Bills and related material can be accessed at http://www.aph.gov.au/bills

Committee reports can be accessed at http://www.aph.gov.au/committees

As at cob 13 December 2012

(2012 Final Edition)

Abbreviations

AG Australian Greens

ALP Australian Labor Party [Govt]

CLP Country Liberal Party [Opp]

DLP Democratic Labor Party

FFP Family First Party

Ind Independent

KAP Katter—€™s Australian Party

LP Liberal Party of Australia [Opp]

Nats The Nationals [Opp]

Nats WA The Nationals WA [Opp]

CID Consideration in detail stage (House of Representatives)

ED Exposure draft

PM Private member—€™s bill

PS Private senator—€™s bill

R Restored to Notice Paper

S Senate bill

SBC Senate Selection of Bills Committee

SC House of Representatives Selection Committee

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012

The bill: provides for the recognition by the Parliament, on behalf of the people of Australia, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; requires the minister to cause a review of support for a referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution; requires the minister to present a report of the review to Parliament; and ceases to have effect two years after its commencement.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Reference (see item 15, Votes and Proceedings 27/11/12): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 28/11/12; report due 30/1/13

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Access to Justice (Federal Jurisdiction) Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Access to Justice (Federal Jurisdiction) Amendment Act 2012)

Amends: the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 to clarify that the Federal Court or judge may make orders for the costs of discovery during litigation and for pre-trial oral examination about discovery; five Acts to clarify the circumstances in which suppression and non-publications orders can be made, what information they can cover and details they should contain; the Family Law Act 1975, Federal Court of Australia Act 1976, Federal Magistrates Act 1999 and Judiciary Act 1903 to clarify the circumstances in which vexatious proceedings orders can be made and the kinds of orders that can be made, without affecting the courts—€™ other powers; the Family Law Act 1975 to align the jurisdictional limit for matters heard by family law magistrates in Western Australia with the Federal Magistrates Court; and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 to change the way fees are paid in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 16/2/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 13/2/12

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 22/3/12; report presented out of sitting 29/3/12 and tabled 10/5/12

Assent: 11/12/12; Act No. 186, 2012

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 to: require the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to implement the Agvet Code having regard to certain principles; provide for the APVMA to develop, publish and have regard to guidelines (the risk compendium) when exercising powers and performing functions under the code; implement a mandatory scheme for the re-approval of active constituents and re-registration of chemical products to periodically review active constituents and products; enable consistent data protection; and remove disincentives for industry to generate and provide data; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemical Products (Collection of Levy) Act 1994, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 to: provide the APVMA with a graduated range of compliance and enforcement powers; and provide for a power to apply statutory conditions to registration and approvals; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemical Products (Collection of Levy) Act 1994 to enable any Commonwealth agency to collect the levy on product sales on behalf of the APVMA; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 to require a review at least every 10 years of all Commonwealth agricultural and veterinary chemicals legislation; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994 and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 to provide that legislative instruments remain subject to disallowance with two exceptions; and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 to remove redundant provisions and amend out of date provisions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to House Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry Committee

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; report due 27/2/13

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2012

Amends the: Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980 to: reduce the record keeping requirements of persons, or their agents, who supply or receive wine goods that are packaged for sale to a consumer; and provide that a vintage year occurs between 1 September and 31 August; Fisheries Management Act 1991 to: make compliance with a direction to close a fishery a condition on all types of statutory fishing concessions; and make technical amendments; Fisheries Administration Act 1991 to enable co-management arrangements to be implemented; Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 to enable the secretary to remit all or part of a penalty imposed for the late payment of a levy or charge; and Farm Household Support Act 1992 to remove specific references to departments and secretaries. Also: makes technical amendments to the Export Control Act 1982, Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989 and Quarantine Act 1908; and repeals the States Grants (War Service Land Settlement) Act 1952.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/3/12; Passed 10/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; 2nd reading adjourned 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

PS Air Navigation and Civil Aviation Amendment (Aircraft Crew) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Air Navigation Act 1920 and Civil Aviation Act 1988 to provide that an Australian airline, or a subsidiary of an Australian airline, is not issued an international aviation licence unless it provides the same wages and conditions to overseas-based flight and cabin crew operating its flights as if they were directly employed by the airline.

Senate: Intro. 17/8/11; 2nd reading adjourned 17/8/11, 10/5/12

SBC report 10/11 (tabled and adopted 18/8/11): Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 21/11/11, 29/2/12, 14/3/12; report tabled 22/3/12

PM Air Services (Aircraft Noise) Amendment Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mrs Moylan —€“ LP)

Amends the: Air Services Act 1995 to: require Airservices Australia (AA) to consult and cooperate with government, sectors of the aviation industry and communities when modifying or creating flight paths; require AA to provide a complaints mechanism during the consultation process; provide that AA publish details of consultations; provide that AA must request the minister to appoint a Community Aviation Advocate to represent communities possibly affected by changed flight paths; provide for the composition of the AA Board; and require AA to include details of any complaints in the annual report; and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to require the minister to appoint a Community Aviation Advocate in certain circumstances.

House of Representatives: Intro. 4/7/11; Negatived at 2nd reading 11/10/12

PS Alcohol Toll Reduction Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

Amends the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 to: establish the Responsible Advertising of Alcohol Division within the Australian Communications and Media Authority to monitor the advertising of alcohol; limit the times at which alcohol products are advertised on radio and television and impose a penalty for breaches; and provide for labelling standards for alcohol products.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Amendment Act 2012)

Implements Australia—€™s obligations under three Measures adopted under Article IX of the Antarctic Treaty and Article 9 of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol) by amending the Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Act 1980 to: amend the long title of the Act; provide for the minister to grant safety and environmental protection approvals and impose conditions on such approvals; implement new offences and civil penalties; establish a liability regime for environmental emergencies in the Antarctic; establish an Antarctic Environmental Liability Special Account; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 29/2/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 16/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 90, 2012

PS Anti-Money Laundering Amendment (Gaming Machine Venues) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to: provide that poker machine payouts of more than $1000 and the cashing of transferred cheques are threshold transactions which are reportable to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre; require gaming machine venues to issue cheques for payouts of winnings or gaming machine credits over $1000 with an indication that they have been issued for that purpose; and impose penalties for failure to issue cheques in those circumstances.

Senate: Intro. 30/10/12; 2nd reading adjourned 30/10/12

SBC report 15/12 (tabled and adopted 20/11/12): No reference

Reference: Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 1/11/12; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report due 28/3/13

PS Anti-Terrorism Laws Reform Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the: Criminal Code Act 1995 to: insert a new definition of —€˜terrorist act—€™; remove the offences of —€˜reckless possession of a thing—€™, sedition, and associating with a terrorist organisation; amend the reference to —€˜fostering the doing of—€™ a terrorist act in the definition of —€˜terrorist organisation—€™; provide for terrorist organisations to be prescribed in regulations; and amend the —€˜supporting—€™ offence; Crimes Act 1914 to: remove —€˜investigative dead time—€™ from the calculation of dead time; and remove the presumption against bail for certain offences; and Australian Security Information Organisation Act 1979 in relation to the questioning and detention of terrorism suspects. Also repeals the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2011-2012

Appropriates additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government, in addition to the appropriations provided for by the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2011-2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/2/12; Passed 29/2/12

SC report no. 41 (tabled 9/2/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 13/2/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 30, 2012

Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2011-2012

Appropriates additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure, in addition to the appropriations provided for by the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2011-2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/2/12; Passed 29/2/12

SC report no. 41 (tabled 9/2/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 13/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 31, 2012

Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2011-2012

Appropriates additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government, in addition to the appropriations provided for by the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2011-2012 and Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2011-2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 65, 2012

Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2011-2012

Appropriates additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure, in addition to the appropriations provided for by the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2011-2012 and Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2011-2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 66, 2012

Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2012-2013

Appropriates money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 78, 2012

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2012-2013

Appropriates money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure. Also amends the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 to increase the cap on the face value of stock and securities that can be on issue under the Treasurer—€™s standing borrowing authority to $300 billion.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Committee amendment: 1 Part opposed (Opp)/Part agreed to

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 79, 2012

Appropriation (Implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers) Bill (No. 1) 2012-2013

Introduced with the Appropriation (Implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers) Bill (No. 2) 2012-2013, the bill appropriates additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government in relation to implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 31/10/12

Senate: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 19/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 163, 2012

Appropriation (Implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers) Bill (No. 2) 2012-2013

Introduced with the Appropriation (Implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers) Bill (No. 1) 2012-2013, the bill appropriates additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure in relation to implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 31/10/12

Senate: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 19/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 164, 2012

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2012-2013

Appropriates a sum out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the parliamentary departments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 8/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 80, 2012

PS Assisting Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Brandis —€“ LP)

Establishes a framework to provide financial assistance to persons or their next of kin who are injured or killed as a result of an international terrorist act.

Senate: Intro. 1/3/12; 2nd reading adjourned 1/3/12, 15/3/12, 22/3/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Order varied: Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/pending

PS Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (International Broadcasting Services) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 to provide that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is the sole provider of Commonwealth funded international broadcasting services.

Senate: Intro. 10/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 10/11/11

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): No reference

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill 2012

Introduced with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2012, the bill: establishes the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC); charges the ACNC with registering not-for-profit entities (initially charities) and maintaining a register; provides for the powers of the ACNC Commissioner in relation to the regulation of registered entities; and sets out the obligations and responsibilities of registered entities.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 18/9/12

SC report no. 63 (tabled 23/8/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 10/9/12; corrigenda tabled in House 17/9/12 and Senate 18/9/12

CID amendments: 9 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 20/9/12; Passed 31/10/12

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 12/9/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Committee amendments: 23 Govt/passed

[House agreed to Senate amendments 1/11/12]

Assent: 3/12/12; Act No. 168, 2012

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill 2012, the bill: provides for arrangements to transition to the regulatory scheme established by the proposed Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012; and amends 35 Acts and one proposed Act to make amendments consequential on the scheme.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 18/9/12

SC report no. 63 (tabled 23/8/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 10/9/12; corrigenda tabled in House 17/9/12 and Senate 18/9/12

CID amendments: 6 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 20/9/12; Passed 31/10/12

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 12/9/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Committee amendments: 11 Govt/passed

[House agreed to Senate amendments 1/11/12]

Assent: 3/12/12; Act No. 169, 2012

Australian Citizenship Amendment (Defence Families) Bill 2012

Amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to enable certain family members of current and future overseas lateral recruits (technical specialists with previous experience in other defence forces) to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to satisfy the relevant defence service residence requirement and be eligible for conferral of Australian citizenship at the same time as the enlisted ADF member.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 119, 2012

PM Australian Citizenship Amendment (Defence Service Requirement) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Robert —€“ LP)

Amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to ensure that spouses and dependent children of eligible Australian Defence Force (ADF) lateral transfer members (persons who have served in another nation—€™s armed forces and have migrated to Australia to join the ADF) are eligible for citizenship at the same time as the ADF lateral transfer member.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/5/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/5/12

Australian Education Bill 2012

The bill: establishes three goals for Australian schooling, namely: for Australian schooling to provide an excellent education for all students; for Australian schooling to be highly equitable; and for Australia to be placed in the top five countries in reading, science and mathematics, quality and equity in recognised international testing by 2025; and commits the Commonwealth to work collaboratively with states, territories, the non-government sector and other partners to meet these goals through developing and implementing a national plan for school improvement and needs-based funding arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report due 13/3/13

Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (National Children—€™s Commissioner) Bill 2012

Amends the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 to establish the statutory office of National Children—€™s Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission to: promote awareness and discussion of issues affecting children; conduct research and education programs; consult directly with children and representative organisations; and examine Commonwealth legislation, policies and programs that relate to children—€™s human rights.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 21/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 21/6/12

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 23/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 89, 2012

Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Australian Research Council Amendment Act 2012)

Amends the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to: apply indexation adjustments for existing schemes for the financial years starting 1 July 2011, 2012 and 2013; and set an additional funding cap for the financial year starting 1 July 2014.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 7/2/12

Senate: Intro. 8/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 40, 2012

Aviation Legislation Amendment (Liability and Insurance) Bill 2012

Amends the: Civil Aviation (Carriers—€™ Liability) Act 1959 to: raise the liability cap for domestic passenger death or injury from $500 000 to $725 000; require carriers to increase the amount of insurance to $725 000 for domestic flights; exclude compensation for purely mental injuries arising on domestic flights; and update a reference to an international agreement; and Damage by Aircraft Act 1999 to: provide for reduced compensation payments when a victim is partially responsible for the damage; enable defendants to seek contribution from other parties who may have contributed to the damage suffered by a person bringing a claim; and preclude claims for compensation for mental injuries when the claimant has not suffered additional personal or property damage.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/8/12; Passed 10/9/12

Senate: Intro. 10/9/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 11/12 (tabled and adopted 13/9/12): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Assent: 11/12/12; Act No. 191, 2012

Aviation Transport Security Amendment (Screening) Bill 2012

Amends the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 to: provide that a person is taken to consent to any screening procedure when at an aviation screening point and must receive clearance to board an aircraft or to enter an area or zone of a security controlled airport; provide that regulations deal with persons that must not pass through a screening point; enable body scanning technology to be used for security screening at Australian airports providing that they do not store or transmit an image of the person or any personal information; and remove the choice or offer of an alternative method of screening at an aviation screening point, unless a physical or medical reason is given.

House of Representatives: Intro. 16/2/12; Passed 23/5/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 9/5/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 9/5/12; interim report presented out of sitting 18/5/12 and tabled 18/6/12; final report presented out of sitting 30/5/12 and tabled 18/6/12

Committee amendments: 2 AG/negatived; 1 item opposed (AG)/item agreed to

Assent: 8/9/12; Act No. 116, 2012

PM Banking Amendment (Banking Code of Conduct) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Amends the Banking Act 1959 to provide for: the minister to make, by legislative instrument, a mandatory Banking Code of Conduct stipulating standards to be complied with by authorised deposit-taking institutions when dealing with their customers; the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to accept and investigate complaints by bank customers and to name banks found to be non-compliant; amendments to the code to be made after consultation; and a three-yearly review of the code.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/9/12; Read a 1st time 10/9/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

PS Banking Amendment (Controls on Variable Interest Rate Changes) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Banking Act 1959 to require authorised deposit-taking institutions for a 24-month period to: not increase variable interest rate loans and mortgages by more than the Reserve Bank interest rate increases; and not decrease variable interest rate loans and mortgages by less than the Reserve Bank interest rate decreases.

Senate: Intro. 18/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 18/11/10

SBC report 15/10 (tabled and adopted 26/11/10): No reference

PS Banking Amendment (Delivering Essential Financial Services) Bill 2010 (No. 2)

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Banking Act 1959 to: require banks to offer basic transaction accounts and to limit other fees to cost recovery; provide that transactions at a bank—€™s own-branded ATMs are free of charge; cap charges for the use of a bank—€™s ATMs by customers of another authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI); require ADIs to offer fixed interest gap loans and mortgages; cap mortgage and loan exit fees at cost recovery; and require uniform identification of exit fees in advertising and in mortgage and loan contracts.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): No reference

PM Banking and Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mobility and Flexibility) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Amends the: Banking Act 1959 to: impose certain conditions on authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) in relation to the transfer of personal transaction accounts; and require ADIs that offer term deposits to provide certain information when those deposits are due for reinvestment; and National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 to: require credit contracts to expressly include advice of any unjust transactions and unconscionable interest and other charges; and provide for the termination of mortgage indemnity insurance contracts when the related mortgage is terminated and the rebate of associated premiums.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/8/11; Removed from Notice Paper 22/5/12

PS Bankruptcy Amendment (Exceptional Circumstances Exit Package) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Bankruptcy Regulations 1996 to provide that payments made under the Exceptional Circumstances Exit Package on or after 1 July 2010 are exempt from bankruptcy proceedings where a final order in bankruptcy has not been finalised by the courts or the debts paid.

Senate: Intro. 5/7/11; 2nd reading adjourned 5/7/11

SBC report 9/11 (tabled and adopted 7/7/11): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 21/9/11

S Biosecurity Bill 2012

Introduced with the Inspector-General of Biosecurity Bill 2012, the bill responds to the Nairn and Beale reviews by providing for a modern regulatory framework (which reflects and replaces the Quarantine Act 1908) to: manage biosecurity risks, the risk of contagion of a listed human disease, the risk of listed human diseases entering Australian territory, risks related to ballast water, biosecurity emergencies and human biosecurity emergencies; and give effect to Australia—€™s international rights and obligations, including the World Health Organization—€™s International Health Regulations and Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; report due 27/2/13

PS Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Anti-Siphoning) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the: Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to provide that a notice to amend the anti-siphoning list does not come into effect until the expiration of six sitting days of each House of Parliament after the notice is tabled in that House; and Broadcasting Services (Events) Notice (No. 1) 2004 to remove the expiry date from the current anti-siphoning list.

Senate: Intro. 23/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 23/11/10

SBC report 15/10 (tabled and adopted 26/11/10): No reference

S Broadcasting Services Amendment (Anti-siphoning) Bill 2012

Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 in relation to free-to-air television coverage of anti-siphoning events by: restricting the acquisition of rights to televise anti-siphoning events by subscription television licensees; restricting the conferral of online coverage rights on content service providers; imposing coverage obligations on free-to-air broadcasting (anti-hoarding rules); imposing notification requirements concerning the acquisition and cessation of rights to televise anti-siphoning events, or entitlements to confer such rights, on commercial television broadcasting licensees, national broadcasters and their program suppliers; and requiring the minister to cause a review of anti-siphoning before 31 December 2014.

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/3/12, 12/9/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 4/5/12 and tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/pending

Broadcasting Services Amendment (Digital Television) Bill 2012

Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to provide earlier access, in particular circumstances, to the digital commercial satellite television service known as the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) by: enabling VAST licensees to provide their digital commercial satellite television services to specified external territories; enabling third party digital retransmission services to be taken into account for administering the conditional access scheme for VAST services; requiring licensees in certain licence areas to nominate multiple places against which their time based broadcasting obligations will be assessed; and enabling the minister to vary the date for digital switchover in a licence area or when that area becomes a digital only local market area.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 30/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 88, 2012

Broadcasting Services Amendment (Improved Access to Television Services) Bill 2012

Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 in relation to the provision of captioning services by commercial, national and subscription television broadcasters by: introducing and increasing captioning targets; requiring the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to develop a captioning standard to determine the quality of captioning services; requiring broadcasters to transmit emergency warnings in the form of text and speech, and captioned where possible; introducing compliance reporting and record keeping requirements; providing for a statutory review by the ACMA; and making compliance with the captioning requirements a licensing condition.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

CID amendments: 10 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 83, 2012

PS Broadcasting Services Amendment (Public Interest Test) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to enable the Australian Communications and Media Authority to apply a public interest test to changes in the control of certain media operations on or after 28 June 2012.

Senate: Intro. 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12); 2nd reading adjourned 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

S Broadcasting Services Amendment (Regional Commercial Radio) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Broadcasting Services Amendment (Regional Commercial Radio) Bill 2011)

Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to: exempt remote area, racing service licensees and licensees outside the Broadcasting Services Band from the minimum local content requirement; and amend provisions relating to certain changes in ownership and control of a licence known as a —€˜trigger event—€™.

Senate: Intro. 24/11/11; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Committee amendments: 3 Govt/passed

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 22/3/12

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 34, 2012

Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2011)

Amends the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 to: abolish the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and create the Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate; remove existing building industry specific laws; enable the inspectorate to compulsorily obtain information or documents relevant to an investigation from certain persons; provide for safeguards in relation to the inspectorate—€™s powers to obtain information and documents (including a three-year sunset provision); and create the office of the Independent Assessor.

House of Representatives: Intro. 3/11/11; Passed 16/2/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 73 AG/negatived; 10 KAP/negatived

Senate: Intro. 28/2/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/2/12

Committee amendments: 2 Opp/negatived

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 42, 2012

PS Building and Construction Industry (Restoring Workplace Rights) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Repeals the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 and Building and Construction Industry Improvement (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2005.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PS Carbon Tax Plebiscite Bill 2011 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senator Abetz —€“ LP)

The bill: provides for a national plebiscite to be held by 26 November 2011 to ascertain whether the electorate supports the introduction of a price on carbon; requires the Electoral Commissioner to provide the minister with a statement of the results of the plebiscite; and requires the minister to table the statement in both Houses of Parliament.

Senate: Intro. 21/6/11; 2nd reading adjourned 21/6/11, 7/7/11, 15/9/11

SBC report 8/11 (tabled and adopted 23/6/11): No reference

PM Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Hockey —€“ LP)

Consequent on the Parliamentary Budget Office Bill 2011, the bill amends the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 to remove the requirement for the Leader of the Opposition to request the Prime Minister to refer costings of election commitments to the Departments of the Treasury and Finance.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/8/11; Removed from Notice Paper 29/5/12

PS Choice of Repairer Bill 2010

R (Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

Requires motor vehicle manufacturers to provide access to information and diagnostic tools to the vehicle repair, servicing, replacement parts and accessories sectors.

Senate: Intro. 24/6/10; 2nd reading adjourned 24/6/10

SBC report 10/10 (tabled and adopted 24/6/10): Consideration deferred

Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 30/9/10

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Online Games) Bill 2011

Amends the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 to remove the requirement for certain mobile phone and online games to be classified for two years while the Australian Law Reform Commission undertakes a review of the National Classification Scheme.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/10/11; Passed 2/11/11

Senate: Intro. 3/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 3/11/11

SBC report 15/11 (tabled and adopted 3/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 9/2/12

Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (R 18+ Computer Games) Bill 2012

Amends the: Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 to create an R 18+ Restricted category for computer games; and Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to make a consequential amendment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 29/2/12

Senate: Intro. 20/3/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 14/3/12; report tabled 22/3/12

Assent: 6/7/12; Act No. 103, 2012

Clean Energy Amendment (International Emissions Trading and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the: Clean Energy Act 2011 to: remove the price floor for carbon units by removing the surrender charge on eligible international emissions units and the requirement for a minimum auction reserve price; restrict the quantity of eligible Kyoto units that liable entities can use to discharge their carbon pricing liabilities; provide for the calculation of an equivalent carbon price that reflects liable entities—€™ cost of compliance under a linking arrangement; increase the limit on advance-auctioned carbon units; prevent units being issued at auction more than three years in advance of their vintage year; change the treatment of relinquished carbon units; and enable regulations to be made to determine how specific circumstances relating to the supply and use of natural gas are treated; Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Act 2011 to enable: European allowance units to be held in the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units; and the Clean Energy Regulator to issue and transfer Australian-issued international units in the event that a direct link with a foreign emissions trading scheme is not possible; Fuel Tax Act 2006 to adjust the calculation of the equivalent carbon price to provide that it remains consistent with the compliance costs of liable entities under the carbon pricing mechanism with linking arrangements; and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 to enable the minister to determine methods to measure and adjust amounts of designated fuels for the purposes of ascertaining potential greenhouse gas emissions. Also repeals the Clean Energy (International Unit Surrender Charge) Act 2011.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 1 AG/negatived

Senate: Intro. 29/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Committee amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Assent: 13/12/12; Act No. 204, 2012

Clean Energy (Charges—€”Customs) Amendment Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the Clean Energy (Charges—€”Customs) Act 2011 to facilitate the removal of the price floor for carbon units by removing the requirement for a minimum auction reserve charge.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 198, 2012

Clean Energy (Charges—€”Excise) Amendment Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the Clean Energy (Charges—€”Excise) Act 2011 to facilitate the removal of the price floor for carbon units by removing the requirement for a minimum auction reserve charge.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 199, 2012

Clean Energy (Customs Tariff Amendment) Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills to include non-transport gaseous fuels in the carbon pricing mechanism, the bill amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to provide that the non-transport use of compressed natural gas is exempt from customs duty.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 30/5/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 30/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 23/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 85, 2012

Clean Energy (Excise Tariff Legislation Amendment) Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills to include non-transport gaseous fuels in the carbon pricing mechanism, the bill amends the Excise Act 1901 and Excise Tariff Act 1921 to provide that the non-transport use of compressed natural gas is exempt from excise duty.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 30/5/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 30/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 23/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 81, 2012

Clean Energy Finance Corporation Bill 2012

The bill: establishes the Clean Energy Finance Corporation as a body corporate; establishes the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Special Account and appropriates funds to that account; establishes the board of the corporation responsible for decision making and managing the corporation—€™s investments; requires responsible ministers to issue an investment mandate to the board about the performance of its functions; requires the board to formulate and publish policies relating to the investment strategy for the corporation, benchmarks and standards for assessing the performance of the corporation and risk management strategy; provides for the corporation to share information with certain organisations; and provides for a review of the operation of the Act and other related matters to be undertaken as soon as practicable after 1 July 2016.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 30/5/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 30/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

