Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025 supports the establishment of the new Australian Centre for Disease Control.

It amends three existing acts in order to transfer certain public health responsibilities to the Australian CDC.

These responsibilities will be discharged by the new CDC with the benefit of its independence, scientific and technical expertise, and access to advanced data analysis to better detect public health risks.

These are important reforms to position the Australian CDC as the key advisor on public health actions taken by our government to protect the health of Australians. There will be another pandemic—the only question is when—and there continue today to be infectious disease outbreaks.

Biosecurity Act 2015

This bill will establish a role for the Director-General of the CDC under the Biosecurity Act 2015.

The director-general will have the ability to determine listed human diseases—a key decision which determines which human diseases are monitored at Australia's borders and where efforts are focussed to prevent their spread domestically and abroad.

This will ensure the Australian CDC protects Australians from the human diseases it determines as having the greatest threat to our nation.

The Australian CDC will be required under the Biosecurity Act to provide advice on human health risks if needed to support the analysis of the biosecurity risk of imported goods for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The role of the Chief Medical Officer will change with the establishment of the Australian CDC and its status as a new national public health agency in my portfolio.

This bill confers the role of the Director of Human Biosecurity under the Biosecurity Act 2015 to the health secretary instead of the Chief Medical Officer to reflect this.

National Health Security Act 2007

This bill amends the National Health Security Act 2007.

The Australian CDC will take on responsibility for coordinating surveillance data from states and territories for diseases on the National Notifiable Disease List.

It will be responsible for ensuring that—together with the Minister for Health—the list is contemporary and includes relevant diseases that present risks to public health.

The National Focal Point (NFP) will also be transferred from the health secretary to the Director-General of the CDC. This ensures that the director-general is the central point of contact for significant public health events affecting Australia, in and beyond our borders. meeting Australia's requirements as a party to the International Health Regulations.

Administration of the Security Sensitive Biological Agents (SSBA) Scheme will also transfer to the CDC.

National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023

A core capability and focus of the Australian CDC will be the enhanced use of public health data—including data on non-communicable diseases and issues at the interface between human health and environmental health.

This bill transfers responsibility for the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry to the CDC. This will ensure the Australian CDC directly manages the registry to help reduce and improve our understanding of preventable occupational respiratory diseases.

Australian National Preventative Health Agency Act 2010

The bill repeals the old Australian National Preventative Health Agency Act 2010.

The Australian National Preventative Health Agency (ANPHA) was established by a former Labor Government to support the prevention of chronic disease. Following a decision by the next administration, ANPHA ceased operations on 30 June 2014, and its functions transferred to the Department of Health.

While not its initial focus, the Australian CDC is expected to take on expanded functions related to non-communicable diseases, including in areas like chronic disease, over time.

The Australian CDC will be enabled to do so through the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025. The Australian CDC's expanded functions will be considered following an independent review of the CDC's operations and funding in 2028.

Repeal of the ANPHA Act 2010 is consistent with, and reflected in, the new remit of the Australian CDC as a contemporary public health authority.

This repeal provision provides a clear path for the Australian CDC's future focus on non-communicable diseases.

Freedom of Information Act 1982

This bill also amends schedule 3 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The Australian CDC will be bound by strong safeguards designed to protect certain information, including personal information, from inappropriate disclosure.

The amendment to the FOI Act reinforces this protection by making clear that certain information held by the Australian CDC will not be subject to release under freedom of information requests or under the director-general's duty to publish public health advice.

This strikes a careful balance between the public right to information and the need to safeguard sensitive information that should not be published.

Transitional provisions

The consequential and transition bill facilitates a smooth transition from existing acts to the new Australian CDC.

It provides clarity to ensure old arrangements under those relevant acts it amends continue seamlessly under the new Australian CDC's administration and its director-general.

In summary

The consequential and transitional bill makes necessary amendments to ensure the Australian CDC strengthens our national public health system—by assuming some existing powers, and by adding more expertise and advanced capabilities to exercise these powers.

This will lay the foundation for a more resilient, accountable and responsive system—protecting the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

I commend this bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned.