• set out legislative provisions relating to the requirement for approved providers to allow delegates of the Secretary access to an aged care service to assess the care needs of care recipients;
• set out the procedures that the Secretary (or their delegate) must follow to classify a care recipient;
• set out the classification levels and how a care recipient may be assessed and classified into each class, as well as specifying the circumstances in which a care recipient's care needs are taken to have changed significantly for the purposes of reclassification of a care recipient; andset out the criteria for persons to whom the Secretary's assessment powers may be delegated.

To set out requirements for the use of restrictive practices in relation to aged care recipients in residential aged care. The amendments are in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the Independent Review of the Legislative Provisions Governing the Use of Restraint in Residential Aged Care.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (the Act) provides for the registration and regulation of charities by the Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission (ACNC). An entity is entitled to registration under the Act if it meets specified requirements, including the requirement to comply with the governance standards set out in the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Regulation 2013. Registration under the Act is a necessary precondition for access to a range of exemptions, benefits, and concessions, including certain Commonwealth tax concessions.

Governance standard 3 currently provides that registered entities must not engage in conduct that may be dealt with as an indictable offence under an Australian law or by way of a civil penalty of 60 penalty units or more. These regulations provide that an entity may not be entitled to be registered or remain registered under the Act if:

• the entity engages in conduct that may be dealt with as a relevant kind of summary offence under an Australian law; or
• the entity fails to maintain reasonable internal control procedures to ensure its resources are not used to actively promote another entity’s acts or omissions that may be dealt with as an indictable offence, a relevant kind of summary offence, or a civil penalty of 60 penalty units or more.

Examples of the kinds of summary offences that are covered include:

• trespass to land or premises (including buildings, vehicles etc.);
• vandalism;
• theft of personal property;
• common assault; and
• threatening violence against an individual.

Case study (see explanatory statement, p. 5):

 A registered entity exists to relieve poverty in Australia and internationally. As part of its activities, it occasionally advocates against the outsourcing of labour from domestic manufacturers to overseas manufacturers. The registered entity organises an event to trespass onto the property of an Australian company that outsources its labour overseas. The registered entity has failed to comply with the new requirement by engaging in conduct that may be dealt with as a summary offence relating to entering or remaining on real property.

To mandate that vaccination providers must report the administration of National Immunisation Program vaccines to the Australian Immunisation Register. Prior to the commencement of the instrument only COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations were reported to the Register.

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

Senate Select Committee on COVID-19

Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee

Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee

Senate Select Committee on COVID-19

This instrument sets out:

• requirements for notifying particulars in relation to a communication for the purposes of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 and certain Broadcasting Acts; and
• communications which are exempt from the authorisation requirements.

In particular, the instrument:

• requires particulars in relation to a communication to be notified in English and any other language used for the rest of the communication;
• requires particulars in relation to a communication to be formatted and placed in a certain way so as to be legible and reasonably prominent;
• sets out where the particulars of a printed communication must be notified and where or when the particulars of a non-printed communication such as speech, music or electronic billboard must be notified; and
• exempts media releases and envelopes that contain the name and address of the notifying entity.

Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee

To establish the JobMaker scheme and specify details about the scheme, including:

• the start and end date of the scheme;
• when an employer or business is entitled to a payment;
• the amount and timing of a payment; and
• other matters relevant to the administration of the payment.

This instrument gives effect to recommendation 31 of the Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Workplace by, among other matters:

• adding sexual harassment to the list of conduct falling within the definition of ‘serious misconduct’ in the Fair Work Regulations 2009; and
• supporting amendments made by the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021 to include ‘sexual harassment’ in the Fair Work Commission’s existing stop-bullying jurisdiction.

Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee

Heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of more than 4.5 tonnes and used on public roads for business purposes are charged to recover that part of the road construction and maintenance costs that are attributable to heavy vehicles. A portion of the costs are recovered by states and territories through heavy vehicle registration charges and a portion by the Commonwealth through the fuel-based road user charge.

This determination sets the new rate of the road user charge at 26.4 cents per litre of taxable fuel. (The rate was previously 25.8 cents per litre of taxable fuel.)

Heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of more than 4.5 tonnes and used on public roads for business purposes are charged to recover that part of the road construction and maintenance costs that are attributable to heavy vehicles (cost recovery). A portion of the costs are recovered by states and territories through heavy vehicle registration charges and a portion by the Commonwealth through the fuel-based road user charge.

This determination sets the new rate of road user charge at 35.3 cents per kilogram for taxable fuels, which is a 2.5 per cent increase to the previous rate.

To set the requirements that a higher education provider must meet, and continue to meet, in order to be registered by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to operate in Australia. They provide the basis for the regulation of Australian higher education providers by TEQSA. The Threshold Standards ensure that the barrier to entry into the higher education sector is set sufficiently high to underpin and protect the quality and reputation of the sector as a whole.

The Threshold Standards also serve other broader purposes in Australian higher education including:

•  an articulation of the expectations for provision of higher education in Australia as:
  • a guide to the quality of educational experiences that students should expect
  • a reference for international comparisons of the provision of higher education
  • a reference for other interested parties; and

• a model framework which higher education providers can themselves apply for the internal monitoring, quality assurance and quality improvement of their higher education activities.

To increase the fee for certain merits review applications to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) from $1,826 to $3,000.

The fee applies to applications for review of decisions relating to visas other than protection visas, and includes decisions in relation to sponsorships and nominations. The new fee is subject to annual increase, from 1 July 2022, in line with existing legislated indexation arrangements.

Prior to introducing this measure, the Department of Home Affairs consulted with the Attorney-General’s Department and the AAT, however consultation with external stakeholders such as migration agents and peak bodies was not conducted.

To amend the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Regulation 2016 to increase the annual charge set out in those regulations for the financial year 2021-22. The increase applies to the annual charges applying to medicinal cannabis licences, cannabis research licences and cannabis-related manufacture licences.

This instrument is a direction to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) Board in relation to the performance of the functions of the Facility.

In particular, the instrument enhances the impact of the Facility in line with recommendations made by the 2020 Statutory Review of the NAIF, including expanding eligibility for NAIF financial assistance to include elements associated with the development of a project (such as purchase of plant and equipment), facilitating on-lending arrangements to support smaller projects, and removing the prohibition on the Commonwealth assuming the majority of risk in any project. The 2021 instrument provides a clear framework on the use of higher-risk instruments such as derivatives and equity investments. It also provides some clarifications as to how the Facility should consider whether a project delivers public benefit.

Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Legislation Committee

To increase the Emergency Animal Disease Response levy on laying chickens from nil to 1.1 cents per laying chicken.

To amend the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 to list the Office of the Special Investigator as a listed entity for the purposes of the finance law as defined by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The Office of the Special Investigator will have responsibility for:

• reviewing findings of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry;

• working with the Australian Federal Police to investigate the commission of criminal offences under Australian law arising from or related to any breaches of the laws of armed conflict by members of the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016; and

• developing briefs of evidence in respect of any offences that are established, for referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

To set out the different amounts of receiver and transmitter licence tax that is payable by licensees of particular receiver and transmitter licences.

To set out the different amounts of receiver and transmitter licence tax that is payable by licensees of particular receiver and transmitter licences.

To amend the Therapeutic Goods (Charges) Regulations 2018 to increase the annual charges set out in those regulations for most products by 1.05 per cent for the financial year 2021-22. The increase applies to annual charges relating to the registration, listing or inclusion of therapeutic goods in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. This encompasses registered goods (including provisionally registered medicines), listed goods, biologicals and medical devices.

The Order is intended to address concerns held by medical practitioners and pharmacists about the lack of information and controls regarding unregistered nicotine vaping products by establishing minimum safety and quality requirements for unregistered nicotine vaping products with a view to:

• ensuring that health care practitioners and consumers have access to accurate information about the content of these products;
• ensuring that substances with known, demonstrable inhalation risks are not used as ingredients in these products; and
• minimising the risk of, and risks associated with, accidental exposure to or ingestion of these products, particularly by children, given the toxicity of nicotine.

