New York, 6 March 2018) by amending the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to provide 'conditions equivalent' to participants in transitioned petroleum activities affected by the treaty. Also makes consequential amendments to six Acts.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 24/7/19
- Passed 25/7/19
Senate:
- Introduced 29/7/19
- 2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived
- Passed 29/7/19
Assent: 7/8/19 (Act No. 59, 2019)
(Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business portfolio)
Part of a package of three bills to implement a tuition protection model for students participating in the VET Student Loans program and for higher education students accessing FEE-HELP or HECS-HELP assistance at a private education provider or TAFE, the bill imposes the VSL tuition protection levy, specifies the amounts that are payable by various classes of providers, and prescribes the levy components and the manner in which, and by whom, they will be determined each year.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 18/9/19
- Passed 24/10/19
Senate:
(Veterans' Affairs portfolio)
Amends the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to: extend eligibility for the partner service pension to former partners of veterans, regardless of marital status, for 12 months after separation from the veteran partner or indefinitely where specified circumstances exist (or until they enter into a new relationship); and reclassify service on submarine special operations between 1 January 1993 and 12 May 1997 as operational and qualifying service; and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and Defence Services Homes Act 1918 to amend certain definitions to ensure consistency with changes to the definition of marriage.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 1/8/19
- Passed 12/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- Passed 17/9/19
Assent: 20/9/19 (Act No. 75, 2019)
(Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management portfolio)
Amends the Water Act 2007 to provide for a standing Indigenous member position on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
House of Representatives:
- Introduced 4/7/19
- Passed 11/9/19
Senate:
- Introduced 12/9/19
- Passed 19/9/19
Assent: 2/10/19 (Act No. 80, 2019)
MORE INFORMATION
For further information about the consideration of legislation in the Senate:
Bills and related material can be accessed at https://www.aph.gov.au/bills
Committee reports can be accessed at https://www.aph.gov.au/committees