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

I want to thank the members who contributed to the debate on the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025. This bill makes sure the Australian CDC has responsibilities under existing laws to protect our health more effectively. The Australian CDC will be independent and science driven, using advanced data to spot health risks early and give the best advice to government. It's about making sure we're ready to respond quickly and smartly to health threats.

To do this, the bill updates the Biosecurity Act 2015 so that the CDC's director-general will decide which diseases we monitor at our borders. This means we'll focus on the diseases that pose the biggest risks to Australia. The National Health Security Act 2007 will be updated so the Australian CDC can coordinate disease data from across the country. It will help keep the list of notifiable diseases up to date and act as Australia's main contact for international health emergencies. The CDC will also take charge of managing security-sensitive biological agents, which is another step in keeping Australians safe.

The bill amends the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023 to give the Australian CDC responsibility for the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry, helping us better understand and prevent respiratory diseases. The bill supports the Australian CDC in managing important public health information and upholding strict safeguards to protect certain sensitive information through amendments to the Freedom of Information Act. The bill repeals the act that established the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, which ceased operations in 2014. In the future the Australian CDC may take on more work in some areas that ANPHA focused on, such as chronic disease; however, this will be considered following an independent review in the future, giving the CDC time to build its core strengths.

Finally, the bill includes transitional rules to make sure that the relevant parts from the old system move smoothly over to the new one. This bill gives the Australian CDC the tools it needs to lead Australia's public health response, making our system stronger, smarter and better prepared to protect all Australians. I commend the bill to the House.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question before the House is that the bill be read a second time.