Assent: 22/7/12; Act No. 104, 2012

Clean Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills to include non-transport gaseous fuels in the carbon pricing mechanism, the bill amends the: Clean Energy Act 2011 to: further define the criteria a person must meet to be declared a designated opt-in person; provide for the enforcement of reporting, record-keeping and notification requirements; and provide that emissions from non-transport liquid petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas are brought into the mandatory carbon pricing mechanism from 1 July 2013 and non-transport compressed natural gas from 1 July 2012; National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 to: enable potential greenhouse gas emissions that allow liability to be assigned before the emissions are produced; and nominate the operational control of a facility when it is not clear who has operational control; Fuel Tax Act 2006 to: provide that fuel tax credit (FTC) entitlements will not be reduced for business use of non-transport gaseous fuels when they move into the carbon pricing mechanism; and provide that the agriculture, fishing and forestry industries become entitled to an FTC equivalent to the amount of carbon charge embedded in the price of fuel; Carbon Credits (Carbon Faming Initiative) Act 2011 to: require that regulatory approvals are made during the first reporting period; remove the requirement for the Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee to publish matters incorporated by reference in methodology determinations; and enable methodologies for existing abatement projects to be eligible for backdating; Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Act 2011 to: enable regulations to restrict or limit the operation of identified registry accounts; and enable the deferment of instructions to transfer certain units; and Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011 and Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 to provide for the sharing of relevant and appropriate information between the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Regulator.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 30/5/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 30/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 25/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 23/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 84, 2012

Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge—€”Auctions) Amendment Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge—€”Auctions) Act 2011 to facilitate the removal of the price floor for carbon units by removing the requirement for a minimum auction reserve charge.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 13/12/12; Act No. 203, 2012

Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Bill 2012

Part of a package of five bills in relation to the Australian shipping industry, the bill provides for: a regulatory framework for coastal trading in Australia; three types of licences which authorise vessels to carry passengers or cargo between ports in Australia; the application process for licences; the decision-making process including criteria when granting a licence; the conditions and cancellation of licences; ministerial exemptions from the Act; the appointment and enforcement of legislative requirements; the review of certain decisions by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; and the delegation of functions and powers by the minister and secretary.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 24/5/12

CID amendments: 19 Govt/passed; 1 Opp/passed; 4 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 15/6/12 and tabled 18/6/12

Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Committee amendments: 7 Opp/negatived

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 55, 2012

Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2012

Part of a package of five bills in relation to the Australian shipping industry, the bill amends the: Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 to enable the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to disclose information to a person for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of a Commonwealth law relating to coastal trading; Navigation Act 1912 to: remove the definition of, and regulatory arrangements for, coastal trading; provide that the qualifications and employment of masters and seamen apply to ships used to engage in coastal trading under a general licence; and remove reference to a review of certain decisions by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; and Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 and Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 to provide that those Acts apply to vessels engaged in coastal trading under certain licence conditions. Also makes transitional arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 24/5/12

CID amendments: 4 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 15/6/12 and tabled 18/6/12

Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 56, 2012

PS Commonwealth Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Creates the independent statutory position of Commonwealth Commissioner for Children and Young People and provides for: the functions and general powers of the position; terms and conditions and staffing support; regular and annual reporting requirements; and a review of the operation of the Act after a two-year period.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; Negatived at 2nd reading 1/3/12

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; order varied 26/10/10: bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 26/10/10; report tabled 12/5/11

PS Commonwealth Electoral (Above-the-Line Voting) Amendment Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to repeal provisions relating to group voting tickets and provide for preferential above-the-line voting for Senate elections.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill 2010

Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to: reduce the disclosure threshold to $1000; require certain persons making gifts at or above the threshold to furnish returns within specified time periods; ensure that for the purposes of the threshold related political parties are treated as one entity; prohibit the receipt of a gift of foreign property and certain anonymous gifts by registered political parties, candidates and members of a Senate group; provide that public funding of election campaigning is limited to the lesser amount of either the actual electoral expenditure or the amount awarded per vote where the four per cent threshold is satisfied; include five additional categories of electoral expenditure in relation to the rental of premises, payment of additional staff, purchase and hire of office equipment, consumables and running costs for equipment and travel and accommodation; prevent sitting members of Parliament from claiming electoral expenditure if allowances, entitlements or benefits received are used to meet that expenditure; extend existing recovery powers; and introduce new offences and penalties and increase penalties for existing offences.

House of Representatives: Intro. 20/10/10; Passed 17/11/10

SC report no. 3 (tabled 21/10/10): No reference

Senate: Intro. 17/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 17/11/10

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): No reference

PS Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Tobacco Industry Donations) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to create offences to prohibit political parties or candidates from receiving donations from manufacturers or wholesalers of tobacco products.

Senate: Intro. 15/6/11; 2nd reading adjourned 15/6/11

SBC report 8/11 (tabled and adopted 23/6/11): No reference

Commonwealth Government Securities Legislation Amendment (Retail Trading) Bill 2012

Amends the: Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 to facilitate trading of beneficial interests in Commonwealth Government Securities (CGS) on financial markets in Australia that are accessible to retail investors; and Corporations Act 2001 to: require financial advisers to provide a prescribed information statement to retail clients when they give them personal advice about investing in CGS; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 11/9/12

CID amendments: 3 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 13/9/12; Passed 1/11/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 17/11/12; Act No. 155, 2012

PS Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management (Repeal and Consequential Amendment) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Repeals the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005 and makes a consequential amendment to the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PM Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Food Labelling) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Amends the: Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: create specific requirements for country of original labelling for food; provide that the labelling is based on the ingoing weight of the ingredients and components; and create penalties and defences; and Imported Food Control Act 1992 to make a consequential amendment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 17/9/12; Read a 1st time 17/9/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee

PS Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Food Labelling) Bill 2012 (No. 2)

(Introduced by Senator Milne —€“ AG)

Amends the: Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: create specific requirements for country of original labelling for food; provide that the labelling is based on the ingoing weight of the ingredients and components; and create penalties and defences; and Imported Food Control Act 1992 to make a consequential amendment.

Senate: Intro. 17/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 17/9/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report due 21/3/13

PM Competition and Consumer Amendment (Horticultural Code of Conduct) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Katter —€“ KAP)

Amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: establish a mandatory code of conduct to regulate the commercial relationships between agents/merchants and sellers of horticultural produce; and establish the Horticultural Code Management Committee to implement, monitor and develop the code.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/11; Removed from Notice Paper 19/6/12

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry Committee; report tabled 19/3/12

PM Constitutional Corporations (Farm Gate to Plate) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Katter —€“ KAP)

The bill: requires certain constitutional corporations (primarily grocery retailers) to display the producer price of fruit and vegetable produce; and imposes penalties for breaching the requirement.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/11; Removed from Notice Paper 19/6/12

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry Committee; report tabled 19/3/12

PS Constitutional Corporations (Farm Gate to Plate) Bill 2011 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

The bill: requires certain constitutional corporations (primarily grocery retailers) to display the producer price of fruit and vegetable produce; and imposes penalties for breaching the requirement.

Senate: Intro. 13/9/11; 2nd reading adjourned 13/9/11

SBC report 12/11 (tabled and adopted 15/9/11): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 25/11/11

Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Consumer Credit and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2011)

Amends the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 to: enable certain debtors to seek a credit contract variation; provide for a remedy for unfair or dishonest conduct by credit service providers; restrict the use of particular phrases or words; expand the range of remedies available to consumers; provide the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with standing to apply to court for an order regardless of whether a civil remedy is available under another provision; and make amendments in relation to: reverse mortgage contracts; short-term and small amount credit contracts; tiered caps on costs for credit contracts; and consumer leases. Also amends the: National Consumer Credit Protection (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2009 to make application provisions; and Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/9/11; Passed 26/6/12

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report presented to Senate out of sitting 2/12/11 and tabled 7/2/12; report tabled in House 13/2/12

CID amendments: 70 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 14/8/12; Passed 20/8/12

SBC report 13/11 (tabled and adopted 22/9/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 8/11/11, 25/11/11; report presented out of sitting 7/12/11 and tabled 7/2/12

Committee amendments: 6 AG/negatived; 1 Division opposed (AG)/Division agreed to

Assent: 17/9/12; Act No. 130, 2012

PS Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Fees) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the: National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 to provide that: credit fees or charges relating to credit contracts must be reasonable; and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission may apply for a court order to annul or reduce a credit fee or charge it determines not to be reasonable; and Banking Act 1959 to require the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to prohibit banks with a market share of more than 10 per cent from imposing early termination fees in relation to loan agreements or mortgage contracts.

Senate: Intro. 21/6/11; 2nd reading adjourned 21/6/11

SBC report 9/11 (tabled and adopted 7/7/11): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/9/11

Corporations Amendment (Further Future of Financial Advice Measures) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Corporations Amendment (Further Future of Financial Advice Measures) Bill 2011)

Further to the Corporations Amendment (Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2012, the bill amends the Corporations Act 2001 to: require financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients and to put their client—€™s interests ahead of their own when providing advice; ban the payment and receipt of certain remuneration which has the potential to influence the financial product advice given to retail clients; ban volume-based shelf-space fees from asset managers or product issuers to platform operators; and ban asset-based fees on borrowed client monies.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/11/11; Passed 22/3/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House 29/2/12 and Senate 1/3/12

CID amendments: 6 Govt/passed; 30 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Committee amendments: 10 Govt/passed; 24 Opp/negatived; 1 section opposed (Opp)/section agreed to

[House agreed to Senate amendments 25/6/12]

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 68, 2012

Corporations Amendment (Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Corporations Amendment (Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2011)

Amends the Corporations Act 2001 to: require financial advisers to provide a fee disclosure statement to a client when charging advice fees for longer than 12 months; require financial advisers to provide a fee disclosure statement and a renewal notice to a client when charging advice fees for longer than 24 months; and extend the Australian Securities and Investments Commission—€™s licensing and banning powers used to supervise the financial services industry.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/10/11; Passed 22/3/12

SC report no. 36 (tabled 13/10/11): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House 29/2/12 and Senate 1/3/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 18 Govt/passed; 15 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

SBC report 15/11 (tabled and adopted 3/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Committee amendments: 8 Govt/passed; 13 Opp/negatived; 1 Subdivision opposed (Opp)/Subdivision agreed to; 5 sections opposed (Opp)/sections agreed to

[House agreed to Senate amendments 25/6/12]

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 67, 2012

Corporations Amendment (Phoenixing and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the Corporations Act 2001 to: provide the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with the power to wind up a company that has been abandoned in certain circumstances; include a regulation making power to prescribe methods of publication of notices relating to events before, during and after the external administration of a company; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/2/12; Passed 1/3/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 27/2/12

Senate: Intro. 13/3/12; Passed 9/5/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Order varied: Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 9/5/12

Assent: 26/5/12; Act No. 48, 2012

Corporations Amendment (Proxy Voting) Bill 2012

Amends the Corporations Act 2001 to clarify that the chair of an annual general meeting, who is a member of the key management personnel or a closely related party of a key management personnel, is able to vote undirected proxies in the non-binding vote where the shareholder provides their express authorisation for the chair to exercise the proxy.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 31/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 73, 2012

Corporations Legislation Amendment (Audit Enhancement) Bill 2012

Amends the: Corporations Act 2001 to: enable directors of a listed company or listed registered scheme to extend the auditor rotation period for up to two years in certain circumstances; and require auditors who audit 10 or more certain types of entities to publish a transparency report; and Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 to: revise the functions of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to require the FRC to provide the minister and professional accounting bodies with strategic policy advice and reports in relation to the quality of audits conducted by Australian auditors; enable the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to publish an audit deficiency report in relation to specified audit failures by an Australian auditor identified by ASIC; and enable ASIC to communicate certain information obtained during an audit directly with an audited body.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 13/3/12

Senate: Intro. 14/3/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 3/12 (tabled and adopted 15/3/12): No reference

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 72, 2012

Corporations Legislation Amendment (Derivative Transactions) Bill 2012

Amends the: Corporations Act 2001 to: enable the minister to prescribe a certain class of derivatives (in relation to a mandatory obligation); require the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to then issue a derivatives transaction rule for participants transacting in the prescribed class of derivatives; require any such rule to be consented to by the minister; and introduce a licensing regime for trade repositories; and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, Mutual Assistance in Business Regulation Act 1992 and Reserve Bank Act 1959 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 29/10/12

SC report no. 65 (tabled 13/9/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 11/10/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 6/12/12; Act No. 178, 2012

Corporations Legislation Amendment (Financial Reporting Panel) Bill 2012

Amends the: Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, Corporations Act 2001 and Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 to close the Financial Reporting Panel by repealing its functions and powers; and Corporations Act 2001 to enable courts or tribunals to continue to have regard to previous reports by the panel.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 28/6/12

Senate: Intro. 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12); Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 118, 2012

Courts and Tribunals Legislation Amendment (Administration) Bill 2012

Amends the: Native Title Act 1993 to: enable the transfer of the National Native Title Tribunal—€™s appropriations, staff and some of its administrative functions to the Federal Court of Australia; and provide that the tribunal is no longer a statutory agency for the purposes of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and the Public Service Act 1999; Family Law Act 1975 and Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 to enable the merger of the administrative functions of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia, including by establishing a single Chief Executive Officer position for both courts; and Ombudsman Act 1976 to make a consequential amendment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 31/10/12; 2nd reading adjourned 31/10/12

SC report no. 72 (tabled 1/11/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee

Senate:

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report due 25/2/13

Courts Legislation Amendment (Judicial Complaints) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Bill 2012, the bill amends the: Family Law Act 1975, Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 and Federal Magistrates Act 1999 to establish a framework to enable the Chief Justices of the Federal Court and the Family Court and the Chief Federal Magistrate to manage complaints that are referred to them; and Freedom of Information Act 1982 to exclude documents created through the complaints handling scheme from the operation of the Act.

House of Representatives: Intro. 14/3/12; Passed 10/9/12

SC report no. 48 (tabled 15/3/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

Senate: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 18/6/12; interim report presented out of sitting 13/7/12 and tabled 14/8/12; final report presented out of sitting 2/8/12 and tabled 14/8/12

Assent: 11/12/12; Act No. 187, 2012

PS Crimes Amendment (Fairness for Minors) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Crimes Act 1914 to define timeframes and set up evidentiary procedures for age determination and prosecution of non-citizens who are suspected or accused of people smuggling offences under the Migration Act 1958 who may have been minors at the time the offences were allegedly committed.

Senate: Intro. 23/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 23/11/11

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 28/2/12; report presented out of sitting 4/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

Crimes Legislation Amendment (Organised Crime and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to respond to recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement report Inquiry into Commonwealth unexplained wealth legislation and arrangements by: ensuring that evidence relevant to unexplained wealth proceedings can be seized under a search warrant; allowing the time limit for serving notice of a preliminary unexplained wealth order to be extended by a court in certain circumstances; harmonising provisions relating to the payment of legal expenses for unexplained wealth cases; allowing charges to be created over restrained property to secure payment of an unexplained wealth order; removing a court—€™s discretion to make unexplained wealth restraining orders, preliminary unexplained wealth orders and unexplained wealth orders once relevant criteria are satisfied; and expanding the parliamentary joint committee—€™s oversight of unexplained wealth investigations and litigation; and Criminal Code Act 1995 to: provide that cross-border firearms trafficking offences cover firearm parts; introduce aggravated offences for dealing in 50 or more firearms and firearm parts; increase the penalties for illegal importation or exportation of larger numbers of firearms; and introduce aggravated offences for importing or exporting 50 or more firearms or firearm parts during a six month period.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report due 13/3/13

Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers and Offences) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers and Offences) Bill 2011)

Amends the: Crimes Act 1914 in relation to: the procedures governing the collection and use of DNA forensic material; parole conditions for federal offenders; and the enforcement of Commonwealth fines by certain state and territory agencies; Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 to: allow the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Crime Commission to share information with private sector bodies for specified purposes; and introduce rules governing the use, sharing and retention of seized things; Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 in relation to: contempt of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI); arrest warrants; search warrants; notices to produce and summon; and the re-appointment of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner; Privacy Act 1988 in relation to non-disclosure for notices to produce; Surveillance Devices Act 2004 to enable certain ACLEI officers to use optical surveillance devices in certain circumstances; Criminal Code Act 1995 to list additional substances and quantities to be subject to the Commonwealth serious drug offences; Customs Act 1901 to clarify powers available to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to seize border controlled drugs, plants and precursors without a warrant; Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to allow a court to restrict the publication of certain matters in relation to applications for freezing orders and restraining orders; and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to enable Australian Federal Police employees and certain secondees to commence and conduct proceeds of crime litigation.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 1/3/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 29/2/12

CID amendments: 5 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 13/3/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 24, 2012

Crimes Legislation Amendment (Serious Drugs, Identity Crime and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Criminal Code Act 1995 to: transfer the lists of illicit substances from the Criminal Code to the regulations; establish conditions and criteria for listing controlled and border controlled substances in regulations; extend the listing period and refine the criteria to be satisfied before an emergency determination can be made; expand the offence of dealing in identification to include foreign indictable offences; and create an offence in relation to using a carriage service in order to obtain and/or deal with identification information; Crimes Act 1914 and Criminal Code Act 1995 to create criminal offences in relation to the use of false identities for the purposes of air travel; Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 to: clarify the functions of the Integrity Commissioner in relation to detection and prevention of corruption; widen the commissioner—€™s scope to consider an Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity corruption issue; and enable the commissioner to delegate the power to conduct public inquiries to an assistant commissioner; Crimes Act 1914 to increase the value of a penalty unit to accommodate increases in the Consumer Price Index and provide for a three-yearly review of the penalty unit; Australian Federal Police Act 1979 and Crimes (Superannuation Benefits) Act 1989 to clarify that a superannuation order in respect of a person who has committed a corruption offence can be made in relation to employer benefits accrued during all periods of Commonwealth employment; and Customs Act 1901 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/10/12; Passed 30/10/12

SC report no. 68 (tabled 11/10/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 29/10/12

Senate: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 21/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/11/12

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 167, 2012

Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Bill 2012

Amends the: Criminal Code Act 1995 to: insert offences of forced labour, forced marriage, organ trafficking and harbouring a victim; ensure the slavery offence applies to conduct which renders a person a slave, as well as conduct involving a person who is already a slave; extend the application of existing offences of deceptive recruiting and sexual servitude to non-sexual servitude and all forms of deceptive recruiting; increase penalties for debt bondage offences; broaden the definition of exploitation to include all slavery-like practices; and amend existing definitions to provide that the broadest range of exploitative conduct is criminalised; Crimes Act 1914 to increase the availability of reparation orders to individual victims of Commonwealth offences; and Crimes Act 1914, Migration Act 1958, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 22/8/12

SC report no. 55 (tabled 31/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 28/6/12

Senate: Intro. 22/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 13/9/12

Criminal Code Amendment (Cluster Munitions Prohibition) Bill 2010

(Act citation: Criminal Code Amendment (Cluster Munitions Prohibition) Act 2012)

Amends the Criminal Code Act 1995 to enable Australia to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions by: creating offences and penalties in relation to cluster munitions and explosive bomblets; providing for defences for certain circumstances; and providing for certain authorisations to be made.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/10/10; Passed 18/11/10

SC report no. 5 (tabled 28/10/10): No reference

Senate: Intro. 22/11/10; Passed 21/8/12

SBC report 13/10 (tabled and adopted 28/10/10): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 25/3/11 and tabled 10/5/11

Committee amendments: 5 AG/negatived; 1 section opposed (AG)/section agreed to

Assent: 8/9/12; Act No. 114, 2012

PS Customs Amendment (Anti-Dumping) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends Part XVB of the Customs Act 1901 to: provide that the importer of goods which are subject to anti-dumping applications bears the onus of proof to prove that the goods have not been dumped or subsidised for export into Australia; provide a presumption that where dumping and material injury have been proven, the material injury is the result of the dumping; enable new or updated information to be provided at various stages; allow supporting evidence for an application for dumping to be provided 90 days prior; enable preliminary affirmative decisions to be initiated once an investigation is started; allow consultation with industry experts as part of the investigation and review processes; and enable decisions to be referred to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for appeal. Also provides for an independent review of the first two years of the operation of the amended Part.

Senate: Intro. 2/3/11; 2nd reading adjourned 2/3/11

SBC report 2/11 (tabled and adopted 3/3/11): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 22/6/11

Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Improvements) Bill (No. 2) 2011

(Act citation: Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Improvements) Act (No. 1) 2012)

Amends the Customs Act 1901 in relation to the anti-dumping regime to: establish a new appeals process in relation to decisions made by the minister and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service; establish the International Trade Remedies Forum; and allow the CEO to seek one or more extensions of the timeframe at any point during an investigation, review of measures, continuation inquiry or duty assessment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 28/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 13/12/12; Act No. 205, 2012

Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Improvements) Bill (No. 2) 2012

Introduced with the Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2012, the bill amends the Customs Act 1901 to: clarify that the Chief Executive Officer of the Customs and Border Protection Service and the minister have the power to take all facts available into account when determining whether a countervailable subsidy has been received, the amount of a countervailing subsidy, and when certain parties fail to provide information within a reasonable period; enable the level of duties of an anti-dumping measure to be recalculated during a continuation inquiry; and remove the need to include profit when calculating the normal value of a good in its country of origin.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/3/12; Passed 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 13/12/12; Act No. 206, 2012

Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Improvements) Bill (No. 3) 2012

Amends the Customs Act 1901 to: align provisions dealing with countervailable subsidies with the World Trade Organization Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures; enable the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to conduct inquiries to address the circumvention of trade measures by exporters or importers of goods which are subject to measures; amend sampling provisions relating to non-cooperation in anti-dumping investigations, reviews of anti-dumping measures or continuation inquiries; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

Senate: Intro. 16/8/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 196, 2012

Customs Amendment (Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Customs Tariff Amendment (Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2012, the bill amends the: Customs Act 1901 to: provide for rules of origin for goods imported into Australia from Malaysia to give effect to chapter three of the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement; and Customs Act 1901 and Customs Amendment (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Act 2012 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 27/11/12

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 15/12 (tabled and adopted 20/11/12): No reference

Assent: 4/12/12; Act No. 172, 2012

Customs Amendment (Military End-Use) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Customs Amendment (Military End-Use) Act 2012)

Introduced with the Defence Trade Controls Bill 2011, the bill amends the Customs Act 1901 to enable the Minister for Defence to prohibit the export of specified non-regulated goods to a particular place or person if the minister suspects that the goods would or may be used for a military end-use that may prejudice Australia—€™s security, defence or international relations.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 21/11/11

SC report no. 38 (tabled 3/11/11): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; statement discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report made in House 21/11/11 and tabled in Senate 22/11/11

Senate: Intro. 22/11/11; Passed 29/10/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed

[House agreed to Senate amendments 30/10/12]

Assent: 13/11/12; Act No. 152, 2012

Customs Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Customs Act 1901 to: make it an offence to bring into Australia without a permit, certain prohibited imports to be known as restricted goods; and make technical amendments in relation to the: entry of ships or aircraft for home consumption or warehousing; valuation of imported goods; designation of customs controlled areas; provision of information prior to the grant of a warehouse licence; notification of particulars of cargo reporters; and removal of references to the expired moratorium periods for electronic cargo reporting; and A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999, Customs Act 1901 and Import Processing Charges Act 2001 to remove provisions which established the accredited client program.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report due 13/3/13

Customs Amendment (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Customs Amendment (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Act 2012)

Amends the Customs Act 1901 to provide for changes to the rules of origin requirements in Article 3 of the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement resulting from a review of the rules completed in 2010.

