Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2017. As Senator Polley has outlined, the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill which would amend the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the Archives Act 1983, the Bankruptcy Act 1966, the Domicile Act 1982, the Evidence Act 1995, the Family Law Act 1975, the International Arbitration Act 1974, the Legislation Act 2003, the Marriage Act 1961 and, finally, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. It makes minor and technical amendments to modernise, simplify and clarify these pieces of legislation and repeal redundant provisions. The combined effect of these amendments—the changes to this range of bills—is to improve the efficiency and operation of the civil justice system in Australia, which, of course, is an ideal that I'm sure all in this place would agree with.

The government aims to make all Commonwealth legislation coherent, readable and accessible to the widest possible audience. To this end, this bill would amend the Acts Interpretation Act and the Legislation Act to clarify the validity of ministerial acts and the management of compilations of legislation on the Federal Register of Legislation. The government also aims to make Australia's archival record accessible to the broadest range of applicants possible. To this end, amendments to the Archives Act would assist the National Archives of Australia to appropriately manage requests for records from high-volume applicants.

The bill makes other minor and technical amendments to the act. The proposed amendments in the bill simplify the interpretation of the Domicile Act by specifying within the act the territories to which the Domicile Act applies. This would replace an existing specification of territories in the regulations, allowing that regulation to be repealed. Again, this is about streamlining the legislative framework in this area and making it much more simple to understand.

The bill also amends the Evidence Act to align the time frame for the presumed receipt of postal articles with current Australia Post delivery times. Obviously, legislation needs to keep up with the times and be reflective of the realities of the modern world. The bill also reflects the government's commitment to maintain its place in the international legal environment by amending the International Arbitration Act to help ensure that Australian arbitration law and practice are on the global cutting edge so that Australia continues to gain ground as a competitive arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. Arbitration, whenever it is an option, is in the main much more cost-effective and has much better outcomes for all parties than having to go through lengthy and very costly legal proceedings.

The amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act would repeal obsolete provisions. The bill would repeal the combat duties exemption in section of 43 of the Sex Discrimination Act that allows discrimination against women in connection with employment, engagement or appointment in Australian Defence Force positions involving combat duties. The exemption is no longer necessary, as the Australian government's policy to remove all gender restrictions from the Australian Defence Force combat roles was fully implemented on 1 January 2016. Repealing this provision is consistent with Australia's intention to withdraw its related combat duties reservation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This is something that's had a long genesis, and it's very good to see the final elements of the legislative framework in this area being delivered by this government.

We also see minor and technical amendments contained in the bill to improve the operation of the Family Law Act by clarifying existing laws, simplifying processes and eliminating some inconsistencies. This bill makes amendments to provide the same rights to de facto and married couples when instituting maintenance and property proceedings. The bill would also amend the Family Law Act to clarify the admissibility provisions in the Evidence Act relating to evidence obtained in an improper or illegal manner applying to evidence of disclosures of child abuse and communications between family consultants and family law litigants.

The bill would assist the operation of the Family Court of Australia in a number of ways. The bill would amend the Family Law Act procedure for appointing members to the Family Court of Australia Rules Advisory Committee to be consistent with the process for appointment of a similar committee advising the Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. Other amendments to the Family Law Act would clarify the range of persons who may perform the powers of the registry managers in the Family Court of Australia and any other court. The Bankruptcy Act would also be amended to clarify that the Family Court of Australia has bankruptcy jurisdiction when a trustee applies to have a binding financial agreement set aside under the Family Law Act.

This bill we are debating today also makes minor amendments to the Marriage Act. Many of these amendments are aimed at improving the operation of the Marriage Celebrants Program. These measures would enhance administrative efficiency by making improvements to the annual celebrant registration charge process. The bill also formalises an existing expectation that celebrants comply with any disciplinary measures that may be imposed by the registrar, and clarifies that the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants is a publicly available list published on the internet—again, keeping our legislative framework in line with the modern world.

The bill would provide that where state or territory employees are appointed according to their position title to perform functions under the Marriage Act, they may be referred to on the register by their position title rather than their name. Some definitions and terminologies will be updated to ensure consistency with other legislation. The bill also clarifies that certain instruments made under the act are not legislative instruments and it remedies a defect in the legislation to remake provisions in relation to the Registrar of Overseas Marriages that were repealed in 2002.

In conclusion, the intention of the bill is to make a number of minor and technical amendments to a number of acts to increase access to justice for all Australians by improving the operation and clarity of civil justice legislation. The amendments contained in the bill would improve the civil justice system by making it easier for individuals to understand and comply with the law. Thank you.