The Order achieves these objectives by specifying a range of labelling, packaging, ingredient, nicotine content (or concentration) and record-keeping requirements. Most notably, these include:

• requiring disclosure of an ingredients list, the nicotine concentration and specific safety warnings on or attached to the container or primary package (including by way of over-stickering) or supplied with the product (including in an information sheet);
• prohibiting the use of active ingredients other than nicotine and eight specific ingredients with known, demonstrable inhalation risks;
• specifying that the nicotine concentration of these products must not exceed 100 mg/mL (base form concentration or equivalent base form concentration);
• requiring nicotine concentration or content to be within +/- 10% of that stated on or attached to the product, or its container or primary package, or in information provided with the product;
• requiring products to have child-resistant packaging; and
• requiring those responsible for import, export or manufacture for the purpose of supply, of these products to maintain records demonstrating conformance with the Order.

The Determination complements the Order by providing that those products covered by the Order need not also conform to the default standards that might otherwise apply to them. This is because the Order represents an acceptable standard for the safety and quality of unregistered nicotine vaping products in Australia. The default standards, however, will continue to apply to any nicotine vaping product that may be registered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

This instrument specifies the kinds of therapeutic goods information relating to the supply of medicinal cannabis products in Australia that the Secretary may release to the public under section 61 of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.

Specifically, the instrument facilitates the publication of aggregated and de-identified statistical information including the numbers of applications or notifications (collectively, “submissions”) made in relation to medicinal cannabis products under the authorised prescriber, special access scheme category A and special access scheme category B pathways in Australia. The numbers of submissions are specified in the instrument with reference to one or more parameters including:

• time periods;
• the relevant state or territory in which the medicinal cannabis products are prescribed;
• the indications for which the products have been prescribed;
• the active ingredients relating to those products; and
• the status of the submissions (such as approved, withdrawn, refused, pending or received).

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

The Order is intended to address concerns held by medical practitioners and pharmacists about the lack of information and controls regarding unregistered nicotine vaping products by establishing minimum safety and quality requirements for unregistered nicotine vaping products with a view to:

• ensuring that health care practitioners and consumers have access to accurate information about the content of these products;
• ensuring that substances with known, demonstrable inhalation risks are not used as ingredients in these products; and
• minimising the risk of, and risks associated with, accidental exposure to or ingestion of these products, particularly by children, given the toxicity of nicotine.

The Order achieves these objectives by specifying a range of labelling, packaging, ingredient, nicotine content (or concentration) and record-keeping requirements. Most notably, these include:

• requiring disclosure of an ingredients list, the nicotine concentration and specific safety warnings on or attached to the container or primary package (including by way of over-stickering) or supplied with the product (including in an information sheet);
• prohibiting the use of active ingredients other than nicotine and eight specific ingredients with known, demonstrable inhalation risks;
• specifying that the nicotine concentration of these products must not exceed 100 mg/mL (base form concentration or equivalent base form concentration);
• requiring nicotine concentration or content to be within +/- 10% of that stated on or attached to the product, or its container or primary package, or in information provided with the product;
• requiring products to have child-resistant packaging; and
• requiring those responsible for import, export or manufacture for the purpose of supply, of these products to maintain records demonstrating conformance with the Order.

The Determination complements the Order by providing that those products covered by the Order need not also conform to the default standards that might otherwise apply to them. This is because the Order represents an acceptable standard for the safety and quality of unregistered nicotine vaping products in Australia. The default standards, however, will continue to apply to any nicotine vaping product that may be registered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

This instrument supports the implementation of an annual superannuation performance test and comparison tool for superannuation products. Among other matters, the instrument specifies:

• when APRA must conduct the annual performance test, which products are subject to the annual performance test and the requirements for the annual performance test;
• the form and content requirements for the notice a trustee is required to give to beneficiaries who hold a product that has failed the performance test; and
• the circumstances where APRA may lift a prohibition on a trustee from accepting new beneficiaries into an underperforming product.

Senate Economics Legislation Committee

This instrument supports the single default superannuation account reforms in Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) Act 2021. Among other matters, the instrument specifies:

• requirements that a fund must meet to be a stapled fund; and
• procedural matters relating to requests to and responses from the Commissioner of Taxation about stapled funds.

Senate Economics Legislation Committee