House of Representatives: Intro. 16/6/11; Passed 6/7/11

Senate: Intro. 7/7/11; Passed 9/2/12

SBC report 8/11 (tabled and adopted 23/6/11): No reference

Assent: 6/3/12; Act No. 1, 2012

Customs Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Customs Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Act 2012)

Introduced with the Excise Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Bill 2011, the bill amends the Customs Act 1901 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: permit small business entities and certain other persons to defer the settlement of customs duties from a weekly to a monthly cycle; and clarify administrative arrangements for periodic settlement permissions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 7/2/12

Senate: Intro. 8/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 37, 2012

Customs Amendment (Smuggled Tobacco) Bill 2012

Amends the Customs Act 1901 to create criminal offences for the smuggling of tobacco products and for the conveyance and possession of smuggled tobacco products.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 22/8/12

SC report no. 59 (tabled 28/6/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 20/8/12

Senate: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 11/10/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/8/12

Assent: 6/11/12; Act No. 146, 2012

Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012

Amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to: reinsert coir yarn into the customs schedule; list Serbia as a developing country for the purposes of the Australian System of Tariff Preferences; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

Senate: Intro. 16/8/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 25/9/12; Act No. 137, 2012

Customs Tariff Amendment (Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Customs Amendment (Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2012, the bill amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to give effect to the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement by: providing free rates of customs duty for goods that are Malaysian originating goods; maintaining customs duty rates for certain Malaysian originating goods; and specifying excise equivalent duties on certain alcohol, tobacco and petroleum products.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 27/11/12

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 15/12 (tabled and adopted 20/11/12): No reference

Assent: 4/12/12; Act No. 173, 2012

Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Bill 2012

Amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to revise the list of goods to which concessional rates of import duty have been granted by consolidating concessions of similar coverage and removing redundant or rarely used concessions. Also makes consequential amendments to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 and A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/3/12; Passed 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 25/9/12; Act No. 138, 2012

Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2012

Introduced with the Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Improvements) Bill (No. 2) 2012, the bill amends the Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Act 1975 to allow the minister to utilise additional forms of interim dumping duty including an ad valorem (percentage) duty, a fixed amount of duty, a combination duty, or a floor price.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/3/12; Passed 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 195, 2012

Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Act 2012)

Facilitates Australia—€™s accession to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime by amending the: Telecommunications Act 1997 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to require carriers and carriage service providers to preserve stored communications when requested by certain domestic agencies or when requested by the Australian Federal Police on behalf of certain foreign countries; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to: ensure that a foreign country can secure access to stored computer data, including preserved data; and allow a stored communication warrant to be obtained for foreign law enforcement purposes; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987, Telecommunications Act 1997 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to: enable existing telecommunications data to be provided to a foreign law enforcement agency on a police to police basis; and enable the collection of prospective telecommunications data for foreign law enforcement purposes in certain circumstances; Telecommunications Act 1997 to provide that carriers and carriage service providers can recover costs incurred when assisting foreign law enforcement agencies; Criminal Code Act 1995 to provide that computer offences are consistent with the convention; and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to: create confidentiality requirements in relation to authorisations to disclose telecommunications data; and expand offence provisions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/6/11; Passed 24/8/11

SC report no. 26 (tabled 23/6/11): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Cyber Safety; report tabled in House and Senate 18/8/11

Senate: Intro. 24/8/11; Passed 22/8/12

SBC report 9/11 (tabled and adopted 7/7/11): No reference

2nd reading amendments: 1 AG/negatived; 1 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Committee amendments: 14 Govt/passed; 3 items negatived (Govt); 19 AG/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 22/8/12]

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 120, 2012

PS Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2010 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the Defence Act 1903 to provide for parliamentary approval of overseas service by members of the Australian Defence Force.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10, 7/7/11

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Defence Trade Controls Bill 2011

(Act citation: Defence Trade Controls Act 2012)

Introduced with the Customs Amendment (Military End-Use) Bill 2011, the bill: gives effect to the Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America concerning Defense Trade Cooperation; provides for controls on the supply of Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL) listed technology and services related to DSGL technology and goods; creates a registration and permit regime for the brokering of DSGL goods, technology and related services; and creates offences and imposes penalties.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 21/11/11

SC report no. 38 (tabled 3/11/11): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; statement discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report made in House 21/11/11 and tabled in Senate 22/11/11

Senate: Intro. 22/11/11; Passed 29/10/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 22/3/12; preliminary report tabled 15/8/12; any proposed Govt amendments also referred 15/8/12; final report tabled 10/10/12

Committee amendments: 24 Govt/passed; 1 Opp/passed; 2 AG/passed; 1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG/negatived; 1 Govt/withdrawn

[House agreed to Senate amendments nos 1 to 8 and 10 to 27 and disagreed to amendment no. 9, 30/10/12; Senate did not insist on its amendment no. 9, 31/10/12]

Assent: 13/11/12; Act No. 153, 2012

Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Dental Benefits Act 2008 to: establish a framework for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule to extend eligibility for subsidised dental care to children at least two years of age but under 18 years of age from 1 January 2014; and enable different monetary caps to apply to different groups of persons or different groups of services.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 10/12/12; Act No. 183, 2012

PM Do Not Knock Register Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Georganas —€“ ALP)

Establishes a framework to regulate and minimise unsolicited marketing calls made to Australian residential and government addresses by: establishing a Do Not Knock Register; enabling an address to be included on the register and remain on the register; prohibiting unsolicited marketing calls being made to addresses on the register for a period of three years; providing for a penalty regime; and establishing a complaints regime.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/5/12; Removed from Notice Paper 27/11/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 17/9/12

PS Drink Container Recycling Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

The bill: requires producers, distributors and industry groups to submit to the minister a beverage container stewardship plan to manage the collection and recycling of beverage containers; sets minimum recovery rates for containers; requires public consultation on draft plans; and provides for annual reporting.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection Service and Other Measures) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection Service and Other Measures) Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to establish a tuition protection service, the bill amends: the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 to: place obligations on registered international education providers when a provider fails to start or finish providing a course or when an overseas student fails to start or finish a course; provide for a national regime of national registration of providers; limit the amount of initial pre-paid fees that may be collected by a registered provider; provide that students are only eligible for a refund of the unused portion of prepaid tuition fees; and specify what details providers must keep on student records; and five Acts to make consequential amendments. Also repeals the Education Services for Overseas Students (Assurance Fund Contributions) Act 2000.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/9/11; Passed 3/11/11

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee; report tabled 1/11/11

CID amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 3/11/11; Passed 29/2/12

SBC report 14/11 (tabled and adopted 13/10/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 8/11/11; report tabled 27/2/12

Committee amendments: 5 Govt/passed; 4 AG (1 as amended)/passed; 19 AG/negatived; 5 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 1/3/12]

Assent: 20/3/12; Act No. 9, 2012

Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment (Tuition Protection Service) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment (Tuition Protection Service) Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to establish a tuition protection service, the bill amends the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997 to make amendments consequent on the proposed Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection Service and Other Measures) Act 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/9/11; Passed 3/11/11

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee; report tabled 1/11/11

Senate: Intro. 3/11/11; Passed 29/2/12

SBC report 14/11 (tabled and adopted 13/10/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 8/11/11; report tabled 27/2/12

Assent: 20/3/12; Act No. 10, 2012

Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to establish a tuition protection service (TPS), the bill: establishes the TPS levy to be imposed on registered providers and sets out the basis for its calculation; provides that certain providers may be exempt from components of the levy; and requires the dollar amounts of the administrative fee component and the base fee component to be published annually.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/9/11; Passed 3/11/11

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee; report tabled 1/11/11

Senate: Intro. 3/11/11; Passed 29/2/12

SBC report 14/11 (tabled and adopted 13/10/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 8/11/11; report tabled 27/2/12

Committee requests for amendments: 8 AG/negatived

Assent: 20/3/12; Act No. 11, 2012

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Improving Electoral Administration) Bill 2012

In response to certain recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters report The 2010 federal election: report on the conduct of the election and related matters, the bill amends the: Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to: provide for further fixed periods of time to be provided to the augmented Electoral Commission to complete its inquiries into objections against proposed redistribution of electoral boundaries; and not require a silent voter to re-apply to be treated as a silent voter when changing address; Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to: establish procedures to be taken when a ballot-box is opened prematurely; remove the requirement for an applicant for a pre-poll ordinary vote to complete and sign a certificate; provide that pre-poll voting offences will open on the fourth day after nominations close; and provide that applications for postal votes must be received on the Wednesday three days before polling day; and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to allow the Australian Taxation Office to disclose protected information to the Electoral Commissioner.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Improving Electoral Procedure) Bill 2012

Amends the: Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to: remove the prescription relating to how postal votes are processed and facilitate technological developments over time; and make technical amendments; and Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to: increase to $1000 and $2000, respectively, the nomination deposit that must be paid by or on behalf of candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate; increase to 100 the number of electors required to nominate an unendorsed candidate; and require unendorsed Senate candidates, who have made a request to be grouped, to each be nominated by 100 unique electors.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SC report no. 59 (tabled 28/6/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters; report tabled in House and Senate 16/8/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 10/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 10/9/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Maintaining Address) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Maintaining Address) Act 2012)

Amends the: Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to: allow the Electoral Commissioner to update an elector—€™s enrolled address following receipt and analysis of reliable and current data sources from outside the Electoral Commission; require an elector to be notified of the Electoral Commissioner—€™s intention to enrol them at a new address and give the elector the opportunity to object to the change; enable objection action to be discontinued and the elector—€™s enrolled address updated so that the elector is not removed from the electoral roll; standardise references to the Electoral Commissioner; provide for the Electoral Commissioner to delegate the power to seek information; and make consequential amendments; and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to prohibit the Electoral Commissioner from updating an elector—€™s address on a roll during the period from 8 pm on the day the rolls close to the close of voting at a referendum.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 21/3/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters; report tabled in House and Senate 13/3/12

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 21/6/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 24/7/12; Act No. 110, 2012

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Protecting Elector Participation) Bill 2012

Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to: allow the Electoral Commissioner to directly enrol a person if the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that the person has met certain criteria; require the person to be notified of the Electoral Commissioner—€™s intention to enrol them and give the elector the opportunity to object to the enrolment; allow the Electoral Commissioner to admit certain declaration votes to further scrutiny; allow the Electoral Commissioner to enrol certain persons who have cast declaration votes and who have been removed from the roll; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters; report tabled in House and Senate 19/3/12

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 21/6/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Assent: 24/7/12; Act No. 111, 2012

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Bioregional Plans) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Colbeck —€“ LP)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to provide that bioregional plans are disallowable instruments which are subject to the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Senate: Intro. 2/3/11; Negatived at 2nd reading 29/11/12

SBC report 2/11 (tabled and adopted 3/3/11): Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 24/3/11; interim report presented out of sitting 27/5/11 and tabled 14/6/11; extension of time for final report 14/6/11; final report tabled 15/6/11

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Declared Commercial Fishing Activities) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Declared Fishing Activities) Bill 2012)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to provide for the minister to establish an independent expert panel to conduct an assessment into the potential environmental, social and economic impacts of a declared commercial fishing activity and to prohibit the declared commercial fishing activity while the assessment is undertaken.

House of Representatives: Intro. 11/9/12; Passed 13/9/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 45 Govt/passed; 2 AG/negatived

Senate: Intro. 17/9/12; Passed 19/9/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Committee amendments: 6 AG/negatived; 1 Division opposed (AG)/Division agreed to

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 19/9/12; Act No. 131, 2012

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Emergency Listings) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Waters —€“ AG)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to provide for the emergency listing of threatened species and ecological communities where they are at risk from a significant and imminent threat.

Senate: Intro. 13/10/11; 2nd reading adjourned 13/10/11

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 22/11/11; report tabled 1/3/12

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development) Bill 2012

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to establish an Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development as a statutory authority to provide federal, state and territory governments with scientific advice on coal seam gas and large coal mining developments which may have significant impacts on water resources.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 29/5/12

CID amendments: 1 Opp/passed; 1 AG/negatived; 1 KAP/negatived

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 10/9/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 20/6/12

Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 11 Ind (Xenophon)-Heffernan-Madigan-Nash-Waters/passed; 25 AG/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments nos 1 and 3, disagreed to amendments nos 2 and 4 to 13 and agreed to 11 Govt amendments in their place 17/9/12; Senate did not insist on its amendments nos 2 and 4 to 13 and agreed to House amendments made in their place 10/10/12]

Assent: 24/10/12; Act No. 145, 2012

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Making Marine Parks Accountable) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Colbeck —€“ LP)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to: require the minister, before the Governor-General declares an area of sea or an area of land and sea as a Commonwealth reserve, to establish an independent scientific reference panel, a stakeholder advisory group and to commission an independent assessment of social and economic impacts of any proposal, including any relevant compensation costing; require the minister to publish the reports of the scientific reference panel and the stakeholder advisory group; and provide that a Commonwealth reserve declaration be subject to disallowance.

Senate: Intro. 13/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 13/9/12, 11/10/12, 1/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

PM Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Making Marine Parks Accountable) Bill 2012 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Mr Christensen —€“ Nats)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to: require the minister, before the Governor-General declares an area of sea or an area of land and sea as a Commonwealth reserve, to establish an independent scientific reference panel, a stakeholder advisory group and to commission an independent assessment of social and economic impacts of any proposal, including any relevant compensation costing; require the minister to publish the reports of the scientific reference panel and the stakeholder advisory group; and provide that a Commonwealth reserve declaration be subject to disallowance.

House of Representatives: Intro. 17/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 26/11/12

PM Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Mining, Petroleum and Water Resources) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Windsor —€“ Ind)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to: require corporations to seek Commonwealth approval when an extractive activity may have significant impact on the water quality, structural integrity or hydraulic balance of a water resource unless exempted to do so; require the minister to declare by disallowable legislative instrument that an exemption has been granted; and impose penalties.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/11; Removed from Notice Paper 29/5/12

SC report no. 32 (tabled 15/9/11): Bill referred to House Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry Committee; report tabled 27/2/12

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Monitoring of Whaling) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to require: an Australian Commonwealth vessel to monitor the activities of foreign whaling vessels in and around Australia—€™s Whale Sanctuary; and the minister to report on any such activities.

Senate: Intro. 9/2/12; 2nd reading adjourned 9/2/12

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): No reference

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Rhiannon —€“ AG)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to prohibit the import of live primates for research purposes.

Senate: Intro. 22/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Consideration deferred

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Prohibition of Support for Whaling) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senators Siewert and Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to create an offence of providing any service, support or resources to organisations engaged in whaling.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 23/11/10; report presented out of sitting 25/3/11 and tabled 10/5/11

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Protecting Australia—€™s Water Resources) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Waters —€“ AG)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to: provide that mining operations require Commonwealth approval if they will have, or are likely to have, significant impact on the quality, structural integrity or hydraulic balance of a water resource; and impose penalties.

Senate: Intro. 1/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 1/11/11

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; report tabled 27/2/12

PS Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Retaining Federal Approval Powers) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Waters —€“ AG)

Amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to prevent the Commonwealth from delegating the approval of proposed actions covered by bilateral agreements to a state or territory.

Senate: Intro. 27/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 27/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report due 25/2/13

PS Environment Protection (Beverage Container Deposit and Recovery Scheme) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

The bill: establishes the national Beverage Container Deposit and Recovery Scheme; enforces and imposes civil penalties on persons or body corporates for breaches of the scheme; provides for an annual report on the operation of the proposed Act; and contains a regulation making power.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; Negatived at 2nd reading 13/9/12

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 to expand the application of the Act to men and all employers and employees in the workplace by: amending the short title of the Act to Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012; reflecting the change in the name of the administering agency and its director; expanding the advice and education functions of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA); requiring certain employers to prepare public reports relating to gender equality indicators; providing for WGEA to monitor employer compliance; and making consequential amendments; and Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 to make consequential amendments. Also amends the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 to make amendments consequential on the commencement of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/3/12; Passed 18/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 9 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 19/6/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Committee amendments: 7 Opp/negatived; 2 sections opposed (Opp)/sections agreed to

Assent: 6/12/12; Act No. 179, 2012

PS Evidence Amendment (Journalists—€™ Privilege) Bill 2010 (No. 2)

(Introduced by Senator Brandis —€“ LP)

Amends the Evidence Act 1995 to extend protection to confidential communications between journalists and their sources by: presuming the communication is not subject to disclosure unless established as necessary or that public interest concerns outweigh the disclosure; and extending this privilege to all professional confidential relationships and to all prosecutions for Commonwealth offences heard in all Australian courts.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 15/11/10; report tabled 23/11/10

SBC report 14/10 (tabled and adopted 18/11/10): Committee noted reference (see above)

Excise Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Excise Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Act 2012)

Introduced with the Customs Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Bill 2011, the bill amends the Excise Act 1901 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: permit small business entities and certain other persons to defer the settlement of excise duties from a weekly to a monthly cycle; and clarify administrative arrangements for periodic settlement permissions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 7/2/12

Senate: Intro. 8/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 36, 2012

Excise Tariff Amendment (Per-tonne Carbon Price Equivalent) Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the Excise Tariff Act 1921 to provide that the per-tonne carbon price equivalent applied to liquid fuels is consistent with the compliance costs of liable entities under the carbon pricing mechanism with linking arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 200, 2012

Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Amendment Act 2012)

Amends the: Extradition Act 1988 and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 to enable Federal Magistrates to perform functions under these Acts; Extradition Act 1988, Migration Act 1958 and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 in relation to privacy and information disclosures relating to extradition and mutual assistance processes; Extradition Act 1988 to: limit the jurisdiction to review extradition decisions to the Federal Court of Australia; enable a person to waive the extradition process in certain circumstances; provide that Australia may refuse extradition when a person may be punished, or discriminated against, upon surrender on the basis of their sex or sexual orientation; limit the factors the minister is required to consider before giving a notice accepting an extradition request; enable persons to consent to being extradited for a wider range of offences; enable the minister to give a legally enforceable undertaking as to the maximum sentence that could be imposed on a person before the person is extradited to Australia; enable a person to be prosecuted in any circumstances when Australia has refused extradition; make technical amendments relating to notices; extend the availability of bail in extradition proceedings; and make technical amendments; Extradition Act 1988 and Migration Act 1958 to exempt certain conduct from the definition of —€˜political offence—€™; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 to: expand the application of the grounds of refusal to a mutual assistance request from a foreign country; provide that evidence may be taken before an Australian magistrate for live transmission by video link back to a court in a foreign country; and enable non-conviction based proceeds of crime and non-conviction based foreign restraining orders to be registered at the request of any country; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to: provide that lawfully intercepted and accessed information is only provided to foreign countries in certain circumstances; and require the minister to report annually on the provision of this information; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 and Surveillance Devices Act 2004 to enable Australia to make and receive requests relating to the use of surveillance devices; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 and Crimes Act 1914 to enable forensic material to be obtained from a person in relation to a foreign serious offence at the request of a foreign country; and Migration Act 1958, Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 and Surveillance Devices Act 2004 to make miscellaneous and technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 6/7/11; Passed 20/9/11

SC report no. 27 (tabled 7/7/11): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 12/9/11

CID amendments: 6 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 21/9/11; Passed 29/2/12

SBC report 10/11 (tabled and adopted 18/8/11): No reference

Committee amendments: 22 AG/negatived

Assent: 20/3/12; Act No. 7, 2012

Fair Entitlements Guarantee Bill 2012

The bill: replaces the administrative General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme by establishing a legislative framework for advances to be paid to former employees whose employment has ended as a result of their employer—€™s insolvency or bankruptcy and who have unpaid employee entitlements that cannot be obtained from another source; and provides for the Commonwealth to recover the advances through winding up or bankruptcy proceedings or from other payments employees receive for the entitlements from other sources.

House of Representatives: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 30/10/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 2 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 19/11/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 Opp/negatived

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 159, 2012

PM Fair Indexation of Military Superannuation Entitlements Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Katter —€“ KAP)

Provides that the minister must, within six months of this legislation taking effect, take legislative action to index the Defence Force Retirement Benefit Scheme, the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefit Scheme and the Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme using the same methodology as that used for the Australian age and service pensions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/10/12; Read a 1st time 29/10/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 70 (tabled 31/10/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

PM Fair Work Amendment (Better Work/Life Balance) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to extend the right to request flexible working arrangements to all employees.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/2/12; 2nd reading adjourned 10/9/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

Fair Work Amendment Bill 2012

Amends: the Fair Work Act 2009 to: change the name of Fair Work Australia to the Fair Work Commission (FWC); require the FWC to review default superannuation fund terms of modern awards every four years; make technical changes in relation to striking out applications to vary modern awards in certain circumstances and in relation to the parties able to apply to amend modern awards; provide that enterprise agreements cannot be made with a single employee; provide that a union official from one union cannot act as a bargaining representative where that union does not have coverage; prohibit terms which enable employees to opt out of an enterprise agreement; provide that an applicant for a scope order fully informs other bargaining representatives; clarify the form and content requirements contained in notices of employee representational rights; shorten the time limit for applying to the FWC to mediate or conciliate dismissal related disputes; clarify that workplace rights apply to persons including employees, employers and contractors; extend the time limit for lodging unfair dismissal applications with the FWC; enable the FWC to dismiss an unfair dismissal application in certain circumstances; provide for the FWC to order costs against a party and/or their representative in unfair dismissal matters; clarify that protected action ballots can be conducted by electronic voting methods; clarify the eligibility of certain employees who are union members and who are acting as bargaining representatives to be included in a protected action ballot; require protected action ballots to be conducted expeditiously; enable stay orders to be made by presidential members; require FWC members to disclose a conflict of interest to persons making submissions in a matter, as well as to the president; clarify the mechanism by which matters may be referred to a full bench when it is in the public interest to do so; allow for the appointment of the general manager and acting commissioners; establish a process for handling complaints against FWC members; provide for the development of a code of conduct for FWC members; clarify that the Act is generally a —€˜no costs—€™ jurisdiction (including in appeal proceedings); make a technical correction; and make amendments consequential on changing the name of Fair Work Australia; the Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 and Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 to provide for the establishment of an expert panel within the FWC to exercise certain functions in relation to the assessment of default superannuation funds for inclusion in modern awards and annual wage reviews; and create two statutory positions of vice president; the Fair Work Act 2009 and Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 in relation to members of the FWC and the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal engaging in outside work; and 22 other Acts to make amendments consequential on changing the name of Fair Work Australia.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 31/10/12

Senate: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 28/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 26/11/12

Committee amendments: 13 Opp/negatived; 3 AG/negatived; 2 Schedules opposed (Opp)/Schedules agreed to; 43 items opposed (Opp)/items agreed to; 1 Part opposed (Opp)/Part agreed to

Assent: 4/12/12; Act No. 174, 2012

PS Fair Work Amendment (Paid Parental Leave) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to: provide 26 weeks government-funded paid parental leave for all eligible Australian parents at the level of the federal minimum wage, or average wage, with a right to return to work; and make consequential amendments.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PS Fair Work Amendment (Small Business—€”Penalty Rates Exemption) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide that businesses in the restaurant and catering or retail industries with fewer than 20 full-time and full-time equivalent employees are only required to pay penalty rates where an employee has worked more than 10 hours in a 24-hour period, or more than 38 hours in a seven-day period.

Senate: Intro. 16/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 16/8/12

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): Bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 18/9/12; report due first sitting day in March 2013 (12/3/13)

PM Fair Work Amendment (Tackling Job Insecurity) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to: enable casual and rolling contract employees or their union representative to request an employer for a secure employment arrangement; provide that Fair Work Australia (FWA) can issue a secure employment order if an employee—€™s request is refused; enable FWA to make orders to maintain existing secure employment arrangements; enable unions and employer associations to apply directly to FWA for secure employment orders; and preserve the right of small businesses to use casual employees.

House of Representatives: Intro. 26/11/12; Read a 1st time 26/11/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee

S Fair Work Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Fair Work Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry) Bill 2011)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 in relation to the textile, clothing and footwear industry to: extend the operation of most of the provisions of the Act to contract outworkers; enable outworkers to recover unpaid amounts up the supply chain; enable an outwork code of practice to be issued; and extend specific right of entry rules to sweatshop premises.

Senate: Intro. 24/11/11; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 27/2/12

Committee amendments: 12 Govt/passed; 2 Opp/negatived

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 22/3/12

CID amendments: 2 Opp/negatived

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 33, 2012

Fair Work Amendment (Transfer of Business) Bill 2012

Amends the: Fair Work Act 2009 to: provide for the transfer of employees—€™ terms and conditions of employment from an old public sector employer to a national system employer where there is a connection between the two; and enable Fair Work Australia to make orders that modify the general effect of the transfer of business rules in these circumstances; and Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 and Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 1/11/12

Senate: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

Committee amendments: 20 Govt/passed; 2 items negatived (Govt); 2 Opp/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 27/11/12]

Assent: 4/12/12; Act No. 175, 2012

PM Fair Work (Job Security and Fairer Bargaining) Amendment Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 in relation to: the objects of the Act; permitted matters in enterprise agreements; settling disputes; industrial action related workplace determinations; notice requirements for industrial action; and the termination of protected industrial action.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/2/12

Federation Chamber: Referred 17/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 17/9/12

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to: require that the rules of all registered organisations deal with disclosure of remuneration, pecuniary and financial interests; increase civil penalties; strengthen the investigative powers of Fair Work Australia; and require education and training to be provided to officials of registered organisations about their governance and accounting obligations.

House of Representatives: Intro 31/5/12; Passed 25/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 8 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 25/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Committee amendments: 10 Opp/negatived; 1 item opposed (Opp)/item agreed to; 1 section opposed (Opp)/section agreed to

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 93, 2012

PS Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Towards Transparency) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Abetz —€“ LP)

Amends the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to: make it a civil offence for a reporting unit not to lodge a compliant full or concise report with Fair Work Australia; impose penalties on officers of registered organisations who do not act in good faith, or misuse their position or information obtained; increase pecuniary penalty orders that the Federal Court may make; and make it a criminal offence for a registered organisation, or officers of a registered organisation, to not comply with applicable orders of a state or Federal Court.

Senate: Intro. 27/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 27/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report due 12/3/13

Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2012

(Previous title: Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2011)

Part of a package of three bills to effect three private health insurance tiers, the bill amends six Acts to reduce the amount of private health insurance rebate eligible taxpayers with complying private health insurance are entitled to when their income for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold.

House of Representatives: Intro. 7/7/11; Passed 15/2/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 4 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 15/3/12

SBC report 10/11 (tabled and adopted 18/8/11): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 26, 2012

Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2011)

Part of a package of three bills to effect three private health insurance tiers, the bill amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 to increase the rate of Medicare levy surcharge for certain taxpayers who do not have complying health insurance and whose income for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold.

House of Representatives: Intro. 7/7/11; Passed 15/2/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 15/3/12

SBC report 10/11 (tabled and adopted 18/8/11): No reference

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 27, 2012

Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge—€”Fringe Benefits) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge—€”Fringe Benefits) Bill 2011)

Part of a package of three bills to effect three private health insurance tiers, the bill amends the A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge—€“—€“Fringe Benefits) Act 1999 to increase the rate of Medicare levy surcharge for taxpayers who do not have complying health insurance and whose income (including reportable fringe benefits) for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold.

House of Representatives: Intro. 7/7/11; Passed 15/2/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 15/3/12

SBC report 10/11 (tabled and adopted 18/8/11): No reference

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 28, 2012

PS Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Restoration of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Amends the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Northern Territory National Emergency Response and Other Measures) Act 2007, Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007 and Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Payment Reform) Act 2007 so that: provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 prevail over the Acts; the Acts do not authorise conduct inconsistent with the Racial Discrimination Act 1975; the Acts and any acts done under them are intended to qualify as special measures; and any acts done, decisions made or discretion exercised under the Acts must be consistent with the intended beneficial purpose of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Family Assistance and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: replace the maternity immunisation allowance by making payment of the family tax benefit (FTB) Part A supplement conditional on a child meeting the immunisation requirements; pause the indexation of baby bonus for three years from 1 July 2012 and reset the amount of baby bonus to $5000 per child from 1 September 2012; and prevent an individual from being entitled to FTB as fortnightly instalments on the basis of estimated income in certain circumstances; Social Security Act 1991 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to give certain carer allowance recipients, who care for a disabled adult, access to bereavement payments on the death of the care receiver; Social Security Act 1991 to allow access to carer supplement for those carers whose rate of payment is reduced to nil because of employment income received in the fortnight covering 1 July in any given year; and A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 and Social Security Act 1991 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/2/12; Passed 29/2/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 1/3/12; Passed 9/5/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Assent: 26/5/12; Act No. 49, 2012

Family Assistance and Other Legislation Amendment (Schoolkids Bonus Budget Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Social Security Act 1991, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to: provide for the schoolkids bonus ($410 per child in primary school and $820 per child in high school) to be paid in January and July each year from 2013; remove the Education Tax Refund (ETR) from the 2011-12 financial year; and provide for a one-off transitional lump sum ETR payment ($409 per child in primary school and $818 per child in high school) in June 2012; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/5/12; Passed 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 10/5/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 26/5/12; Act No. 50, 2012

Family Law Amendment (Validation of Certain Orders and Other Measures) Bill 2012

The bill: confers rights and liabilities on all persons who had sought or were granted orders by the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia in the de facto financial causes jurisdiction and the relevant appellate jurisdiction of the Family Court of Australia between the date the jurisdiction was conferred and when certain proclamations were made; and amends the Family Law Act 1975 to provide that regulations may be made to provide a date from which the jurisdiction of the Family Court of Australia must not be exercised in certain circumstances.

House of Representatives: Intro. 14/3/12; Passed 20/3/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 22/3/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): No reference

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 10/4/12; Act No. 32, 2012

Federal Circuit Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Consequential on the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation Amendment Bill 2012, the bill amends 83 Acts and the proposed Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2012 to reflect the renaming of the Federal Magistrates Court to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the change in titles of Chief Federal Magistrate to Chief Judge and Federal Magistrate to Judge.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Federal Magistrates Act 1999 to: rename the Federal Magistrates Court as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia; change the titles of Chief Federal Magistrate to Chief Judge and Federal Magistrate to Judge; and amend the long and short titles of the Act; and Judges (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979, Judges—€™ Pensions Act 1968, Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973 and Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 20/9/12; Passed 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 19/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 165, 2012

Federal Financial Relations Amendment (National Health Reform) Bill 2012

Introduced with the National Health Reform Amendment (Administrator and National Health Funding Body) Bill 2012, the bill amends the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 to: index and subsequently adjust the national disability specific purpose payment; replace the national healthcare specific purpose payment with national health reform payment funding; and remove the requirement to separately determine components of GST revenue for the purposes of the minister—€™s annual determination of GST revenue.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

CID amendments: 3 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 25/6/12; Act No. 61, 2012

Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2012

Amends the: Auditor-General Act 1997 to clarify that the Auditor-General may accept an appointment under the Corporations Act 2001 as an auditor of any Commonwealth controlled company; Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 to: ensure that directors of Commonwealth authorities and wholly-owned Commonwealth companies prepare Budget estimates as directed by the Finance Minister; and ensure that directors of Commonwealth authorities and wholly-owned Commonwealth companies notify the responsible minister of decisions to undertake certain significant events; Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act 2010 to make technical amendments; and Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to: enable the Finance Minister to clarify the day on which a special account determination commences; focus the operation of drawing rights on payments and remove the penalty relating to drawing rights; enable the Finance Minister, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to exercise a discretion to —€˜set-off—€™ amounts owed to the Commonwealth with amounts payable to the Commonwealth; and provide that the Finance Minister cannot delegate certain powers or functions. Also repeals the Appropriation (Development Bank) Act 1975 and Car Dealership Financing Guarantee Appropriation Act 2009.

House of Representatives: Intro. 16/2/12; Passed 1/3/12

Senate: Intro. 13/3/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 items opposed (Opp)/items agreed to

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 25, 2012

Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2012

Amends: nine Acts to provide a mechanism (a —€˜recoverable payment—€™) to provide authority for inadvertent overpayments of certain benefits and for their recovery; Taxation Administration Act 1953 to enable the Commissioner of Taxation to make a —€˜recoverable advance—€™ of an amount to which the recipient may become entitled to in future because the likely cost of not making these payments would exceed the total of the advance; seven Acts to authorise the Commonwealth to make —€˜recoverable death payments—€™ to recipients until ComSuper or the relevant secretary is notified of the recipient—€™s death; eight Acts to require that where recoverable payments, advances or death payments are made, the relevant secretary or chief executive ensures that a report is published; 11 Acts to align administrative processes for making certain payments with the relevant legislation; ComSuper Act 2011 to enable the Chief Executive Officer to delegate certain functions and powers; National Residue Survey Administration Act 1992 to clarify that an expenditure program may be approved by the minister after payments are required to be made; and Superannuation Act 1976 to clarify that the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation—€™s (CSC) ability to recover amounts of benefit paid applies only to amounts paid by CSC. Also validates certain benefits under the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 to regularise the treatment of certain benefit recipients.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

SBC report 7/12 (tabled and adopted 21/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 82, 2012

Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 3) 2012

Responds to the High Court—€™s decision in Williams v Commonwealth [2012] HCA 23 by amending the: Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) to empower the Commonwealth, where authority does not otherwise exist, to make, vary or administer arrangements under which public money is or may become payable, or to make grants of financial assistance, including payments or grants for the purposes of particular programs, where those arrangements or grants are specified in regulations; Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to clarify that decisions made under these provisions of the FMA Act are not subject to judicial review; and Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 to specify, for the purposes of these provisions of the FMA Act, arrangements, grants and programs.

House of Representatives: Intro. 26/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

CID amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Committee amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 3 AG/negatived

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 77, 2012

Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 4) 2012

Amends the: Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 to replace references to —€˜Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines—€™ with —€˜guidelines in relation to procurement—€™; Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to enable the Director of National Parks to enter into contracts with a threshold of $1 million without seeking the minister—€™s approval; Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 to establish a special appropriation for the purpose of making remissions or refunds of import levies and manufacture levies, including those related to synthetic greenhouse gas management equipment; Papua New Guinea (Staffing Assistance) Act 1973 to establish a framework for dealing with overpayments, and to address instances where payments are made from an appropriation to recipients, that are not, in practice, consistent with the requirements or preconditions imposed by the Act and risk breaching section 83 of the Constitution; and Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 to reflect gender neutral terms.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Fisheries Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2012

Amends the Fisheries Management Act 1991 and Fisheries Administration Act 1999 to: facilitate the implementation of electronic monitoring (e-monitoring) of fishing and fishing-related activities undertaken by Commonwealth fishing concession and scientific permit holders, for the purposes of data collection and compliance monitoring; and make consequential amendments; and Fisheries Management Act 1991 in relation to: fishery closures; waiver of levies payable for surrendered statutory fishing rights; and responsibility of corporations and other concession holders for unlawful conduct of their directors, employees or agents.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

Senate: Intro. 20/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 20/8/12

SBC report 9/12 (tabled and adopted 16/8/12): No reference

PS Food Safety (Trans Fats) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

The bill: prohibits the manufacture, distribution, offering for sale, selling or otherwise trading in food containing synthetic trans fatty acids; and retains the right of state and territory governments to develop their own complementary or alternative regulatory regime.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PS Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling—€”Genetically Modified Material) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind and Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Amends the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 to require Food Standards Australia New Zealand to develop and approve labelling standards to be used by food producers, manufacturers and distributors of food containing genetically modified material.

Senate: Intro. 16/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 16/11/10

SBC report 15/10 (tabled and adopted 26/11/10): Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 15/6/11; report tabled 24/8/11

PS Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling—€”Palm Oil) Bill 2011

(Previous title: Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling—€”Palm Oil) Bill 2010)

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind and Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the: Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 to require Food Standards Australia New Zealand to develop and approve labelling standards to be used by food producers, manufacturers and distributors of food containing palm oil; and Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to include the use of palm oil in the characteristics of any goods for the purposes of misleading conduct as to the nature of goods.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; Passed 23/6/11

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 9/2/11; report tabled 16/6/11

Committee amendments: 4 Ind (Xenophon)-AG/passed

House of Representatives: Intro. 4/7/11; Removed from Notice Paper 20/3/12

SC report no. 27 (tabled 7/7/11): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 19/9/11

PS Foreign Acquisitions Amendment (Agricultural Land) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind and Senator Milne —€“ AG)

Amends the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 to: implement a national interest test to be applied against proposed foreign acquisitions of agricultural land; require any interest in agricultural land greater than five hectares to be notified to the Treasurer; require online publication of information about foreign acquisitions of interest in agricultural land; and impose penalties for not notifying the Treasurer of a proposed acquisition.

Senate: Intro. 24/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 24/11/10, 22/9/11

SBC report 1/11 (tabled and adopted 10/2/11): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 16/6/11

PM Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Cubbie Station) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Katter —€“ KAP)

Amends the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975: to require the Treasurer to make an order prohibiting the acquisition or issue of any shares in Cubbie Station if this would result in the company being controlled by foreign persons; and, if Cubbie Station becomes foreign controlled, to require the Treasurer to direct the person who acquired the shares to dispose of them.

House of Representatives: Intro. 26/11/12; Read a 1st time 26/11/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Bill 2012

Amends the: Freedom of Information Act 1982 to: provide an exemption for information held by departments and agencies that relates to a confidential request to the Parliamentary Budget Office; provide that the Administrative Review Tribunal may review a decision refusing to grant access to a document claimed to be exempt; and provide that an agency is not required to give information as to the existence or non-existence of a document; and Privacy Act 1988 to make a consequential amendment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/10/12; Passed 30/10/12

SC report no. 68 (tabled 11/10/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 29/10/12

Senate: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/11/12

Assent: 4/12/12; Act No. 177, 2012

PS Government Advertising (Accountability) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to: prohibit the use of public money for advertising government policy unless it has been enacted in legislation, or both Houses of Parliament have agreed to the expenditure by resolution, or, in a national emergency, the minister has obtained the Leader of the Opposition—€™s consent to the expenditure; and provide for a penalty for any breach.

Senate: Intro. 21/6/11; 2nd reading adjourned 21/6/11

SBC report 9/11 (tabled and adopted 7/7/11): Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report tabled 21/9/11

PS Government Investment Funds Amendment (Ethical Investments) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senators Di Natale and Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the Future Fund Act 2006 and Nation-building Funds Act 2008 to require the ministers responsible for certain funds to develop, by legislative instrument, ethical investment guidelines for each fund (the Future Fund, the Building Australia Fund, the Education Investment Fund and the Health and Hospitals Fund) and direct the Future Fund Board to have regard to the guidelines when making investment policies.

Senate: Intro. 24/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 24/11/11, 13/9/12

SBC report 7/12 (tabled and adopted 21/6/12): Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report and corrigendum tabled 23/8/12

Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Bill 2012

Introduced with the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2012, the bill establishes a national framework for regulating the energy efficiency of products supplied or used within Australia by: creating a national regulator (the GEMS regulator) to oversee the Equipment Energy Efficiency Program (the E3 Program); providing for administrative, investigative and enforcement powers for the GEMS regulator; expanding the E3 Program to include products other than electrical products; setting mandatory minimum efficiency requirements for products; setting nationally-consistent labelling requirements; and requiring a review of the operation of the Act after five years.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 22/8/12

SC report no. 55 (tabled 31/5/12): Bill referred to House Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 21/8/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 10/9/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 7/12 (tabled and adopted 21/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 15/8/12

Assent: 21/9/12; Act No. 132, 2012

Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Bill 2012, the bill imposes registration fees on businesses registering regulated products as required by the Equipment Energy Efficiency Program (E3 Program).

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 22/8/12

SC report no. 55 (tabled 31/5/12): Bill referred to House Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 21/8/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 10/9/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 7/12 (tabled and adopted 21/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 15/8/12

Assent: 21/9/12; Act No. 133, 2012

Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Health Insurance Act 1973 to permit a trainee medical specialist to perform certain procedures in a private setting under the supervision of a specialist and for the service to attract a Medicare rebate for the supervising specialist; Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 to enable certain organisations to use the term —€˜medicare—€™ without breaching the Act; and Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 and Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 27/11/12

CID amendments: 3 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Health Insurance Amendment (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Bill 2012

Amends the Health Insurance Act 1973 to: enable the Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) benefit caps to apply where more than one Medicare service is performed on the same patient on the same occasion and is deemed to be —€˜one professional service—€™; and enable the Chief Executive Medicare to determine the manner in which families confirm the composition of their family for Medicare Safety Net and EMSN purposes.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

Senate: Intro. 20/8/12; Passed 22/8/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 123, 2012

Health Insurance Amendment (Professional Services Review) Bill 2012

The bill: responds to the Full Federal Court decision in Kutlu v Director of Professional Services Review (2011) 197 FCR 177 by validating certain acts; and amends the Health Insurance Act 1973 in relation to: the judgments in Daniel v Health Insurance Commission and Others (2003) 200 ALR 379 and Kelly v Daniel (2004) 134 FCR 64 by requiring the Chief Executive Medicare to request the Director of Professional Services Review to review services by a person if the services have been provided in circumstances that constitute a prescribed pattern of services; allied health practitioners; the meaning of service; the extension of time in certain circumstances for final reports and determinations; the Professional Services Review Committee or Determining Authority not continuing an investigation in certain circumstances; the date of effect for final determinations; referrals to the Medicare Participation Review Committee; referrals to appropriate regulatory bodies; disqualified practitioners; details to be included in patient referrals; and technical amendments consequent on the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/5/12; Passed 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 76, 2012

PM Health Insurance (Dental Services) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Dutton —€“ LP)

The bill: specifies actions the minister must take when a dental practitioner who has provided a dental service and claimed a Medicare benefit payment is required to repay the benefit because certain administrative processes have not been undertaken; and requires the minister to table a report in Parliament detailing the actions taken. Also amends the Health Insurance (Dental Services) Determination 2007 to allow for circumstances where a Medicare benefit can be paid where a written quotation was not provided prior to dental treatment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/3/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 31/5/12

PS Health Insurance (Dental Services) Bill 2012 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senator Bushby —€“ LP)

The bill: specifies actions the minister must take when a dental practitioner who has provided a dental service and claimed a Medicare benefit payment is required to repay the benefit because certain administrative processes have not been undertaken; and requires the minister to table a report in Parliament detailing the actions taken. Also amends the Health Insurance (Dental Services) Determination 2007 to allow for circumstances where a Medicare benefit can be paid where a written quotation was not provided prior to dental treatment.

Senate: Intro. 21/3/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 23/8/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Higher Education Support Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2012

Amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: clarify the application and operation of indexation arrangements; update the Melbourne College of Divinity—€™s name to MCD University of Divinity; enable dollar amounts to be rounded up when a partial HELP debt repayment is made; and provide that certain students undertaking courses in dentistry or veterinary science are eligible for the higher FEE-HELP limit.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/2/12; Passed 15/3/12

CID amendments: 2 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 15/3/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 items opposed (Opp)/items agreed to

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 38, 2012

Higher Education Support Amendment (Maximum Payment Amounts and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: update indexed amounts for Other Grants and Commonwealth Scholarships; add the 2016 funding year; enable the minister to determine maximum payment amounts for Other Grants and Commonwealth Scholarships by legislative instrument from 2013; and enable wider disclosure of information to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, the National VET Regulator and to the staff of state and territory agencies, higher education providers, VET providers and bodies or associations determined by the minister; and Australian Research Council Act 2001 to: apply indexation adjustments for existing schemes for the financial years starting 1 July 2012, 2013 and 2014; and set an additional funding cap for the financial year starting 1 July 2015.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 10/10/12

SC report no. 65 (tabled 13/9/12): Bill referred to House Education and Employment Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 1/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 17/11/12; Act No. 156, 2012

Higher Education Support Amendment (Streamlining and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: enable the minister to determine a category of providers and financial reporting requirements for low-risk VET FEE-HELP applicants and approved providers; enable a managed trial of VET FEE-HELP for specified certificate IV level qualifications; provide that a notice revoking a higher education or VET provider takes effect on the day the notice is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments; consolidate four separate guidelines into one guideline; move the specific date requirement for census dates to the guidelines; and enable the minister and secretary to delegate powers to Australian Public Service employees outside the department.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 21/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Order varied: Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/11/12

Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed

[House agreed to Senate amendments 26/11/12]

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 160, 2012

Higher Education Support Amendment (Student Contribution Amounts and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: increase the maximum student contribution amount for units of study in mathematics, statistics and science for all domestic students from 1 January 2013; and remove eligibility for Commonwealth supported places and the Higher Education Loan Program schemes for Australian citizens who will not be resident in Australia during their course.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 27/6/12

Senate: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 20/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 13/9/12; Act No. 127, 2012

S Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP and Other Measures) Bill 2011 [2012]

(Act citation: Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP and Other Measures) Act 2012)

Amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to: provide that the minister retains the power to decide an application for approval as a higher education provider although the required timeframe may have expired; require VET providers to notify the minister in writing of events which may affect their ability to comply with quality and accountability requirements; provide for the authorisation of certain uses and disclosures of information; allow the secretary to revoke or vary any determination made to pay an advance to a VET provider in certain circumstances; clarify that a VET provider must provide statistical and other information although an approved form of provision has not been specified; and make administrative arrangements relating to the assessment of an individual—€™s higher education loan program debt.

Senate: Intro. 24/11/11; Passed 9/2/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/2/12; Passed 27/2/12

Assent: 6/3/12; Act No. 6, 2012

ED Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012

Proposes to: consolidate the Age Discrimination Act 2004, Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986; and make further reforms to anti-discrimination law, including implementing certain recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs report Effectiveness of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 in eliminating discrimination and promoting gender equality.

Senate: Exposure draft tabled 20/11/12

Reference: Exposure draft and explanatory notes referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 21/11/12; report due 18/2/13

Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2012

(Previous title: Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011)

The bill: prohibits the importation and sale of all timber products containing illegally logged timber; prohibits the processing of illegally harvested domestically grown raw logs; requires importers of regulated timber products and processors of raw logs to comply with due diligence requirements; requires the accurate description of legally logged timber products for sale in Australia; establishes enforcement powers and offences, and imposes penalties; and provides for a review of the first five years of the operation of the Act.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 20/8/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; report tabled in House 28/6/12 and Senate 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)

CID amendments: 9 Govt/passed; 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 22/8/12; Passed 19/11/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 8/2/12; report tabled 27/2/12

Committee amendments: 24 AG/negatived

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 166, 2012

Income Tax (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Amendment Bill 2012

Part of a package of two bills in relation to the managed investment trust (MIT) withholding tax, the bill amends the Income Tax (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Act 2008 to increase the MIT final withholding tax from 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent on fund payments made in the income years commencing on or after 1 July 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 26/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

Senate: Intro. 28/6/12; Passed 28/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 96, 2012

Income Tax Rates Amendment (Unlawful Payments from Regulated Superannuation Funds) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Reducing Illegal Early Release and Other Measures) Bill 2012, the bill amends the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 to impose a 45 per cent tax on superannuation benefits that are illegally released.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Income Tax (Seasonal Labour Mobility Program Withholding Tax) Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills in relation to the Seasonal Labour Mobility Program and other taxation matters, the bill imposes a 15 per cent withholding tax on income derived by non-resident workers participating in the program from 1 July 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 31/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 24/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 59, 2012

Indirect Tax Laws Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2012

Amends the: Taxation Administration Act 1953, proposed Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2012 and eight other Acts to align the self actuating system for the goods and services tax, the luxury car tax, the wine equalisation tax and fuel tax credits with the self assessment system for income tax; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and Fuel Tax Act 2006 to allow the Commissioner of Taxation to make a determination allowing a taxpayer to account for errors in relation to net amounts or net fuel amounts for prior tax and fuel tax return periods, providing the error is corrected during the relevant period of review; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 and A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999 to clarify the definition of —€˜net amount—€™; and A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Fuel Tax Act 2006, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 13/3/12

Senate: Intro. 14/3/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 3/12 (tabled and adopted 15/3/12): No reference

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 39, 2012

Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 to: increase the tier structure for annual registration charges from three to four; decrease the threshold above which registration charges will be paid from $500 000 to $100 000; introduce an application fee for businesses seeking authorisation to import or export industrial chemicals under the prior informed consent procedure; remove a redundant fee for certain applications relating to the listing of chemicals on the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances; and make technical amendments; and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 18/9/12

Senate: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 6/11/12; Act No. 147, 2012

S Inspector-General of Biosecurity Bill 2012

Introduced with the Biosecurity Bill 2012, the bill establishes the Inspector-General of Biosecurity as a statutory body to review and report on: the performance of functions and the exercise of powers by the Director of Biosecurity, biosecurity officers and biosecurity enforcement officers; and the process for conducting biosecurity import risk analyses.

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; report due 27/2/13

Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2012

(Previous title: Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2011)

Amends the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 to enable regulations to be made to: establish a standard definition of flood for riverine flooding in home building and home contents insurance contracts and contracts held by small businesses and strata titles; and require insurance providers to provide consumers with a key facts sheet for home building and home contents insurance contracts.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 19/3/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 16/2/12

CID amendments: 6 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 20/3/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 41, 2012

S Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011 [2012]

(Act citation: Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012)

Amends the: Patents Act 1990 in relation to: the thresholds set for the grant of a patent; and exempting patent infringement of research and experimental activities; Patents Act 1990 and Trade Marks Act 1995 to: reduce delays in finalising patent and trade mark applications; enable trade marks and patent attorneys to practise through a corporate structure; and extend to trade marks and patent attorneys the same —€˜advice—€™ privilege available to legal professionals; Copyright Act 1968 and Trade Marks Act 1995 in relation to the enforcement regime for counterfeit trade mark and copyright goods; and Designs Act 2003, Patents Act 1990, Plant Breeder—€™s Rights Act 1994 and Trade Marks Act 1995 to provide that the intellectual property rights system can adapt to the electronic and global business environments.

Senate: Intro. 22/6/11; Passed 27/2/12

SBC report 10/11 (tabled and adopted 18/8/11): No reference

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/2/12; Passed 20/3/12

Assent: 15/4/12; Act No. 35, 2012

PS Interactive Gambling and Broadcasting Amendment (Online Transactions and Other Measures) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Prohibits corporations from offering certain gambling services and amends the: Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to: provide that customers may request a financial transaction provider to suspend or cancel an interactive gambling payment; and prohibit inducements to gamble; Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to require the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce certain conditions in relation to the advertising of betting venues, online gambling sites and betting odds by commercial broadcasters; and Criminal Code Act 1995 to create an offence and impose a penalty for match-fixing.

Senate: Intro. 20/6/11; 2nd reading adjourned 20/6/11

SBC report 9/11 (tabled and adopted 7/7/11): Committee noted reference (see below)

House of Representatives:

Reference (see item 31, Votes and Proceedings 29/9/10): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 20/6/11; report presented to Senate out of sitting 8/12/11 and tabled 7/2/12; report tabled in House 13/2/12

International Fund for Agricultural Development Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the International Fund for Agricultural Development Act 1977 to allow Australia to accede to the Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development under Australian law.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 13/9/12

SC report no. 65 (tabled 13/9/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; report tabled in House 26/11/12 and Senate 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

International Monetary Agreements Amendment (Loans) Bill 2012

Amends the International Monetary Agreements Act 1947 to: reduce Australia—€™s current credit arrangement commitments under the International Monetary Fund—€™s (IMF) New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB); increase to 10 years the maximum maturity of the IMF—€™s drawings under the NAB; and renew the NAB for a period of five years, commencing 17 November 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/8/12; Passed 22/8/12

Senate: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): No reference

Assent: 25/9/12; Act No. 139, 2012

International Tax Agreements Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to: give legislative effect to bilateral taxation agreements with India, the Marshall Islands and Mauritius; and update certain references to existing taxation agreements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Judges and Governors-General Legislation Amendment (Family Law) Bill 2012

Amends the Judges—€™ Pensions Act 1968 and Governor-General Act 1974 to enable a former spouse of a judge or of a governor-general to receive his or her share of a superannuation benefit as a separate benefit at the time of a family law split.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/3/12; Passed 21/3/12

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 20/9/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Assent: 11/10/12; Act No. 143, 2012

Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Courts Legislation Amendment (Judicial Complaints) Bill 2012, the bill enables parliamentary commissions to be established following a resolution by each House of the Parliament to investigate specified allegations of misbehaviour or incapacity of a specified Commonwealth judicial officer (including a Justice of the High Court of Australia).

House of Representatives: Intro. 14/3/12; Passed 10/9/12

SC report no. 48 (tabled 15/3/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

CID amendments: 14 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 18/6/12; interim report presented out of sitting 13/7/12 and tabled 14/8/12; final report presented out of sitting 2/8/12 and tabled 14/8/12

Assent: 11/12/12; Act No. 188, 2012

PS Keeping Jobs from Going Offshore (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2009
R [2010]

(Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

The bill requires: Australian organisations to meet certain requirements before transferring personal information about an individual to an organisation in a foreign country; and foreign call centres to identify the city and country in which they are located when contacting customers.

Senate: Intro. 26/10/09; 2nd reading adjourned 26/10/09

SBC report 7/10 (tabled and adopted 13/5/10): Bill referred to Senate Environment, Communications and the Arts Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 6/8/10 and tabled 28/9/10

Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 30/9/10

PS Landholders—€™ Right to Refuse (Coal Seam Gas) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Waters —€“ AG)

The bill: provides that Australian landholders have the right to refuse the undertaking of coal seam gas mining activities by corporations on food producing land without prior written permission; sets out the requirements of a prior written notice; and provides for relief which a court may grant a land owner when prior written permission is not provided.

Senate: Intro. 24/8/11; 2nd reading adjourned 24/8/11, 22/9/11, 22/3/12

SBC report 13/11 (tabled and adopted 22/9/11): No reference

Law Enforcement Integrity Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends: the Crimes Act 1914 to introduce targeted integrity testing for staff of the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs and Border Protection); the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 to extend the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity to all staff of the Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Centre and the CrimTrac Agency and prescribed staff of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the Customs Administration Act 1985 to enable the Chief Executive Officer of Customs and Border Protection to make orders and certain declarations and to authorise drug and alcohol testing; and Australian Crime Commission Act 2002, Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 29/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled in Senate 20/11/12 and House 26/11/12

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 194, 2012

Legislative Instruments Amendment (Sunsetting Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Legislative Instruments Act 2003 to: repeal spent and redundant instruments (including automatic repeal of certain instruments and bulk repeal of instruments by regulation); provide certainty about what instruments sunset and when they sunset, and provide staged sunsetting dates for instruments that were registered in bulk when the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments commenced in 2005; enable the Attorney-General to align sunsetting dates of related legislative instruments to enable thematic reviews to be conducted; and clarify the requirements for explanatory statements; and Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 to make a consequential amendment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 26/6/12

Senate: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 22/9/12; Act No. 135, 2012

PS Live Animal Export Restriction and Prohibition Bill 2011 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the: Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 to: prohibit the export of live-stock for slaughter on or after 1 July 2014; and provide that export licence holders ensure all live-stock are treated satisfactorily prior to slaughter; and Export Control Act 1982 to: prohibit the export of live-stock for slaughter unless the secretary is satisfied that the live-stock will be treated satisfactorily prior to slaughter; and prohibit the export of live-stock for slaughter on or after 1 July 2014.

Senate: Intro. 20/6/11; 2nd reading adjourned 20/6/11

SBC report 8/11 (tabled and adopted 23/6/11): Bill referred to Senate Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee; extension of time to report 16/8/11; variation of reporting date 18/8/11; extensions of time to report 20/9/11, 12/10/11, 9/11/11; report tabled 23/11/11

PS Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2011 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Amends the Export Control Act 1982 to prohibit the export of live-stock for slaughter.

Senate: Intro. 15/6/11; Discharged from Notice Paper 10/5/12

SBC report 8/11 (tabled and adopted 23/6/11): Bill referred to Senate Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee; extension of time to report 16/8/11; variation of reporting date 18/8/11; extensions of time to report 20/9/11, 12/10/11, 9/11/11; report tabled 23/11/11

PS Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Rhiannon —€“ AG)

Amends the Export Control Act 1982 to prohibit the export of live-stock for slaughter.

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/3/12, 11/10/12

PM Livestock Export (Animal Welfare Conditions) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Amends the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 to: provide that live-stock exported for slaughter are transported and slaughtered humanely; make the secretary responsible to ensure that live-stock exported for slaughter under a live-stock export licence are treated humanely and if not, cease their export; and penalise the holder of a live-stock export licence if they fail to inform the secretary of inhumane treatment of live-stock.

House of Representatives: Intro. 31/10/11; Removed from Notice Paper 26/6/12

PM Livestock Export (Animal Welfare Conditions) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Amends the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 to: provide that live-stock exported for slaughter are transported and slaughtered humanely; make the secretary responsible to ensure that live-stock exported for slaughter under a live-stock export licence are treated humanely and if not, cease their export; and penalise the holder of a live-stock export licence if they fail to inform the secretary of inhumane treatment of live-stock.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/9/12; Read a 1st time 10/9/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

PS Low Aromatic Fuel Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Mitigates the negative impacts of petrol sniffing in areas designated as low aromatic fuel areas and fuel control areas by: prohibiting the supply of regular unleaded petrol; promoting and monitoring the supply of low aromatic fuel; and controlling the supply and storage of other fuels.

Senate: Intro. 1/3/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; interim report presented out of sitting 21/9/12 and tabled 9/10/12; final report presented out of sitting 26/9/12 and tabled 9/10/12

Committee amendments: 25 Govt/passed; 2 AG/passed; 5 AG/withdrawn

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; Read a 1st time 28/11/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

Malabar Headland Protection Bill 2012

Provides for the protection of environmental, heritage and cultural features contained in the Malabar Headland, New South Wales, following divestment to New South Wales.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/5/12; 2nd reading adjourned 9/5/12

Senate:

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Bill 2012

Introduced with the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012, the bill provides for national regulation of the domestic commercial vessel industry in Australia by: establishing the National Marine Safety Regulator; and establishing a National Law for domestic commercial vessel safety.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 121, 2012

Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Bill 2012, the bill amends the: Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 to increase the membership of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority board to include one member who has knowledge of, or experience relevant to, the construction or operation of domestic commercial vessels; and proposed Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 to amend the general safety obligations in the National Law and align them with those contained in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 122, 2012

Maritime Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 to implement amendments to the Annexes to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships by: imposing restrictions on the discharge of sewage from passenger ships in special areas; revising requirements relating to the disposal by ships of garbage at sea; making the Energy Efficiency Design and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan mandatory for certain ships of 400 gross tonnage that are engaged in international trade; and clarifying the application of federal jurisdiction in certain parts of the territorial sea. Also repeals the Stevedoring Levy (Imposition) Act 1998 and Stevedoring Levy (Collection) Act 1998.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

Senate: Intro. 16/8/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 25/9/12; Act No. 140, 2012

Maritime Powers Bill 2012

Introduced with the Maritime Powers (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012 to establish a framework for the exercise of maritime enforcement powers, the bill: establishes a system of authorisations under which a maritime officer may exercise enforcement powers in relation to vessels, installations, aircraft, protected land areas and isolated persons on certain grounds; provides for the enforcement powers available to maritime officers including boarding, obtaining information, searching, detaining, seizing and retaining things, and moving and detaining persons; provides for processes for dealing with things seized, retained or detained and persons held; and creates offences for failure to comply.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 20/8/12

SC report no. 55 (tabled 31/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 28/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 20/8/12

SBC report 7/12 (tabled and adopted 21/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/8/12; report tabled 12/9/12

Maritime Powers (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Maritime Powers Bill 2012 to establish a framework for the exercise of maritime enforcement powers, the bill amends five Acts to remove maritime enforcement powers which have been replaced by the proposed Maritime Powers Act 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/5/12; Passed 20/8/12

SC report no. 55 (tabled 31/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 28/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 20/8/12

SBC report 7/12 (tabled and adopted 21/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/8/12; report tabled 12/9/12

PM Marriage Amendment Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Stephen Jones —€“ ALP)

Amends the Marriage Act 1961 to: enable same-sex marriages to be recognised; and place no obligation on a minister of religion to solemnise a same-sex marriage.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/2/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 19/9/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

PS Marriage Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2012

(Introduced by Senators Crossin, Carol Brown, Pratt and Marshall —€“ ALP)

Amends the Marriage Act 1961 to: enable same-sex marriages to be recognised; and place no obligation on a minister of religion to solemnise a same-sex marriage.

Senate: Intro. 10/9/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 20/9/12

SBC report 11/12 (tabled and adopted 13/9/12): No reference

PS Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Marriage Act 1961 to: remove discriminatory references based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and allow marriage regardless of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10, 23/8/12

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): No reference

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 8/2/12; extension of time to report 28/2/12; interim report presented out of sitting 31/5/12 and tabled 18/6/12; extension of time for final report 18/6/12; final report tabled 25/6/12

PM Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG and Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Amends the Marriage Act 1961 to: remove discriminatory references based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and allow marriage regardless of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/2/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

Federation Chamber: Referred 18/6/12; 2nd reading adjourned 18/6/12

Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002 to: close the Life Gold Pass (LGP) scheme prospectively so that certain members who enter, or re-enter the Parliament, will not be able to accrue an entitlement to a LGP; and reduce the travel entitlements for certain LGP holders and their spouses or de facto partners; and Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948 and Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 to give the Remuneration Tribunal the power to determine portions of additional parliamentary officeholder salary and additional salary in relation to a minister of state that may be excluded from the calculation of superannuation benefits payable to certain ministers of state and parliamentary office holders.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/2/12; Passed 9/2/12

Senate: Intro. 9/2/12; Passed 27/2/12

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report tabled 27/2/12

Committee amendments: 2 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Assent: 6/3/12; Act No. 4, 2012

PS Migration Amendment (Declared Countries) Bill (No. 2) 2011

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the: Migration Act 1958 to provide that a ministerial declaration specifying that a country provides certain procedures and protections for offshore entry persons is a legislative instrument; and Legislative Instruments Act 2003 to provide that the ministerial declaration is subject to disallowance by either House of the Parliament.

Senate: Intro. 5/7/11; 2nd reading adjourned 5/7/11

SBC report 13/11 (tabled and adopted 22/9/11): No reference

PS Migration Amendment (Detention of Minors) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to provide that the minister must, within 12 days: determine that a detained minor reside within the community; and appoint a person to act as guardian to the minor.

Senate: Intro. 28/10/10; 2nd reading adjourned 28/10/10

SBC report 5/11 (tabled and adopted 12/5/11): No reference

PS Migration Amendment (Detention Reform and Procedural Fairness) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the: Migration Act 1958 to: establish asylum seeker principles; facilitate judicial review of detention decisions; repeal excised offshore places and indefinite detention provisions; and restore asylum seekers rights to fair process and procedural fairness; and Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to repeal the privative clause decision within the Migration Act 1958.

Senate: Intro. 18/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 18/11/10

SBC report 3/11 (tabled and adopted 24/3/11): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 18/8/11

PS Migration Amendment (Health Care for Asylum Seekers) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senators Hanson-Young and Di Natale —€“ AG)

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: require the minister to establish a health advisory panel to monitor, assess and report on the health of offshore entry persons who are taken to regional processing countries; establish the qualifications of members appointed to the panel; outline how the panel will carry out its functions; require the panel to report every six months on the health of offshore entry persons to the Parliament; and provide the panel with specific powers to obtain certain information.

Senate: Intro. 11/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 11/9/12

SBC report 11/12 (tabled and adopted 13/9/12): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report presented out of sitting 7/12/12

Migration Amendment (Reform of Employer Sanctions) Bill 2012

In response to recommendations of the Report of the 2010 Review of the Migration Amendment (Employer Sanctions) Act 2007 in relation to the employer sanctions framework, the bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to: amend the criminal offences, and create new non-fault civil penalty provisions, for persons who allow an unlawful non-citizen to work, refer an unlawful person to a third person for work, allow a lawful non-citizen to work in breach of a work-related visa condition or refer a lawful non-citizen to a third person for work in breach of a work-related visa condition; extend liability for contravention to a wider range of persons and entities; enable an infringement notice to be issued as an alternative to commencing civil penalty proceedings; extend the geographical jurisdiction in relation to work-related civil penalty provisions; and introduce investigation powers to allow authorised officers to gather evidence of suspected breaches.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 27/11/12

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

PS Migration Amendment (Removal of Mandatory Minimum Penalties) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to remove the mandatory minimum sentence provision from three people smuggling offences.

Senate: Intro. 8/2/12; 2nd reading adjourned 8/2/12

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 28/2/12; report presented out of sitting 4/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

PS Migration Amendment (Special Protection Scheme for Afghan Coalition Employees) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: create a class of special protection visas for non-citizens who are refugees under Article 1A of the Refugees Convention and who are subject to persecution in their home country because they worked assisting either the International Security Assistance Force, the Australian Embassy or a subcontractor for a Commonwealth defence agency in Afghanistan for at least 12 months; and extend eligibility to family members of a holder of a special protection visa.

Senate: Intro. 20/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 20/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Migration Amendment (Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: implement a recommendation of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers to provide that asylum seekers who unlawfully arrive anywhere in Australia are subject to the same regional processing arrangements as asylum seekers who arrive at an excised offshore place; ensure that a person does not cease to be a transitory person if they have been assessed to be a refugee; provide for discretionary immigration detention of Papua New Guinea citizens who are unlawful non-citizens and are in a protected area; and provide for an annual report on the Bali Process and aspects of the Regional Cooperation Framework.

House of Representatives: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 27/11/12

CID amendment: 1 Ind (Oakeshott)/passed

Senate:

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report due 25/2/13

PS Migration and Security Legislation Amendment (Review of Security Assessments) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the: Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 to: enable non-citizens eligible for a protection visa to seek a merits review of their security assessment in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT); and create the position of Special Advocate to provide support for these reviews; Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 to require the Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to review adverse or qualified security assessments of protection visa persons every six months or on referral from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship; and Migration Act 1958 to require the minister to review a decision to refuse or cancel a protection visa when an adverse security assessment is revoked by an ASIO review or an AAT merits review.

Senate: Intro. 10/10/12; 2nd reading adjourned 10/10/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report due 12/3/13

Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing and Other Measures) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing and Other Measures) Bill 2011)

Responds to the High Court—€™s decision in Plaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2011] HCA 32 by amending the: Migration Act 1958 to: replace the existing framework for taking offshore entry persons to another country for assessment of their claims to be refugees with regional processing of claims of offshore entry persons; and provide that the designation of a regional processing country be made by legislative instrument disallowable by either House of Parliament; and Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 in relation to the making and implementation of any decision to remove, deport or take a non-citizen child from Australia.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/9/11; Passed 15/8/12

2nd reading amendments: 1 AG/negatived; 1 Opp to AG/negatived

CID amendments: 39 Govt/passed; 1 AG/negatived

Senate: Intro. 15/8/12; Passed 16/8/12

SBC report 13/11 (tabled and adopted 22/9/11): No reference

2nd reading amendments: 1 Opp —€“ Question divided: paragraph (a)/passed; paragraph (b)/negatived; 1 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Committee amendments: 5 AG/negatived

Assent: 17/8/12; Act No. 113, 2012

Migration Legislation Amendment (Student Visas) Bill 2012

Amends the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and Migration Act 1958 to abolish the automatic cancellation of student visas for unsatisfactory course attendance or academic progress, enabling each case to be considered on its merits.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 10/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 1/11/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 18/6/12; report tabled 19/6/12

Committee amendments: 3 items negatived (Govt)

[House agreed to Senate amendment 26/11/12]

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 192, 2012

PM Migration Legislation Amendment (The Bali Process) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Oakeshott —€“ Ind)

Responds to the High Court—€™s decision in Plaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2011] HCA 32 by amending the: Migration Act 1958 to replace the existing framework for taking offshore entry persons to another country for assessment of their claims to be refugees; and Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 in relation to the making and implementation of any decision to remove, deport or take a non-citizen child from Australia. The amendments made by this proposed Act have effect only for a period of 12 months.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/2/12; Passed 27/6/12

CID amendments: 1 Ind (Wilkie)/passed; 3 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 28/6/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 28/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Migration (Visa Evidence) Charge Bill 2012

Introduced with the Migration (Visa Evidence) Charge (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012, the bill: imposes a charge in relation to requests for prescribed evidence of a visa; establishes a charge limit of $250 for a visa evidence request made in the 2012-13 financial year; and provides for indexation of the charge limit in later financial years.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/5/12; Passed 21/6/12

SC report no. 51 (tabled 10/5/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Migration; report tabled in House 18/6/12 and Senate 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 22/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 124, 2012

Migration (Visa Evidence) Charge (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Migration (Visa Evidence) Charge Bill 2012, the bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to: enable a non-citizen visa holder, or certain other persons on behalf of the visa holder, to request to be given a prescribed form of evidence of a visa and require that person to pay the visa evidence charge; provide that the amount of charge be prescribed in the regulations and must not exceed the charge limit; insert a regulation making power in relation to various matters relating to the charge; require an officer to give a person evidence of a visa within a reasonable time after they have made a request and paid the charge; and allow the minister to direct that a specified document is not to be taken to be a passport or travel document for the purposes of the regulations.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/5/12; Passed 21/6/12

SC report no. 51 (tabled 10/5/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Migration; report tabled in House 18/6/12 and Senate 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 22/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 12/9/12; Act No. 125, 2012

Military Court of Australia Bill 2012

Introduced with the Military Court of Australia (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012, the bill establishes the Military Court of Australia and provides for the court—€™s management, jurisdiction, administration within the infrastructure of the Federal Court of Australia, and practice and procedure.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/6/12; 2nd reading adjourned 21/6/12

Senate:

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/8/12

Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 14/8/12; report tabled 9/10/12

Military Court of Australia (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Military Court of Australia Bill 2012, the bill amends: the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 to: retain courts martial and Defence Force magistrates; provide for a right of election for trial; clarify the status and character of service offences; remove references to old system offences; and maintain cooperation where military discipline and criminal law jurisdictions overlap; and 22 other Acts to make consequential amendments. Also abolishes the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Tribunal by repealing the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Act 1955.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/6/12; 2nd reading adjourned 21/6/12

Senate:

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/8/12

Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 14/8/12; report tabled 9/10/12

PS Minerals Resource Rent Tax Amendment (Protecting Revenue) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Milne —€“ AG)

Amends the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Act 2012 to provide that any increases in state royalties after 1 July 2011 be disregarded when calculating royalty credits for the minerals resource rent tax.

Senate: Intro. 12/9/12; 2nd reading adjourned 12/9/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 20/11/12; report due 21/3/13

Minerals Resource Rent Tax Bill 2011

(Act citation: Minerals Resource Rent Tax Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill establishes the framework for calculating a miner—€™s minerals resources rent tax liability on mining profits made from extracting taxable resources (mainly coal and iron ore) for a mining project interest for a year.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

2nd reading amendment: 1 KAP/negatived

CID amendments: 5 Ind (Wilkie)/passed; 6 Nats WA/negatived

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

2nd reading amendments: 1 Ind (Xenophon)/passed; 1 Opp/negatived; 1 AG/negatived

Committee amendments: 2 AG/negatived; 1 AG/ruled out of order

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 13, 2012

Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill amends: the Taxation Administration Act 1953, Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 in relation to: requirements for an annual minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) return and starting base return; an assessment regime for the MRRT; collection and recovery; instalment payments of MRRT on a quarterly basis; record keeping rules; the transfer of MRRT information from one entity to another; powers to access documents and premises; the service of documents; choices available to taxpayers in determining their tax liabilities; public rulings; and an annual reporting requirement; and five Acts and the proposed Minerals Resource Rent Tax Act 2012 to make consequential amendments. Also makes application and transitional arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 14, 2012

Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Customs) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Customs) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill imposes minerals resource rent tax from 1 July 2012 at a rate of 30 per cent, reduced by a 25 per cent extraction allowance which recognises the expertise and capital that mining companies bring to mineral extraction, to the extent that it is a duty of customs.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

CID amendments: 5 Nats WA/negatived

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 15, 2012

Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Excise) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Excise) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill imposes minerals resource rent tax from 1 July 2012 at a rate of 30 per cent, reduced by a 25 per cent extraction allowance which recognises the expertise and capital that mining companies bring to mineral extraction, to the extent that it is a duty of excise.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

CID amendments: 5 Nats WA/negatived

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 16, 2012

Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”General) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Minerals Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”General) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill imposes minerals resource rent tax from 1 July 2012 at a rate of 30 per cent, reduced by a 25 per cent extraction allowance which recognises the expertise and capital that mining companies bring to mineral extraction, to the extent that it is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

CID amendments: 5 Nats WA/negatived

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 17, 2012

National Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Bill 2010

(Act citation: National Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Act 2012)

Amends the: Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 and Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 to establish a merit-based appointment process for ABC and SBS non-executive directors for their respective boards; and Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 to re-establish the position of staff-elected director to the ABC Board.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/9/10; Passed 23/11/10

SC report no. 3 (tabled 21/10/10): No reference

Senate: Intro. 24/11/10; Passed 20/6/12

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 16/11/10; report tabled 17/11/10

Committee amendments: 2 Opp/passed; 5 AG/passed; 5 Opp/negatived; 2 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived; 1 Schedule opposed (Opp)/Schedule agreed to; 6 items opposed (Opp)/items agreed to

[House agreed to Senate amendments 26/6/12]

Assent: 24/7/12; Act No. 112, 2012

National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012

Establishes a framework for the National Disability Insurance Scheme by: setting out the objects and principles of the scheme, including people with disability being given choice and control over the care and support they receive, and giving effect to certain obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; providing for the establishment and functions of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Launch Transition Agency, including implementing the scheme from July 2013; and providing for a review of the operation of the Act after a two-year period.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report due 13/3/13

PM National Electricity Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Oakeshott —€“ Ind)

Makes the national electricity law a Commonwealth law by: incorporating the Australian Energy Market Act 2004, Australian Energy Market Commission Establishment Act 2004 (SA) and parts of the National Electricity (South Australia) Act 1996 (SA) (the existing national electricity law); making the national electricity rules a disallowable instrument; establishing the Australian Energy Market Commission as a Commonwealth statutory authority; establishing a Consumer Advocacy Panel; and retaining the judicial review of decisions made by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/10/12; Read a 1st time 29/10/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 72 (tabled 1/11/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee

National Gambling Reform Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills in relation to a national scheme for gaming machines, the bill: provides for precommitment systems for gaming machines; enables registered users to set a loss limit; requires gaming machines to display certain warnings; limits daily withdrawals from automatic teller machines located in gaming premises (excluding casinos) to $250; requires that new machines manufactured or imported are capable of supporting precommitment; establishes a regulator to monitor and investigate compliance; provides for enforcement measures; establishes an Australian Gambling Research Centre within the Australian Institute of Family Studies; and provides for the Productivity Commission to undertake two inquiries.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

Reference (see item 31, Votes and Proceedings 29/9/10): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 1/11/12; report presented to Senate out of sitting 23/11/12; report tabled in House and Senate 26/11/12

CID amendments: 20 Govt/passed; 13 Ind (Windsor)/passed

Senate: Intro. 29/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 15/12 (tabled 20/11/12; motion to adopt report amended and agreed to 20/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 28/11/12

Committee amendments: 7 AG/negatived; 88 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived; 1 Division opposed (Ind (Xenophon))/Division agreed to

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 193, 2012

National Gambling Reform (Related Matters) Bill (No. 1) 2012

Part of a package of three bills in relation to a national scheme for gaming machines, the bill imposes a supervisory levy on licensees of gaming machines.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

Reference (see item 31, Votes and Proceedings 29/9/10): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 1/11/12; report presented to Senate out of sitting 23/11/12; report tabled in House and Senate 26/11/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 29/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 15/12 (tabled 20/11/12; motion to adopt report amended and agreed to 20/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 28/11/12

Assent: 11/12/12; Act No. 189, 2012

National Gambling Reform (Related Matters) Bill (No. 2) 2012

Part of a package of three bills in relation to a national scheme for gaming machines, the bill imposes a gaming machine regulation levy payable by anyone entitled to any gaming machine revenue from gaming machines which do not meet precommitment systems and warning requirements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

Reference (see item 31, Votes and Proceedings 29/9/10): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 1/11/12; report presented to Senate out of sitting 23/11/12; report tabled in House and Senate 26/11/12

Senate: Intro. 29/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 15/12 (tabled 20/11/12; motion to adopt report amended and agreed to 20/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 28/11/12

Assent: 11/12/12; Act No. 190, 2012

National Health Amendment (Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement Initiatives) Bill 2012

(Previous title: National Health Amendment (Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement Initiatives) Bill 2011)

Amends the National Health Act 1953 to enable: pharmacists to use a standardised medication chart when supplying and claiming medicines for persons in residential care services; pharmacists to supply a pharmaceutical benefit to a patient who is unable to present a valid prescription; and the minister to make determinations about the conditions that apply to the provision of maximum quantities or repeats of certain medicines.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 16/2/12

CID amendment: 1 Opp/passed

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 1/3/12

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): No reference

Assent: 20/3/12; Act No. 8, 2012

National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Bill 2012

Amends the National Health Act 1953 to: provide for prices for medicines supplied under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to be expressed uniformly across different programs based on one ex-manufacturer price for all brands of a pharmaceutical item; provide for this uniform price to be used to set prices for different quantities of a pharmaceutical item and to calculate price changes, patient charges and price disclosure reductions; and make technical amendments in relation to listing PBS medicines for supply only through PBS prescriber bags.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 31/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 20/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 87, 2012

National Health Reform Amendment (Administrator and National Health Funding Body) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Federal Financial Relations Amendment (National Health Reform) Bill 2012, the bill amends the National Health Reform Act 2011 to: establish the statutory office of Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool and sets out the appointment, functions, powers and obligations of the administrator; and establish the National Health Funding Body as a statutory body to support the functions of the administrator and provide for: the terms and conditions of employment; functions and powers of the chief executive officer; staff and consultants; an annual reporting requirement; and protection of patient confidentiality.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

CID amendments: 21 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Assent: 25/6/12; Act No. 62, 2012

National Health Security Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the National Health Security Act 2007 in relation to the security sensitive biological agent (SSBA) scheme to: provide different reporting, compliance and condition arrangements for organisations which temporarily handle an SSBA; require entities undertaking emergency maintenance of registered facilities to report their arrangements to the department; enable the secretary to impose conditions on entities determined to be non-compliant with the SSBA standards until such time as compliance is achieved; require registered entities which undertake initial testing of suspected SSBAs to report all results of confirmatory testing; clarify that an entity listed as an exempt entity is not subject to the reporting and handling requirements for a suspected SSBA; and make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Assent: 10/12/12; Act No. 182, 2012

PS National Integrity Commissioner Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Establishes a National Integrity Commission as an independent statutory agency which will consist of the National Integrity Commissioner, the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner and the Independent Parliamentary Advisor and provide for: the investigation and prevention of misconduct and corruption in all Commonwealth departments, agencies, and federal parliamentarians and their staff; the investigation and prevention of corruption in the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission; and independent advice to ministers and parliamentarians on conduct, ethics and matters of proprietary. Also provides for the establishment of a Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Integrity Commission.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PM National Integrity Commissioner Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Establishes a National Integrity Commission as an independent statutory agency which will consist of the National Integrity Commissioner, the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner and the Independent Parliamentary Advisor and provide for: the investigation and prevention of misconduct and corruption in all Commonwealth departments, agencies, and federal parliamentarians and their staff; the investigation and prevention of corruption in the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission; and independent advice to ministers and parliamentarians on conduct, ethics and matters of proprietary. Also provides for the establishment of a Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Integrity Commission.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/5/12; Read a 1st time 28/5/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 55 (tabled 31/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 10/9/12

National Portrait Gallery of Australia Bill 2012

Introduced with the National Portrait Gallery of Australia (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2012, the bill establishes the National Portrait Gallery of Australia as a statutory authority and provides for its functions, powers, the board, staffing and consultants, reporting and planning, finance and other matters.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 11/9/12

Senate: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SBC report 11/12 (tabled and adopted 13/9/12): No reference

Assent: 6/11/12; Act No. 148, 2012

National Portrait Gallery of Australia (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2012

Introduced with the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Bill 2012, the bill: amends the Archives Act 1983 to make consequential amendments as a result of establishing the National Portrait Gallery as a statutory authority holding a national collection of artworks; and makes transitional arrangements, including the: transfer of assets and liabilities; transfer of staff from the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport; and closing of the National Portrait Gallery Special Account.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 11/9/12

Senate: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SBC report 11/12 (tabled and adopted 13/9/12): No reference

Assent: 6/11/12; Act No. 149, 2012

National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010

(Act citation: National Radioactive Waste Management Act 2012)

The bill: allows a Northern Territory Land Council and other parties in a state or territory to volunteer their land for consideration as the location for a national facility for the management of radioactive waste arising from medical, industrial and research uses of radioactive material; repeals the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005; and makes a consequential amendment to the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/10/10; Passed 22/2/11

SC report no. 3 (tabled 21/10/10): Bill referred to House Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; report presented out of sitting 22/12/10 and tabled 21/2/11

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Senate: Intro. 28/2/11; Passed 13/3/12

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): No reference

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Committee amendments: 3 Govt/passed; 1 Opp/passed; 2 AG/passed; 24 AG/negatived; 7 subclauses opposed (AG)/subclauses agreed to

[House agreed to Senate amendments 14/3/12]

Assent: 4/4/12; Act No. 29, 2012

National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Charges) Bill 2012

Enables the National VET Regulator (NVR) (known as the Australian Skills Quality Authority) to impose charges on NVR registered training organisations for conducting compliance audits and investigating complaints about NVR registered training organisations.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 23/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Assent: 22/7/12; Act No. 105, 2012

S National Water Commission Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the National Water Commission Act 2004 to: continue the National Water Commission (NWC) beyond its current sunset date of 30 June 2012; revise the functions and operations of the NWC; close the Australian Water Fund (AWF) Account and remove the NWC—€™s ability to administer any AWF funds; reduce the number of NWC commissioners to five; provide for a review of the NWC—€™s performance by the end of 2017, with further reviews every five years; and make technical amendments.

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 1/5/12 and tabled 10/5/12

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/6/12; Passed 21/6/12

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 70, 2012

Native Title Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Native Title Act 1993 to: enable certain parties to agree to disregard historical extinguishment of native title in certain areas set aside and public works in areas set aside; clarify the conduct expected of parties in future act negotiations; extend to eight months the time before a party may seek a determination from an arbitral body; streamline processes and broaden the scope for voluntary indigenous land use agreements; and make a technical amendment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to House Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Committee

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report due 13/3/13

PS Native Title Amendment (Reform) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Amends the Native Title Act 1993 in relation to: the application of the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to decision-making; heritage protection; the application of the non-extinguishment principle to the compulsory acquisition of land; the right to negotiate to apply to offshore areas; good faith negotiations; profit sharing and royalties in arbitration; enabling extinguishment to be disregarded; burden of proof; the definition of —€˜traditional—€™; and commercial rights and interests.

Senate: Intro. 21/3/11; 2nd reading adjourned 21/3/11

SBC report 5/11 (tabled and adopted 12/5/11): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 20/9/11, 3/11/11; report tabled 9/11/11

PS Native Title Amendment (Reform) Bill (No. 1) 2012

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Amends the Native Title Act 1993 in relation to: the right to negotiate to apply to offshore areas; good faith negotiations; enabling extinguishment to be disregarded; reversal of the burden of proof; the definition of —€˜traditional—€™; and commercial rights and interests.

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/2/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Navigation Bill 2012

Introduced with the Navigation (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012, the bill provides for the regulation of international ship and seafarer safety, employment conditions for Australian seafarers and shipboard aspects of protection of the marine environment, including the implementation of several international conventions covering matters such as the safety of life at sea, training and certification of seafarers, prevention of collisions at sea, watertight integrity and reserve buoyancy of ships, pollution prevention standards for ships, safety of containers and salvage, and the determination of gross and net tonnage of ships.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 13/9/12; Act No. 128, 2012

Navigation (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Navigation Bill 2012, the bill: repeals the Lighthouses Act 1911 and Navigation Act 1912; makes amendments to 28 Acts consequential on the repeal of the Navigation Act 1912; and amends the proposed Navigation Act 2012 to include the Maritime Labour Convention.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 13/9/12; Act No. 129, 2012

Nuclear Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Nuclear Terrorism Legislation Amendment Act 2012)

Amends the: Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987 to: create offences for specific conduct prohibited by the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism; and make technical amendments consequential on the Legislative Instruments Act 2003; and Extradition Act 1988 to update an incorrect reference in the definition of —€˜Australian aircraft—€™.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 9/2/12

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 27/2/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 6/3/12; Act No. 3, 2012

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 in relation to the offshore petroleum regulatory regime by: enabling National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEA) inspectors to conduct inspections to monitor compliance with and investigate suspected non-compliance with a warrant; enabling NOPSEA inspectors to enter certain offshore areas to monitor occupational health and safety (OHS) and petroleum environmental management laws without a warrant; introducing a civil penalty regime; increasing criminal penalties for certain OHS and environmental offences; enabling regulatory entities to share certain regulatory information in certain circumstances; and removing the responsible Tasmanian Minister from the Joint Authority for the offshore area of Tasmania.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Significant Incident Directions) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Significant Incident Directions) Act 2012)

Amends the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 to enable the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to issue a direction to require a petroleum titleholder to remediate the effects of a significant offshore petroleum incident within a title area that has caused, or may cause, an escape of petroleum.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/9/11; Passed 23/11/11

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; report tabled 21/11/11

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 9/2/12

SBC report 14/11 (tabled and adopted 13/10/11): No reference

Assent: 6/3/12; Act No. 2, 2012

PS Ombudsman Amendment (Education Ombudsman) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the: Ombudsman Act 1976 to establish the Education Ombudsman as a separate office within the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman to deal with complaints about the domestic and international education sector; and Migration Act 1958 and Privacy Act 1988 to make consequential amendments.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment
(Per-tonne Carbon Price Equivalent) Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Act 1995 to provide that the per-tonne carbon price equivalent applied to the import of synthetic greenhouse gases is consistent with the compliance costs of liable entities under the carbon pricing mechanism with linking arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 202, 2012

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment (Per-tonne Carbon Price Equivalent) Bill 2012

Part of a package of seven bills to link Australia—€™s carbon pricing mechanism to overseas emissions trading schemes from 1 July 2015, the bill amends the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Act 1995 to provide that the per-tonne carbon price equivalent applied to the manufacture of synthetic greenhouse gases is consistent with the compliance costs of liable entities under the carbon pricing mechanism with linking arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 26/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 29/10/12

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 201, 2012

Paid Parental Leave and Other Legislation Amendment (Consolidation) Bill 2011

Amends the: Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 to clarify provisions relating to: —€˜keeping in touch days—€™; debt recovery; notices; and delegation of the secretary—€™s powers; and Fair Work Act 2009 to: clarify unpaid parental leave arrangements in the event of a stillbirth or infant death; enable early commencement of unpaid parental leave; and enable employees who are on unpaid parental leave to perform permissible paid work for short periods (—€˜keeping in touch days—€™).

House of Representatives: Intro. 3/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 3/11/11 [but see bill below]

Senate:

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): No reference

Paid Parental Leave and Other Legislation Amendment (Dad and Partner Pay and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends: the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 to: extend the Paid Parental Leave Scheme to certain working fathers and partners so that they receive two weeks—€™ dad and partner pay at the rate of the national minimum wage; and clarify provisions relating to: —€˜keeping in touch days—€™; debt recovery; notices; and delegation of the secretary—€™s powers; the Fair Work Act 2009 to: clarify unpaid parental leave arrangements in the event of a stillbirth or infant death; enable early commencement of unpaid parental leave; and enable employees who are on unpaid parental leave to perform permissible paid work for short periods (—€˜keeping in touch days—€™); and five Acts to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 24/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 2 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 22/7/12; Act No. 109, 2012

PM Parliamentary Budget Office Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Hockey —€“ LP)

Establishes the office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer as an independent officer of the Parliament to provide advice and analysis to Parliament on the annual Commonwealth budget and any revisions of budgetary estimates or outcomes.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/8/11; Removed from Notice Paper 29/5/12

Parliamentary Counsel and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970 to transfer the functions of the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel; Acts Publication Act 1905 and Legislative Instruments Act 2003 to confer on the First Parliamentary Counsel certain functions previously undertaken by the secretary of the Attorney-General—€™s Department; and Family Law Act 1975, Federal Court of Australia Act 1976, Federal Magistrates Act 1999 and Judiciary Act 1903 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 23/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 22/7/12; Act No. 107, 2012

PS Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2012

(Introduced by the President —€“ Senator Hogg)

Amends the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 to: clarify the roles and responsibilities of secretaries of parliamentary service departments; amend the role and responsibilities of the Senior Executive Service; clarify when reviews of action may be undertaken by the Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner (MPC); provide for the Parliamentary Service Commissioner (the commissioner) to undertake investigations into whistleblower reports after notifying the Presiding Officers; enable the commissioner and the MPC to delegate their powers and functions; revise the Parliamentary Service Values and Parliamentary Service Code of Conduct and provide for Parliamentary Service Employment Principles; add a statement about the role of the parliamentary service; and make technical amendments in relation to: code of conduct; whistleblower reports; review of actions; non-ongoing parliamentary service employees; confidentiality of information; immunity from suit; legislative instruments; and acting appointments for statutory office-holder positions.

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report due 5/2/13

Passenger Movement Charge Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Passenger Movement Charge Act 1978 to increase the rate of the passenger movement charge from $47 to $55 from 1 July 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 23/5/12; extension of time to report 18/6/12; report tabled 19/6/12; correction presented out of sitting 3/9/12 and tabled 10/9/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 94, 2012

PS Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill 2010 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Senators Coonan and Heffernan —€“ LP, Senator Siewert —€“ AG and Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Patents Act 1990 to prevent the patenting of biological materials which are identical or substantially identical to materials as they exist in nature.

Senate: Intro. 24/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 24/11/10

SBC report 15/10 (tabled and adopted 26/11/10): Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 15/6/11, 23/8/11; report tabled 21/9/11

Pay As You Go Withholding Non-compliance Tax Bill 2011

Introduced with the Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 8) Bill 2011, the bill imposes a pay as you go (PAYG) withholding non-compliance tax on directors and, in some circumstances, their associates where their company has a PAYG withholding liability for an income year and the director or associate is entitled to a credit for amounts withheld by the company during the income year.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/10/11; 2nd reading adjourned 13/10/11 [but see bill below]

SC report no. 36 (tabled 13/10/11): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 3/11/11

Senate:

SBC report 15/11 (tabled and adopted 3/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 21/11/11

Pay As You Go Withholding Non-compliance Tax Bill 2012

Introduced with the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 2) Bill 2012, the bill imposes a pay as you go (PAYG) withholding non-compliance tax on directors and, in some circumstances, their associates where their company has a PAYG withholding liability for an income year and the director or associate is entitled to a credit for amounts withheld by the company during the income year.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 95, 2012

Personal Liability for Corporate Fault Reform Bill 2012

Implements the Council of Australian Governments—€™ directors—€™ liability reform by amending: the Corporations Act 2001 to: remove the personal criminal liability of company secretaries for certain offences and replace it with a civil liability; and impose a penalty for a breach of the civil liability; the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 to provide that only an officer of a corporation who authorised or permitted the commission of an offence by that corporation is personally liable for the breach; the Health Insurance Act 1973 to remove the personal criminal liability on company officers of the proprietor of a private hospital who wilfully authorises or permits the bribery of a medical practitioner, midwife or nurse by their corporation, where the officer has not personally been responsible for the offence; the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 to limit the circumstances when executive officers including directors can be personally liable for certain offences of the company; the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to: remove the personal liability of executive officers for certain offences of a body corporate; and remove the automatic application of derivative liability; and 10 other Acts to align them with the principles and guidelines for the imposition of personal criminal liability for corporate fault.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 1/11/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 29/10/12

Senate: Intro. 1/11/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 10/12/12; Act No. 180, 2012

Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Bill 2011

(Act citation: Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012)

Introduced with the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011, the bill: establishes the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (PCEHR) System Operator to be responsible for the operation of the PCEHR system and the advisory bodies which will support the operation of the system; enables consumers or their nominated representatives to register for an eHealth record and to control the access to that record; provides for civil penalties to be imposed when there is an unauthorised use, collection or disclosure of information in a consumer—€™s eHealth record or actions occur which may compromise the integrity of the PCEHR system; enables the minister to make PCEHR rules; requires the Information Commissioner and the PCEHR System Operator to report annually; and provides for a review of the first two years of the operation of the Act.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 29/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 19/6/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 28/2/12, 13/3/12, 15/3/12; report tabled 19/3/12

Committee amendments: 32 Govt/passed

[House agreed to Senate amendments 21/6/12]

Assent: 26/6/12; Act No. 63, 2012

Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (Consequential Amendments) Act 2012)

Introduced with the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Bill 2011, the bill amends the: Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 to enable the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records system and certain other entities to take up and use healthcare identifiers; and Health Insurance Act 1973 and National Health Act 1953 to enable Medical Benefits Scheme, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, organ donor and childhood immunisation information to be included in a consumer—€™s eHealth record if the consumer chooses to have that information included.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 29/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 19/6/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 28/2/12, 13/3/12, 15/3/12; report tabled 19/3/12

Committee amendments: 16 Govt/passed; 1 item negatived (Govt)

[House agreed to Senate amendments 21/6/12]

Assent: 26/6/12; Act No. 64, 2012

Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Amendment Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill amends the: Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 to: extend the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) to apply to all onshore oil and gas projects, as well as the North West Shelf project; apply the PRRT to shale oil and coal seam gas not subject to the minerals resource rent tax; establish the timing for deriving assessable receipts for petroleum projects; provide that certain receipts or service provision are assessable receipts; provide that expenditure in relation to environmental expenditure, resource rent tax expenditure and native title payments are deductible; enable certain interest holders to choose and apply a starting base valuation in relation to their interest; and reflect the Clean Energy Future package; Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to provide that certain groups of entities may form consolidated groups for PRRT purposes; and Crimes (Taxation Offences) Act 1980, Excise Tariff Act 1921, Income Tax Assessment Act 1987 and Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 to make consequential amendments. Also repeals the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Act 1987.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 18, 2012

Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Customs) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Customs) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill imposes petroleum resource rent tax at a rate of 40 per cent on the profits of certain petroleum projects, to the extent that it is a duty of customs.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 19, 2012

Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Excise) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”Excise) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill imposes petroleum resource rent tax at a rate of 40 per cent on the profits of certain petroleum projects, to the extent that it is a duty of excise.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 20, 2012

Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”General) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—€”General) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill imposes petroleum resource rent tax at a rate of 40 per cent on the profits of certain petroleum projects, to the extent that it is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 21, 2012

PS Plain Tobacco Packaging (Removing Branding from Cigarette Packs) Bill 2009
R [2010]

(Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

Amends the Trade Practices Act 1974 and Trade Practices (Consumer Product Information Standards) (Tobacco) Regulations 2004 to ban advertising, logos or trademarks and specify the appearance requirements for cigarette packaging.

Senate: Intro. 20/8/09; 2nd reading adjourned 20/8/09

SBC report 18/09 (tabled and adopted 26/11/09): Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 24/2/10; report presented out of sitting 26/8/10 and tabled 28/9/10

Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 30/9/10

PS Plastic Bag Levy (Assessment and Collection) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Provides for the assessment and collection of a 25 cent levy for each plastic bag used at retail points of sale. Also includes reporting requirements and a regulation making power.

Senate: Intro. 22/11/10; 2nd reading adjourned 22/11/10

SBC report 15/10 (tabled and adopted 26/11/10): No reference

PS Plebiscite for an Australian Republic Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Provides for a national plebiscite to be held in conjunction with the next House of Representatives election on whether Australia should become a republic.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PS Poker Machine Harm Reduction ($1 Bets and Other Measures) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Di Natale —€“ AG, Senator Madigan —€“ DLP and Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

The bill: regulates poker machine use by requiring that poker machines: must not accept banknotes with a denomination greater than $20; must not accept certain additional credits; must not allow a bet in excess of $1 per spin; and must not have a jackpot or a linked-jackpot arrangement greater than $500; and imposes penalties for a contravention of these requirements. Also provides: that the minister takes all reasonable steps to implement uniform national standards for poker machines in relation to harm minimisation, with particular reference to maximum losses, to take effect from 1 January 2015; and for the establishment of a national monitoring network.

Senate: Intro. 22/3/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/3/12

House of Representatives:

Reference (see item 31, Votes and Proceedings 29/9/10): Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 22/3/12

PS Poker Machine Harm Reduction Tax (Administration) Bill 2008 [2010]

R (Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

The bill: provides for the administration of a poker machine harm reduction tax to be payable by a licensed operator on revenue derived from licensed poker machines; establishes the Poker Machine Harm Reduction Transition Fund Supervisory Board to determine grants to be made from the fund for the purposes of funding community activities, rehabilitation and prevention programs; and provides for promotional educational programs highlighting the risks of gambling.

Senate: Intro. 14/2/08; 2nd reading adjourned 14/2/08

SBC report 2/08 (tabled and adopted 12/3/08): Bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Committee; extensions of time to report 18/3/08, 26/6/08; report tabled 10/11/08

Restored to Notice Paper at 2nd reading 30/9/10

Reference: Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 28/10/10; report presented out of sitting 30/8/11; report tabled in House and Senate 12/9/11

PS Poker Machine (Reduced Losses—€”Interim Measures) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Regulates poker machine use by requiring that poker machines: must not accept banknotes with a denomination greater than $20; must not accept certain additional credits; must not allow a bet in excess of $1 per spin; and must not allow a loss exceeding $120 in one hour—€™s operation. Also imposes penalties for a contravention of these requirements.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): No reference

Reference: Bill referred to Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform 28/10/10; report presented out of sitting 30/8/11; report tabled in House and Senate 12/9/11

PM Police Overseas Service (Territories of Papua and New Guinea) Medal Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Morrison —€“ LP)

Requires a minister to seek the Queen—€™s in-principle agreement to establish The Police Overseas Service (Territories of Papua and New Guinea) Medal as part of the Australian honours system to be awarded for service undertaken by members of Australian police forces who served as part of the Australian administration of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea between 1 July 1949 and 30 November 1973.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/11/11; Removed from Notice Paper 21/8/12

PS Preventing the Misuse of Government Advertising Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Requires the Auditor-General to assess certain government information and advertising campaigns for their compliance with guidelines and to present reports of any assessment to Parliament.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012

In response to the Australian Law Reform Commission—€™s report in relation to Australian privacy law and practice, the bill amends the Privacy Act 1988 to: replace the current privacy principles for the public and private sectors with a single set of privacy principles (the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)); implement a comprehensive credit reporting system which includes five kinds of personal information; provide for codes of practice under the APPs and a credit reporting code, including powers for the Privacy Commissioner to develop and register codes that are binding on specified agencies and organisations; and clarify the functions and powers of the Information Commissioner and increase the commissioner—€™s ability to resolve complaints, recognise and encourage the use of external dispute resolutions services, conduct investigations and promote compliance with privacy obligations. Also makes consequential amendments to 55 Acts.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 17/9/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 17/9/12

Senate: Intro. 18/9/12; Passed 27/11/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 14/8/12, 11/9/12, 20/9/12; report presented out of sitting 25/9/12 and tabled 9/10/12; correction presented out of sitting 2/10/12 and tabled 9/10/12

Committee amendments: 40 Govt/passed; 1 AG/passed; 2 AG/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 29/11/12]

Assent: 12/12/12; Act No. 197, 2012

Private Health Insurance Amendment (Lifetime Health Cover Loading and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Private Health Insurance Act 2007 to: remove the Private Health Insurance Incentive Benefit (the rebate) from the Lifetime Health Cover loading component of affected private health insurance premiums; and cease the Incentive Payments Scheme which allows people to claim the rebate as a direct payment; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report due 12/3/13

Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Bill 2012

Establishes a scheme to provide protection for cultural objects on loan from foreign lenders for temporary public exhibition while the objects are in Australia.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

PS Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising (Broadcasting and Telecommunications Amendment) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senators Bob Brown and Di Natale —€“ AG)

Amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to: restrict the advertising or other promotion of unhealthy food and beverages on television on weekdays between 6.00 am and 9.00 am and between 4.00 pm and 9.00 pm, and on weekends and public holidays between 6.00 am and 12.00 pm and between 4.00 pm and 9.00 pm; and restrict the advertising or other promotion of unhealthy food and beverages on subscription television, the internet or by electronic message.

Senate: Intro. 21/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 21/11/11

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

PM Protecting Local Jobs (Regulating Enterprise Migration Agreements) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Bandt —€“ AG)

Amends the Fair Work Act 2009 and Migration Act 1958 to: provide that enterprise migration agreements are regulated by placing certain requirements on employers and the minister to ensure such agreements are used only where genuinely necessary and do not adversely affect local job opportunities; and require enterprise migration agreements to be tabled in each House of the Parliament.

House of Representatives: Intro. 18/6/12; Read a 1st time 18/6/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

Senate:

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 18/9/12; report due first sitting day in March 2013 (12/3/13)

PS Public Accounts and Audit Committee Amendment (Ombudsman) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 to expand the role of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit to include additional duties in relation to the Commonwealth Ombudsman, including: examining all reports tabled by the ombudsman; reporting to Parliament on matters relating to the ombudsman; and considering the operations and resources of the ombudsman.

Senate: Intro. 1/11/11; 2nd reading adjourned 1/11/11

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): No reference

PM Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Introduced with the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012, the bill establishes a framework to facilitate public interest disclosures by public officials and provides those officials with protections by providing for: processes for who can make a public interest disclosure and to whom; the conduct of investigations; public interest disclosures to third parties; the obligations of agencies; legal protections of disclosers; and oversight of the disclosures.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/10/12; Read a 1st time 29/10/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 72 (tabled 1/11/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee

PM Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Introduced with the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Bill 2012, the bill makes consequential amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009, Ombudsman Act 1976, Parliamentary Service Act 1999 and Public Service Act 1999.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/10/12; Read a 1st time 29/10/12; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 72 (tabled 1/11/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee

Public Service Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Public Service Act 1999 to: clarify the roles and responsibilities of secretaries of departments and revise their employment arrangements; create the Secretaries Board to replace the Management Advisory Committee; amend the role and responsibilities of the Senior Executive Service; clarify the role and functions of the Australian Public Service (APS) Commissioner; appoint Special Commissioners to assist the commissioner in undertaking certain reviews; revise the APS Values and provide for a set of APS Employment Principles; and make technical amendments in relation to: code of conduct; whistleblower reports; review of actions; temporary APS employees; machinery of government changes; confidentiality of information; immunity from suit; and legislative instruments. Also makes consequential amendments to nine other Acts and repeals the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/3/12; Passed 20/8/12

CID amendments: 28 Govt/passed; 3 Opp/passed

Senate: Intro. 22/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/8/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

PS Public Service Amendment (Payments in Special Circumstances) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Public Service Act 1999 to enable agencies to make a discretionary payment in special circumstances (for example, for compensation) in excess of $100 000.

Senate: Intro. 12/5/11; 2nd reading adjourned 12/5/11

SBC report 9/11 (tabled and adopted 7/7/11): Bill referred to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; report tabled 16/8/11

PS Qantas Sale Amendment (Still Call Australia Home) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind and Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Qantas Sale Act 1992 to: require that Qantas—€™ principal operation centre is located in Australia; require that the majority of heavy maintenance of aircraft, flight operations and Qantas training is conducted in Australia; provide that the Qantas Board of Directors consist of at least one director with professional flight operations experience and one director with aircraft engineering experience; and provide that the minister or certain shareholder members may restrain Qantas from engaging in certain particular conduct.

Senate: Intro. 25/8/11; 2nd reading adjourned 25/8/11, 10/5/12

SBC report 12/11 (tabled and adopted 15/9/11): Bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 20/9/11, 21/11/11, 29/2/12, 14/3/12; report tabled 22/3/12

PS Quarantine Amendment (Disallowing Permits) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Quarantine Act 1908 to: provide that Biosecurity Policy Determinations are disallowable legislative instruments; provide that a permit to import, introduce, or bring in an animal, plant, substance or thing is a disallowable legislative instrument; and provide that, when these instruments are presented to Parliament, the minister is required to table a risk analysis in both Houses and refer the instruments to parliamentary committees responsible for agricultural matters.

Senate: Intro. 25/8/11; 2nd reading adjourned 25/8/11, 10/11/11

SBC report 12/11 (tabled and adopted 15/9/11): Bill referred to Senate Rural Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; report tabled 2/11/11

Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Bill 2012

Establishes a framework of standard regulatory powers exercised by Commonwealth agencies by providing for: monitoring and investigative powers; and enforcement provisions including civil penalties, infringement notices, enforceable undertakings and injunctions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/10/12; 2nd reading adjourned 10/10/12

SC report no. 68 (tabled 11/10/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement; report tabled in House 26/11/12 and Senate 28/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 23/10/12 and tabled 29/10/12

Reference: Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 28/11/12; report due 18/3/13

PS Renewable Energy Amendment (Feed-in-Tariff for Electricity) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Milne —€“ AG)

Amends the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 to establish a national feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme to provide financial support for the commercialisation of prospective renewable energy technologies by providing: that the minister sets and reviews a FiT rate for renewable energy technology and a FiT levy rate to fund payments under the scheme; that qualifying generators be allowed to connect and feed into the grid; that the Renewable Energy Regulator establish a Feed-in-Tariff Register; and for the preparation and tabling of an independent report on the operation of the scheme.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

PS Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Excessive Noise from Wind Farms) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Madigan —€“ DLP and Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 to provide the Clean Energy Regulator with powers to ensure that accredited power stations that are wind farms, either in whole or in part, do not create excessive noise.

Senate: Intro. 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12); 2nd reading adjourned 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12), 29/11/12

SBC report 9/12 (tabled and adopted 16/8/12): Bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 17/9/12

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 11/10/12; report tabled 28/11/12

PS Responsible Takeaway Alcohol Hours Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Fielding —€“ FFP)

Prohibits the sale of takeaway alcoholic beverages between midnight and 7.00 am on any day and imposes offences for any contravention.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/11 (tabled and adopted 25/8/11): No reference

PS Restoring Territory Rights (Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978, Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 and Norfolk Island Act 1979 to remove the prohibition on legalising voluntary euthanasia. Also repeals the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; Discharged from Notice Paper 22/11/12

SBC report 12/10 (tabled and adopted 27/10/10): No reference

PS Restoring Territory Rights (Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Di Natale —€“ AG)

Amends the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978, Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 and Norfolk Island Act 1979 to remove the prohibition on legalising voluntary euthanasia. Also repeals the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997.

Senate: Intro. 26/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 26/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Road Safety Remuneration Bill 2012

(Previous title: Road Safety Remuneration Bill 2011)

Introduced with the Road Safety Remuneration (Consequential Amendments and Related Provisions) Bill 2012, the bill establishes the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal which will: inquire into sectors, issues and practices within the road transport industry and, where appropriate, determine mandatory minimum rates of pay and related conditions for employed and self-employed drivers; approve collective agreements between a hirer and all self-employed drivers; enable certain contractor drivers and their hirers to collectively bargain and enter into approved collective agreements; resolve disputes between drivers, their hirers or employers and participants in the road transport industry supply chain; and deal with disputes arising from the termination of a road transport contract.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 19/3/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 1/3/12

CID amendments: 64 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 20/3/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 16/4/12; Act No. 46, 2012

Road Safety Remuneration (Consequential Amendments and Related Provisions) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Road Safety Remuneration (Consequential Amendments and Related Provisions) Bill 2011)

Introduced with the Road Safety Remuneration Bill 2012, the bill amends the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to: make a consequential amendment; and enable transitional arrangements.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 19/3/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 1/3/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 20/3/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 16/4/12; Act No. 47, 2012

PS Safe Climate (Energy Efficient Non-Residential Buildings Scheme) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Milne —€“ AG)

Establishes an emissions intensity cap and building efficiency certificate trading scheme for non-residential buildings.

Senate: Intro. 29/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 29/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Shipping Reform (Tax Incentives) Bill 2012

Part of a package of five bills in relation to the Australian shipping industry, the bill provides the mechanism for tax concessions for the shipping industry by: the issue of certificates to applicants who meet certain requirements; the issue of notices to first time applicants to confirm they meet the necessary requirements; enabling the department to collect and collate data; and enabling disputed decisions to be reviewed.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 24/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 5 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 15/6/12 and tabled 18/6/12

Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 53, 2012

Shipping Registration Amendment (Australian International Shipping Register) Bill 2012

Part of a package of five bills in relation to the Australian shipping industry, the bill amends the Shipping Registration Act 1981 to: establish the Australian International Shipping Register and the Australian General Register; and establish the administration of the international register by providing for: the application process for registration; employment conditions for seafarers; collective agreement negotiation processes; enforcement powers for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority; and a civil penalty and infringement notice regime. Also makes consequential amendments to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990, Marine Navigation (Regulatory Functions) Levy Collection Act 1991 and Navigation Amendment Act 2011.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 24/5/12

CID amendments: 9 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 15/6/12 and tabled 18/6/12

Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 54, 2012

Skills Australia Amendment (Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency) Bill 2012

Establishes the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency by amending the Skills Australia Act 2008 to: amend the long and short titles of the Act to rename Skills Australia to the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency; broaden the object of the Act to include the provision of advice on the allocation of Commonwealth industry skills and workforce development funding; broaden the functions of the agency in relation to its research, analysis and advisory role; increase the size of the agency from seven to 10 members; expand the current membership criteria; and make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 22/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 19/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 69, 2012

Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account Bill 2012

Introduced with the Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012, the bill creates a special account under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to administer the social and community services award funding adjustments for providers of certain Commonwealth programs that have been identified as having social and community services workers covered by the Fair Work Australia equal remuneration order granted on 1 February 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/10/12; Passed 11/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 31/10/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Assent: 8/11/12; Act No. 150, 2012

Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account Bill 2012, the bill amends the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 to make an amendment consequential on the creation of the Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/10/12; Passed 11/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 31/10/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Assent: 8/11/12; Act No. 151, 2012

Social Security Amendment (Supporting Australian Victims of Terrorism Overseas) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Social Security Amendment (Supporting Australian Victims of Terrorism Overseas) Bill 2011)

Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to establish a framework to provide financial assistance for Australians and close family members of Australians who are injured or killed overseas as a result of an overseas terrorist incident; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/3/11; Passed 21/6/12

CID amendments: 11 Govt/passed; 2 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 22/6/12; Passed 22/6/12

SBC report 4/11 (tabled and adopted 25/3/11): No reference

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Order varied: Provisions of bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Assent: 22/7/12; Act No. 106, 2012

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (2012 Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends: the Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to extend permanently the income test exemption for the Western Australian Country Age Pension Fuel Card and the Cost of Living Rebate Scheme; seven Acts to reduce from 13 to 6 weeks the length of time individuals can spend overseas while continuing to receive certain income support payments and family payments; the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Act 2011 and Family Assistance and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 to remove eligibility for family tax benefit (FTB) Part A for people over 18 years of age unless they are in full-time secondary study; the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to provide that the rate of FTB Part A for a child is not restricted to the base child rate due to privately collecting less than the full child support entitlement; the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 and Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 to allow a person—€™s percentage of care for child support and FTB purposes to be based on the actual care of the child immediately in special circumstances; the Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Act 2011 and Social Security Act 1991 to clarify the eligibility of a group of low-income families to the clean energy low income supplement; and the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 29/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee 24/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 98, 2012

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Disability Support Pension Participation Reforms) Bill 2012

Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: allow all disability support pensioners to work up to 30 hours a week without having payments suspended or cancelled; Social Security Act 1991 to: provide that certain disability support pensioners under 35 years of age with a work capacity of at least eight hours a week attend participation interviews and develop a participation plan with Centrelink; and provide that certain disability support pensioners may live outside Australia indefinitely and continue to receive the disability support pension; and Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/2/12; Passed 29/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 9/5/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Assent: 26/5/12; Act No. 51, 2012

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Further 2012 Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to extend the welfare reform trial in the Cape York area to 1 January 2014; Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to increase the appropriations for non-ABSTUDY payments in 2012 and 2013; A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: enable a Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) member to release protected information in certain circumstances; enable an SSAT member to issue a non-disclosure order during a review; extend confidentiality obligations to everyone providing services at a review hearing; allow the SSAT Principal Member to reconstitute the SSAT; clarify that the SSAT Principal Member perform functions and powers enabling certain standards for the review process; and make technical amendments; Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 to clarify arrangements when the amount of child support payable under a child support assessment is reduced in certain circumstances; and A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 and Social Security Act 1991 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/12; Passed 11/10/12

SC report no. 65 (tabled 13/9/12): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

Senate: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 1/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 17/11/12; Act No. 154, 2012

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Income Support and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 in relation to: age requirements for social security payments; income tests for newstart and youth allowances; claims for newstart allowance; working credit balances; a parenting payment transitional arrangement; and a technical amendment; Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 in relation to the determination of penalty amounts for no show no pay failures or reconnection failures; and Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to provide additional funding for the Student Education Trusts measure for the 1 January 2012 to 30 June 2013 appropriation period.

House of Representatives: Intro. 9/2/12; Passed 29/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 9/5/12

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/3/12

Assent: 26/5/12; Act No. 52, 2012

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Income Support Bonus) Bill 2012

Amends the Social Security Act 1991, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, Farm Household Support Act 1992 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to provide for an income support bonus (of $105 for single people or $87.50 for most people who are an eligible member of a couple) to be paid to eligible income support recipients on a twice-yearly basis from March 2013.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Social Security Legislation Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Social Security Legislation Amendment Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to implement the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory framework, the bill amends the: Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to enable income management to be triggered by referrals from state and territory agencies; and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: enable the minister to specify states, territories or areas in which the vulnerable, long-term welfare payment and disengaged youth income management measures will apply; provide that income management continues despite a change in residence; and provide that certain parents may be required to enter into a school attendance plan and may have income support payments suspended if the plan is not complied with.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 27/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 8/2/12, 13/3/12; report tabled 14/3/12

Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 19 AG/negatived; 2 Schedules opposed (AG)/Schedules agreed to; 1 Part opposed (AG)/Part agreed to

[House agreed to Senate amendments 29/6/12 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 28/6/12)]

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 102, 2012

Social Security Legislation Amendment (Fair Incentives to Work) Bill 2012

Amends the Social Security Act 1991 to: remove the —€˜grandfathering—€™ transitional arrangement from the parenting payment from 1 January 2013; reduce the length of the liquid assets waiting period by doubling the maximum reserve threshold for liquid assets to $5000 for singles without dependants or $10 000 for others from 1 July 2013; and clarify the definition of —€˜termination payment—€™ for the purposes of the income maintenance period to ensure it includes any payments connected with the termination of a person—€™s employment.

House of Representatives: Intro. 31/5/12; Passed 28/6/12

CID amendments: 2 AG/negatived

Senate: Intro. 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12); Passed 9/10/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report tabled 23/8/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Committee amendments: 1 AG/negatived; 1 Schedule opposed (AG)/Schedule agreed to

Assent: 24/10/12; Act No. 144, 2012

PS Solar Hot Water Rebate Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Birmingham —€“ LP)

Reinstates the remaining portion of the funding allocated to the Solar Hot Water Rebate in the 2011-12 financial year to be applied to expenditure for that purpose.

Senate: Intro. 14/3/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 22/3/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): No reference

PM Solar Hot Water Rebate Bill 2012 [No. 2]

(Introduced by Mr Hunt —€“ LP)

Reinstates the remaining portion of the funding allocated to the Solar Hot Water Rebate in the 2011-12 financial year to be applied to expenditure for that purpose.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/3/12; Negatived at 2nd reading 31/5/12

PS Special Broadcasting Service Amendment (Natural Program Breaks and Disruptive Advertising) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 to phase out by 2016 advertising within television programs on SBS.

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; 2nd reading adjourned 27/2/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

PS Special Broadcasting Service Amendment (Prohibition of Disruptive Advertising) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Ludlam —€“ AG)

Amends the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 to prohibit certain advertising being shown during programs on SBS television.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Statute Law Revision Bill 2012

Amends: 78 Acts to correct technical errors; nine Acts to update references to regulations made under the Civil Aviation Act 1988; 13 Acts to make amendments consequential on amendments to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and the enactment of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003; three Acts to update references to ministers and departments; and 38 Acts to repeal obsolete provisions. Also repeals five Acts and makes amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 consequential on the repeals.

House of Representatives: Intro. 15/8/12; Passed 22/8/12

Senate: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): No reference

Assent: 22/9/12; Act No. 136, 2012

Statute Stocktake (Appropriations) Bill (No. 1) 2012

The bill: amends two Acts and repeals three Acts to abolish redundant special appropriations; repeals 93 appropriation Acts which are spent, exhausted or lapsed; and repeals 35 redundant supply Acts.

House of Representatives: Intro 20/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

Senate: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 25/9/12; Act No. 141, 2012

PS Stolen Generations Reparations Tribunal Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Siewert —€“ AG)

Establishes a Stolen Generations Reparations Tribunal to decide and make recommendations on claims for reparation.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill 2012

(Previous title: Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill 2011)

Part of a package of three bills to implement the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory framework, the bill implements three measures relating to Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory by: providing for alcohol management plans to be approved by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, and for the minister and the relevant Northern Territory minister to undertake a review within three years on whether alcohol-related harm among aboriginal people has reduced; enabling the Commonwealth to amend Northern Territory legislation by regulation relating to community living areas and town camps to enable private ownership in town camps and flexible long term leasing arrangements for business in community living areas; and providing for a community store licensing scheme to operate for a 10-year period to provide food security for Aboriginal communities. Also requires the minister to facilitate an independent review of the operation of the Act after seven years.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 27/2/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 5 Opp/passed

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 8/2/12, 13/3/12; report tabled 14/3/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 AG/negatived

Committee amendments: 5 Govt/passed; 7 Opp/passed; 20 AG/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 29/6/12 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 28/6/12)]

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 100, 2012

Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to implement the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory framework, the bill: repeals the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007 and makes certain consequent saving and transitional arrangements; and amends the: Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 to: make amendments consequent on the repeal of the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007; and enable Land Councils, if requested to do so, to provide assistance to owners of community living areas; Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 to: provide that the restriction on prohibited material will continue, with the Minister for Indigenous Affairs responsible for determining to which areas this restriction applies; require the minister to review these restrictions after seven years; and provide for the sunset of the restriction of prohibited material provisions after ten years; Crimes Act 1914 to enable customary law and cultural practice to be considered in bail and sentencing decisions for certain offences; and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to make an amendment consequent on the repeal of the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 27/2/12

Senate: Intro. 29/2/12; Passed 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; extensions of time to report 8/2/12, 13/3/12; report tabled 14/3/12

Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 6 AG/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 29/6/12 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 28/6/12)]

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 101, 2012

Superannuation Auditor Registration Imposition Bill 2012

Introduced with the Superannuation Laws Amendment (Capital Gains Tax Relief and Other Efficiency Measures) Bill 2012, the bill imposes fees on certain matters to recover the costs of establishing the self-managed superannuation fund auditor registration regime.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 29/10/12

Senate: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 161, 2012

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment Bill 2011

(Act citation: Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to: remove the superannuation guarantee maximum age limit at which the superannuation guarantee no longer needs to be provided to an employee; and incrementally increase the superannuation guarantee charge percentage from 9 per cent to reach 12 per cent in the 2019-20 financial year.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 22, 2012

Superannuation Laws Amendment (Capital Gains Tax Relief and Other Efficiency Measures) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Superannuation Auditor Registration Imposition Bill 2012, the bill amends: the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Tax Laws Amendment (2009 Measures No. 6) Act 2010 to reinstate the temporary loss relief for merging superannuation funds with certain modifications; the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to introduce a registration regime for auditors of self-managed superannuation funds; the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to expand the information required to be reported by superannuation providers to the Commissioner of Taxation; the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 to facilitate the electronic transmission of payments and associated information between certain funds, schemes and providers by providing for a register to be kept by the Commissioner of Taxation; and five Acts to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 29/10/12

CID amendments: 2 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): No reference

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 158, 2012

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Further MySuper and Transparency Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: require registrable superannuation entities to elect not to charge commissions in respect of amounts held in a MySuper product; make rules governing the charging for financial advice including intrafund advice and the general fee rules to apply to regulated superannuation funds and approved deposit funds; require trustees to transfer certain existing balances of members to MySuper; and require trustees to obtain authorisation from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to operate an eligible rollover fund; Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: require trustees to provide minimum levels of life and total and permanent disability insurance to members on an opt-out basis; and allow exceptions from MySuper for members of defined benefit funds; Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, Corporations Act 2001, Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: expand the coverage of APRA—€™s data collection; enable the publication of MySuper product data; and require certain information to be published; Fair Work Act 2009, Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to allow only funds that offer a MySuper product and exempt public sector superannuation schemes to be eligible as default funds in modern awards and enterprise agreements; and Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997, Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 28/11/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in Senate 9/10/12 and House 10/10/12

CID amendments: 17 Govt/passed; 3 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 29/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Committee amendments: 3 Opp/negatived

Assent: 3/12/12; Act No. 171, 2012

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Core Provisions) Bill 2012

(Previous title: Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Core Provisions) Bill 2011)

Establishes a framework for the introduction of a default superannuation product (MySuper) to replace existing default products by amending the: Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: define MySuper superannuation products; limit regulated superannuation funds to offering only one MySuper product, except in certain circumstances; allow registrable superannuation entity licensees to apply to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for authorisation to offer a MySuper product; set out rules on the payment of contributions and account transfers for MySuper products; and set out fees that can be charged to members of a MySuper product; and Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to provide that employers make superannuation guarantee contributions on behalf of employees who do not have a chosen fund to a fund that offers a MySuper product.

House of Representatives: Intro. 3/11/11; Passed 22/8/12

SC report no. 38 (tabled 3/11/11): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 19/3/12

CID amendments: 6 Govt/passed; 10 Opp/negatived; 5 AG/negatived

Senate: Intro. 10/9/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): No reference

Committee amendments: 2 Govt/passed; 8 Opp/negatived; 1 item opposed (Opp)/item agreed to

[House agreed to Senate amendments 26/11/12]

Assent: 28/11/12; Act No. 162, 2012

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (New Zealand Arrangement) Bill 2012

Amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to implement the Arrangement on Trans-Tasman Retirement Savings Portability to enable Australians and New Zealanders to transfer retirement savings between the two countries.

House of Representatives: Intro. 11/10/12; Passed 30/10/12

Senate: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

Assent: 10/12/12; Act No. 181, 2012

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Reducing Illegal Early Release and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Unlawful Payments from Regulated Superannuation Funds) Bill 2012, the bill amends the: Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to provide for civil and criminal penalties for persons who promote a scheme that has resulted, or is likely to result, in the illegal early release of superannuation benefits; Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to require that superannuation benefits that are rolled over into self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) are captured as a designated service; and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to provide for administrative directions and penalties for contraventions relating to SMSFs.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Service Providers and Other Governance Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Corporations Act 2001 to require registrable superannuation entity licensees that are also responsible entities of registered managed investment schemes to comply with requirements on adequate resources and risk management systems; Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: over-ride any provision in the governing rules of a registrable superannuation entity that requires the trustee to use a specified service provider, investment entity or financial product; enable the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to issue infringement notices for a broader range of breaches of the Act; require superannuation trustees to provide eligible persons, generally on request, with the reasons for decisions made in relation to a complaint; require persons seeking to take legal action against a director for a breach of their duties to first seek leave from the court; extend the availability of certain legal defences to directors and trustees; remove restrictions on director voting; clarify the definition of —€˜superannuation contribution—€™ to include defined benefits; and make consequential amendments; Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993 to increase the time limits within which beneficiaries can lodge complaints with the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal regarding total and permanent disability claims; First Home Saver Accounts Act 2008 to make consequential amendments; and Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Core Provisions) Act 2012 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Stronger Super) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Superannuation Supervisory Levy Imposition Amendment Bill 2012, the bill amends the: Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: establish a framework to implement the superannuation data and payment regulations and standards that will apply to specified superannuation transactions undertaken by superannuation entities, retirement savings account providers and employers; and make consequential amendments; Taxation Administration Act 1953 to provide for an administrative penalty framework for non-compliance with the superannuation data and payment regulations and standards; and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 to: enable costs associated with the SuperStream measures to be included in the minister—€™s determination specifying the amount of levy payable to the Commonwealth; enable the minister to make a determination that specifies the proportion of levy money paid to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) that is to be credited to the APRA Special Account; and insert a definition of the measures covered by SuperStream.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 18/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report presented to Senate out of sitting 13/6/12; report tabled in House and Senate 18/6/12

Senate: Intro. 19/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 91, 2012

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Trustee Obligations and Prudential Standards) Bill 2012

Further to the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Core Provisions) Bill 2011, the bill amends the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: expand the duties for registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees; apply new trustee duties to RSE licensees of an RSE that offers a MySuper product; apply duties to the directors of corporate trustees; provide the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority with the power to issue prudential standards in relation to superannuation prudential matters; and make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 16/2/12; Passed 23/5/12

CID amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 14/8/12

Reference: Provisions of bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services 29/2/12; extension of time to report 13/3/12; report tabled in House and Senate 19/3/12

SBC report 2/12 (tabled and adopted 1/3/12): No reference

Committee amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 8/9/12; Act No. 117, 2012

Superannuation Supervisory Levy Imposition Amendment Bill 2012

Introduced with the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Stronger Super) Bill 2012, the bill amends the Superannuation Supervisory Levy Imposition Act 1998 to enable the Treasurer to make more than one determination, for a financial year, of the restricted and unrestricted levy amounts, restricted and unrestricted levy percentages and the superannuation entity levy base.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 18/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report presented to Senate out of sitting 13/6/12; report tabled in House and Senate 18/6/12

Senate: Intro. 19/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 92, 2012

Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012

Amends the: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 to provide: that a supply made by a health care provider to an insurer, statutory compensation scheme operator, compulsory third party scheme operator or a government entity is treated as GST-free supply; and that non-commercial activities of government related entities are not subject to GST; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to pause the indexation of the superannuation concessional contributions cap during the 2013-14 financial year; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003, Taxation Administration Act 1953 and Taxation (Interest on Overpayments and Early Payments) Act 1983 to allow eligible individuals the option to have excess concessional contributions taken out of their superannuation fund and assessed at their marginal tax rates; Taxation Administration Act 1953 to: permit the Australian Taxation Office to disclose individual—€™s superannuation information to superannuation entities and their administrators for certain purposes; and provide the Commissioner of Taxation with a discretion to delay refunding an amount to a taxpayer pending integrity checks of their claim; and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to require employers to report, on payslips, any information prescribed in the regulations about superannuation contributions.

House of Representatives: Intro. 1/3/12; Passed 22/5/12

SC report no. 45 (tabled 1/3/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 3/12 (tabled and adopted 15/3/12): No reference

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 75, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 9) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 9) Act 2012)

Amends: the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to enable regulations to prescribe the operating details of the electronic portability form for superannuation benefits and to specify certain requirements; the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 in relation to capital gains tax and certain business restructures; the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 in relation to: the financial acquisitions threshold; borrowings; hire purchase; and the sale or lease of new residential premises for goods and services tax purposes; the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to update the list of deductible gift recipients; and 13 Acts to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/11/11; Passed 14/2/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 8/2/12

Senate: Intro. 27/2/12; Passed 1/3/12

SBC report 17/11 (tabled and adopted 25/11/11): No reference

Assent: 21/3/12; Act No. 12, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012

Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: ensure that expenses incurred in gaining or producing a rebatable benefit are not deductible; provide that complying superannuation entities cannot account for gains and losses on certain assets on revenue account using the trading stock exception; and exempt from income tax ex-gratia payments to New Zealand non-protected special category visa holders for the floods that occurred in New South Wales and Queensland in early 2012; Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to commence the phase out of the dependent spouse tax offset by restricting eligibility for the offset to taxpayers with a dependent spouse born before 1 July 1952; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Minerals Resource Rent Tax Act 2012, and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/3/12; Passed 9/5/12

Senate: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): No reference

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 71, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 2) Bill 2012

Introduced with the Pay As You Go Withholding Non-compliance Tax Bill 2012, the bill amends the: Taxation Administration Act 1953 and four other Acts to: extend the director penalty regime so that directors are personally responsible for their company—€™s unpaid superannuation guarantee amounts; make directors and their associates liable to pay as you go (PAYG) withholding non-compliance tax in certain circumstances; and ensure that directors cannot discharge their director penalties by placing their company into administration or liquidation when PAYG withholding or superannuation guarantee remains unpaid and unreported three months after the due date; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Tax Laws Amendment (Taxation of Financial Arrangements) Act 2009 in relation to the taxation of financial arrangements consolidation interaction; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to modify the consolidation tax cost setting rules and rights to future income rules.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 20/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 99, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 3) Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills in relation to the Seasonal Labour Mobility Program and other taxation matters, the bill amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to apply a new final withholding tax to income derived by non-resident workers participating in the Seasonal Labour Mobility Program; Excise Act 1901 and Excise Tariff Act 1921 to specify the circumstances where blending the same types of gaseous fuels or the same types of aviation fuels, which have been taxed at different rates, are not treated as excise manufacture and are therefore subject to additional duty; Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to retrospectively clarify that trust beneficiaries who are minors cannot receive the low income tax offset for unearned income earned through trust distributions; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: provide income tax exemptions for clean energy payments made to recipients of payments made under certain schemes; and make the employment termination payment tax offset dependent on an individual—€™s total taxable income.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 31/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 24/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 58, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Bill 2012

Amends the: Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 to limit the concessional tax treatment of living-away-from-home allowances and benefits to certain employees for a maximum period of 12 months; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 to clarify the goods and services tax consequences when a representative of an incapacitated entity is a creditor of that entity; and Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 2) Act 2012 in relation to consolidation events so that no interest is payable if an overpayment of income tax arises because of a deduction under the pre-rules and no shortfall interest or administrative penalty is payable if additional tax becomes payable under the pre-rules or interim rules.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/6/12; Passed 21/8/12

SC report no. 59 (tabled 28/6/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 15/8/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 23/8/12; Passed 19/9/12

SBC report 9/12 (tabled and adopted 16/8/12): No reference

Assent: 28/9/12; Act No. 142, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 5) Bill 2012

Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: expand the application of the conservation tillage refundable tax offset by providing that an eligible no-till seeder can comprise just the tool, or the combination of the cart and the tool; phase out the mature age worker tax offset from 1 July 2012 for taxpayers born on or after 1 July 1957; and include The Diamond Jubilee Trust Australia in the list of deductible gift recipients; and A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999 to: provide that a wine producer will not be entitled to the wine equalisation tax producer rebate on other wine they use in manufacture, except where the producer of the other wine notifies the subsequent producer; and make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 19/9/12; Passed 30/10/12

CID amendments: 3 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 19/11/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 12/12 (tabled and adopted 20/9/12): No reference

Assent: 10/12/12; Act No. 184, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 6) Bill 2012

Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to clarify that native title benefits are not subject to income tax (including capital gains tax); Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: update the list of deductible gift recipients; extend the immediate deductibility of exploration and prospecting expenditure provided to mining and petroleum explorers to geothermal energy explorers; and clarify that the definition of —€˜limited recourse debt—€™ includes arrangements where, in substance or effect, the debtor is not fully at risk in relation to the debt; Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 5) Act 2011 to extend the interim streaming rules for managed investment trusts until the end of the 2013-14 financial year; Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to apply an income test to the rebate for medical expenses from 1 July 2012; Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 to remove the concessional fringe benefits tax treatment for in-house fringe benefits accessed by way of salary packaging arrangements; and Retirement Savings Accounts Regulations 1997, Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 and five Acts to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

SC report no. 73 (tabled 29/11/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee

Senate:

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Tax Laws Amendment (Clean Building Managed Investment Trust) Bill 2012

Amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Income Tax (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Act 2008 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to provide a final withholding tax rate of 10 per cent on fund payments from eligible clean building managed investment trusts made to foreign residents in countries with which Australia has effective exchange of information.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/10/12; Passed 30/10/12

SC report no. 68 (tabled 11/10/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 29/10/12

CID amendment: 1 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 22/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): No reference

Assent: 10/12/12; Act No. 185, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Cross-Border Transfer Pricing) Bill (No. 1) 2012

Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to retrospectively: clarify that the internationally consistent transfer pricing rules contained in Australia—€™s tax treaties and incorporated into Australian law provide assessment authority to address treaty related transfer pricing; and ensure that the tax treaty transfer pricing rules are applied in a manner consistent with the relevant Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidance material; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

CID amendments: 3 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 20/8/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/8/12

Committee amendments: 1 Opp/negatived; 1 item opposed (Opp)/item agreed to

Assent: 8/9/12; Act No. 115, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Income Tax Rates) Bill 2012

Part of a package of three bills in relation to the Seasonal Labour Mobility Program and other taxation matters, the bill amends the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 to merge the first two personal marginal tax rate thresholds for non-resident workers into a single threshold and align the rate for this new threshold with the second marginal tax rate for resident workers.

House of Representatives: Intro. 24/5/12; Passed 31/5/12

CID amendments: 7 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

Reference (see item 29, Journals 9/5/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee 24/5/12; report tabled 18/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 60, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Investment Manager Regime) Bill 2012

Amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to prescribe the tax treatment of returns, gains, losses and deductions on certain investments of widely held foreign funds; Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to clarify the tax treatment of returns, gains, losses and deductions on certain investments of widely held foreign funds for the 2010-11 and earlier income years where the fund has not lodged a tax return or had an assessment made of their income tax liability; and proposed Tax Laws Amendment (Cross-Border Transfer Pricing) Act (No. 1) 2012 to make consequential amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 27/6/12

Senate: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 23/8/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 13/9/12; Act No. 126, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012

Part of a package of two bills in relation to the managed investment trust (MIT) withholding tax, the bill amends the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to make consequential amendments to give effect to the increase in the MIT final withholding tax rate imposed by the proposed Income Tax (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Amendment Act 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

SC report no. 58 (tabled 21/6/12): Bill referred to House Economics Committee; report tabled 25/6/12

Senate: Intro. 28/6/12; Passed 28/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 29/6/12; Act No. 97, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2012

Amends the A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge—€”Fringe Benefits) Act 1999 and Medicare Levy Act 1986 to: increase the Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge low-income threshold amounts for individuals, families and pensioners below pension age; and increase the phase-in limits as a result of the increased threshold amounts. Also makes consequential amendments to the Clean Energy (Tax Laws Amendments) Act 2011.

House of Representatives: Intro. 10/5/12; Passed 22/5/12

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 20/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 28/6/12; Act No. 86, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Shipping Reform) Bill 2012

Part of a package of five bills in relation to the Australian shipping industry, the bill amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to provide for: a new category of exempt income for ship operators under certain circumstances; an accelerated depreciation of shipping vessels through a cap of 10 years to the effective life of those vessels; roll-over relief from income tax for eligible ship owners; a refundable tax offset for employers of Australian resident seafarers in certain circumstances; and the disclosure of tax information by the Australian Taxation Office in certain circumstances; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to exempt from royalty withholding tax payments made for the lease of shipping vessels in certain circumstances.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 31/5/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 24/5/12

CID amendments: 3 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to:

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 15/6/12 and tabled 18/6/12

Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/4/12 and tabled 10/5/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 21/6/12; Act No. 57, 2012

Tax Laws Amendment (Special Conditions for Not-for-profit Concessions) Bill 2012

Amends taxation legislation to: restate the —€˜in Australia—€™ special conditions for income tax exempt entities, ensuring that they generally must be operated principally in Australia and for the broad benefit of the Australian community; standardise the other special conditions entities must meet to be income tax exempt; standardise the term —€˜not-for-profit—€™; and codify the —€˜in Australia—€™ special conditions for deductible gift recipients ensuring that they must generally operate solely in Australia, and pursue their purposes solely in Australia (with some exceptions, such as overseas aid funds and some environmental organisations).

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 23/8/12

SC report no. 63 (tabled 23/8/12): Bill referred to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; report tabled in House and Senate 10/9/12; corrigenda tabled in House 17/9/12 and Senate 18/9/12

Senate:

SBC report 10/12 (tabled and adopted 23/8/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; report tabled 12/9/12

Tax Laws Amendment (Stronger, Fairer, Simpler and Other Measures) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Tax Laws Amendment (Stronger, Fairer, Simpler and Other Measures) Act 2012)

Part of a package of 11 bills, the bill amends the: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to abolish the entrepreneurs—€™ tax offset; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to: increase the small business instant asset write-off threshold to $6500; and consolidate the long life small business pool and the general small business pool into a single pool to be written off at one rate; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to: enable small business entities to claim an accelerated initial deduction for motor vehicles acquired in the 2012-13 and subsequent financial years; and enable employers to claim an income tax deduction for superannuation guarantee contributions to employees aged 75 years and over; and Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 to enable eligible low income earners to receive the low income superannuation contribution.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 23/11/11 a.m. (Votes and Proceedings 22/11/11)

Reference: Bill referred to House Economics Committee 2/11/11; report tabled 21/11/11

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 7/2/12; Passed 19/3/12

SBC report 16/11 (tabled and adopted 10/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 14/3/12

Assent: 29/3/12; Act No. 23, 2012

PM Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Community Consultation) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Wilkie —€“ Ind)

Amends the Telecommunications Act 1997 to: require owners and occupiers of land to be notified of a proposal to either build or modify a telecommunications tower within 500 metres of their property; provide that notified owners and occupiers have 30 days in which to respond to the proposed development; provide that new telecommunications towers cannot be declared to be low impact; limit the size and capacity of telecommunications towers; provide that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) can issue installation permits for high impact facilities only in extraordinary circumstances; disallow ACMA from considering commercial interests when determining the importance of a facility in a telecommunications network; require ACMA, when considering developments near community sensitive sites, to be satisfied that all alternative sites are unfeasible; and enable local communities to appeal a facility installation permit being granted with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

House of Representatives: Intro 19/9/11; Removed from Notice Paper 19/6/12

SC report no. 33 (tabled 22/9/11): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; report tabled 21/3/12

PS Telecommunications Amendment (Mobile Phone Towers) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Senator Bob Brown —€“ AG)

Amends the: Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 to require the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council to review certain radiofrequency exposure standards every five years, with the first review to be completed within six months of this bill commencing; and Telecommunications Act 1997 to: require certain owners and occupiers of land to be consulted when a mobile phone tower is to be installed; require the Australian Communications and Media Authority to be satisfied that the precautionary principle is taken into account when the site of a mobile phone tower is determined; remove the exemption for low-impact facilities from state and local government planning processes; remove the exemption on the application of state and territory laws; and require carriers to prepare local telecommunications network plans each financial year, for the next five years.

Senate: Intro. 14/9/11; 2nd reading adjourned 14/9/11

SBC report 1/12 (tabled and adopted 9/2/12): Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 10/5/12

Telecommunications (Industry Levy) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Telecommunications (Industry Levy) Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to support the transition to the national broadband network, the bill imposes a levy on telecommunications carriers or carriage service providers if the carriers or providers have a levy amount for an eligible levy period.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 8/2/12

SC report no. 38 (tabled 3/11/11): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 22/11/11

Senate: Intro. 9/2/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 15/11 (tabled and adopted 3/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/2/12 and tabled 27/2/12

Assent: 16/4/12; Act No. 45, 2012

Telecommunications Interception and Other Legislation Amendment (State Bodies) Bill 2012

Supports the newly established Victorian Independent Board-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) and South Australian Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC), the Victorian Inspectorate (VI) and the Victorian Public Interest Monitor (PIM) by amending the: Crimes Act 1914 to provide the IBAC with access to items and documents seized by a constable or Commonwealth officer for specific purposes; Privacy Act 1988 to include the IBAC as an enforcement body which is used in the National Privacy Principles in relation to the law enforcement exemptions to the use and disclosure, and access and correction obligations; Taxation Administration Act 1953 to enable the Australian Taxation Office to disclose taxpayer protected information to the IBAC for certain law enforcement purposes; and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to: enable the IBAC, the ICAC, and the VI to use and communicate existing intercepted information; and enable the PIM to access relevant information and appear at applications for warrants under the Act.

House of Representatives: Intro. 22/3/12; Passed 29/5/12

CID amendments: 2 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 18/6/12; Passed 18/6/12

SBC report 5/12 (tabled and adopted 10/5/12): No reference

Assent: 27/6/12; Act No. 74, 2012

Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Service Reform) Bill 2011

(Act citation: Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Service Reform) Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to support the transition to the national broadband network, the bill amends: six Acts and the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 to make amendments consequential on the establishment of the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency; and the Criminal Code Act 1995, NRS Levy Imposition Act 1998 and Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to provide for the phasing out of the Universal Service Obligation and National Relay Service levies after 30 June 2012.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 8/2/12

SC report no. 38 (tabled 3/11/11): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 22/11/11

CID amendments: 3 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 9/2/12; Passed 20/3/12

SBC report 15/11 (tabled and adopted 3/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/2/12 and tabled 27/2/12

Committee amendment: 1 Govt/passed

[House agreed to Senate amendment 20/3/12]

Assent: 16/4/12; Act No. 44, 2012

Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency Bill 2011

(Act citation: Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency Act 2012)

Part of a package of three bills to support the transition to the national broadband network, the bill: establishes the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency (TUSMA) as a statutory agency to implement and administer the service agreements or grants that deliver universal service and other public policy telecommunications outcomes; sets out the agency—€™s corporate governance structure and reporting and accountability requirements; provides for the minister, by legislative instrument, to make standards, rules or benchmarks for TUSMA contracts and grants; and provides for the Universal Service Obligation and National Relay Service industry levy regimes to be consolidated into a single regime to provide TUSMA funding.

House of Representatives: Intro. 2/11/11; Passed 8/2/12

SC report no. 38 (tabled 3/11/11): Bill referred to House Infrastructure and Communications Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 22/11/11

CID amendments: 3 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 9/2/12; Passed 21/3/12

SBC report 15/11 (tabled and adopted 3/11/11): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report presented out of sitting 24/2/12 and tabled 27/2/12

Committee amendments: 6 Govt/passed

Committee requests for amendments: 2 Govt/passed

[House made Senate requests for amendments 20/3/12; House agreed to Senate amendments 21/3/12]

Assent: 16/4/12; Act No. 43, 2012

Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Amendment Bill 2010

(Act citation: Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Amendment Act 2012)

Amends the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 to make it an offence to advertise tobacco products on the internet and other electronic media and future technologies, unless the advertising complies with state or territory legislation or Commonwealth regulations.

House of Representatives: Intro. 17/11/10; Passed 22/3/11

SC report no. 7 (tabled 17/11/10): No reference

Senate: Intro. 23/3/11; Passed 8/2/12

SBC report 15/10 (tabled and adopted 26/11/10): No reference

Assent: 6/3/12; Act No. 5, 2012

Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 to: provide state and territory government ministers, who have a responsibility for rail transport, with a power to request the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to conduct certain investigations in their jurisdiction; clarify the ATSB—€™s capacity to conduct investigations within, or to or from, a Commonwealth territory; and provide that certain information obtained or generated by the ATSB may be disclosed under certain circumstances.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 15/8/12

Senate: Intro. 16/8/12; Passed 13/9/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Assent: 21/9/12; Act No. 134, 2012

PS Transport Safety Investigation Amendment (Incident Reports) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind)

Amends the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 to impose a penalty on any persons who improperly influence a —€˜responsible person—€™ reporting an incident to aviation authorities.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee 30/9/10; extensions of time to report 17/11/10, 1/3/11; interim report presented out of sitting 4/5/11 and tabled 10/5/11; extensions of time for final report 10/5/11, 15/6/11; final report tabled 23/6/11

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Treasury Legislation Amendment (Unclaimed Money and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Amends the: Banking Act 1959, First Home Saver Accounts Act 2008 and Life Insurance Act 1995 to: reduce to three years the period before amounts held by authorised deposit-taking institutions, first home saver account providers and life insurance companies are treated as unclaimed moneys; and provide for the payment of interest on unclaimed moneys claimed after 1 July 2013; Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 to: increase to $2000 the balance threshold below which small lost accounts are required to be transferred to the Commissioner of Taxation; decrease to 12 months the period of inactivity before inactive accounts of unidentifiable members are required to be transferred to the commissioner; and provide for the payment of interest on all unclaimed superannuation moneys claimed after 1 July 2013; Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 to close the Companies and Unclaimed Moneys Special Account; and Corporations Act 2001 to: establish a new process for the receipt and payment of unclaimed property; and provide for the payment of interest on unclaimed property claimed after 1 July 2013.

House of Representatives: Intro. 30/10/12; Passed 27/11/12

CID amendments: 7 Govt/passed; 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 28/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Economics Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/11/12

Committee amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Assent: 4/12/12; Act No. 176, 2012

PM Treaties Ratification Bill 2012

(Introduced by Mr Katter —€“ KAP)

Provides that the Governor-General must not ratify a treaty unless both Houses of the Parliament have, by resolution, approved the ratification.

House of Representatives: Intro. 13/2/12; Removed from Notice Paper 11/9/12

SC report no. 44 (tabled 16/2/12): Bill referred to Joint Standing Committee on Treaties; report tabled in House 15/8/12 and Senate 16/8/12

Veterans—€™ Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Amends the: Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests (Treatment) Act 2006 and Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to clarify arrangements for the payment of travel expenses for treatment; Defence Service Homes Act 1918 to extend eligibility for benefits; Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to provide that reimbursements made under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the MRCA Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme are exempt from income tax; Social Security Act 1991 to provide that certain bereavement payments in respect of indigent veterans or members are exempt income for the purposes of the social security income test; Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to: align maintenance income and attendant allowance provisions with those in the Social Security Act 1991; provide for provision of special assistance by inclusion in a legislative instrument; clarify administrative arrangements for certain travel; and clarify that debt recovery provisions apply to all provisions of the Act, the regulations and any legislative instrument made under the Act; War Precautions Act Repeal Act 1920 to: amend the long and short titles of the Act; and repeal inoperative provisions; and Family Assistance and Other Legislation Amendment (Schoolkids Bonus Budget Measures) Act 2012, Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 and Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to make technical amendments.

House of Representatives: Intro. 27/6/12; Passed 22/8/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 22/8/12; 2nd reading adjourned 22/8/12

SBC report 8/12 (tabled and adopted 29/6/12 a.m. (Journals 28/6/12)): No reference

Veterans—€™ Entitlements Amendment (Claims for Travel Expenses) Bill 2010

Amends the Veterans—€™ Entitlements Act 1986 to extend the time period for lodging a claim for non-treatment related travel expenses to 12 months and enable further extensions of time in exceptional circumstances.

House of Representatives: Intro. 28/9/10; Read a 1st time 28/9/10; 2nd reading order of day for next sitting

SC report no. 3 (tabled 21/10/10): No reference

Water Amendment (Long-term Average Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment) Bill 2012

Amends the Water Act 2007 to: enable the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to make adjustments to the long-term average sustainable diversion limit set by the Murray-Darling Basin Plan; and require the basin plan requirements for accreditation of water resource plans to include a requirement that water resource plans include a mechanism for incorporating and adjusting a relevant change in the limit for that water resource plan area.

House of Representatives: Intro. 20/9/12; Passed 30/10/12

SC report no. 66 (tabled 20/9/12): Bill referred to House Regional Australia Committee; report tabled 10/10/12

CID amendments: 4 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 19/11/12; Passed 21/11/12

SBC report 13/12 (tabled and adopted 11/10/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/11/12

Committee amendments: 1 Nats/negatived; 5 AG/negatived; 2 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

Assent: 21/11/12; Act No. 157, 2012

PS Water Amendment (Save the Murray-Darling Basin) Bill 2012

(Introduced by Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Amends the Water Act 2007 in relation to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to: require climate change to be taken into account; not allow ground water extraction to occur unless certain conditions have been met; specify environmental outcomes; require Murray-Darling Basin Authority water recovery indicator targets to be met as far as possible; and require all modelling and analysis to be published.

Senate: Intro. 27/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 27/11/12

SBC report 16/12 (tabled and adopted 29/11/12): No reference

Water Amendment (Water for the Environment Special Account) Bill 2012

Further to the Water Amendment (Long-term Average Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment) Bill 2012, the bill amends the Water Act 2007 to: establish the Water for the Environment Special Account for a 10-year period from the 2014-15 financial year to acquire additional environmental water entitlement and to remove constraints on the efficient use of environmental water for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan; and provide for two independent reviews to be conducted in 2019 and 2021.

House of Representatives: Intro. 31/10/12; Passed 28/11/12

SC report no. 72 (tabled 1/11/12): Bill referred to House Regional Australia Committee; report tabled 28/11/12

CID amendments: 7 Govt/passed; 15 Opp/negatived

Senate: Intro. 29/11/12; 2nd reading adjourned 29/11/12

SBC report 14/12 (tabled and adopted 1/11/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report tabled 19/11/12

PS Water (Crisis Powers and Floodwater Diversion) Bill 2010

(Introduced by Senator Xenophon —€“ Ind and Senator Hanson-Young —€“ AG)

Enables the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to manage the water resources of the basin as a single system during periods of extreme crisis.

Senate: Intro. 30/9/10; 2nd reading adjourned 30/9/10

SBC report 11/10 (tabled and adopted 30/9/10): No reference

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 26/10/10; report tabled 18/11/10

Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Scheme Enhancements) Bill 2012

Amends the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005 to: allow the minister to determine by legislative instrument details of the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Scheme, particularly in relation to registration of products; introduce civil penalties to mirror existing and amended criminal offences; make administrative changes, including removal of the requirement for gazettal of registration decisions and providing for further five-year reviews of the operation of the scheme; and remove voluntary registration of products.

House of Representatives: Intro. 23/5/12; Passed 19/6/12

SC report no. 53 (tabled 24/5/12): Bill referred to House Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; statement made discharging committee—€™s requirement to present a report 18/6/12

Senate: Intro. 20/6/12; Passed 26/6/12

SBC report 6/12 (tabled and adopted 19/6/12): No reference

Assent: 22/7/12; Act No. 108, 2012

Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill 2012

Implements the recommendations of the Productivity Commission—€™s report into wheat export marketing arrangements by amending the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 to transition the wheat export industry to full deregulation by: abolishing the Wheat Export Accreditation Scheme and the wheat export charge on 10 December 2012; winding up Wheat Export Australia on 31 December 2012; and removing the access test requirements for grain port terminal operators on 30 September 2014. Also makes consequential amendments to the Criminal Code Act 1995 and repeals the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 on 1 October 2014.

House of Representatives: Intro. 21/3/12; Passed 31/10/12

SC report no. 49 (tabled 22/3/12): Bill referred to House Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry Committee; report tabled 18/6/12

2nd reading amendment: 1 Opp/negatived

CID amendments: 16 Govt/passed

Senate: Intro. 19/11/12; Passed 29/11/12

SBC report 4/12 (tabled and adopted 22/3/12): Provisions of bill referred to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee; extension of time to report 18/6/12; report tabled 25/6/12

Committee amendments: 4 AG/passed; 6 Ind (Xenophon)/negatived

[House agreed to Senate amendments 29/11/12]

Assent: 3/12/12; Act No. 170, 2012

PM Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2011

(Introduced by Mr Abbott —€“ LP)

Provides that the development or use of Aboriginal land in a wild river area cannot be regulated under the Wild Rivers Act 2005 (Qld) without the written agreement of the land owner.

House of Representatives: Intro. 12/9/11; Removed from Notice Paper 19/6/12

SC report no. 32 (tabled 15/9/11): Bill referred to House Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry Committee; report tabled 27/2/12

SC report no. 39 (tabled 24/11/11): Bill referred to House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee

PS Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2011 (No. 2)

(Introduced by Senator Scullion —€“ CLP)

Provides that the development or use of Aboriginal land in a wild river area cannot be regulated under the Wild Rivers Act 2005 (Qld) without the written agreement of the land owner.

Senate: Intro. 10/2/11; In committee 12/5/11

SBC report 1/11 (tabled and adopted 10/2/11): No reference

2nd reading amendment: 1 Govt (as amended by Opp)/passed (reference to committee—€”see below)

Reference: Bill referred to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee 24/3/11; report tabled 10/5/11; correction tabled 11/5/11

Committee amendment: 1 AG/pending

For further information about the consideration of legislation in the Senate: Brief Guide to Senate Procedure No. 9—€”Consideration of legislation Brief Guide to Senate Procedure No. 14—€”Debating legislation under time limits Brief Guide to Senate Procedure No. 20—€”Reading a bill Odgers—€™ Australian Senate Practice, 13th edition—€”Chapters 12 (Legislation) and 13 (Financial Legislation) Senate Brief No. 8—€”The Senate and Legislation