Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to various bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings.

I also table statements of reasons justifying the need for the bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The documen ts read as follows—

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2025 SPRING SITTINGS

COMPETITION AND CONSUMER AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR SEPARATION) BILL 2025

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Bill 2025 is to establish the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) as a new non-corporate Commonwealth entity, so that the AER will no longer be a constituent part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The bill will also make consequential amendments to implement administrative and procedural changes to allow continued operation of the AER, clarify the ongoing relationship between the ACCC and the AER (including sharing of information between the two regulators), and establish arrangements permitting the ACCC to provide shared services to the AER and other organisations as necessary.

The intention is to separate the AER from the ACCC in a simple and minimalistic way by amending the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to give the AER a greater degree of independence.

Reasons for Urgency

Passage of the bill in the 2025 Spring sittings is critical to enable a proposed date of establishment of the new entity by 1 July 2026 and allow sufficient operational lead time for the AER and the ACCC to prepare for the separation (including preparation of the AER's standalone corporate functions and systems).

The AER currently operates as a constituent part of the ACCC. Both organisations are part of a single Commonwealth entity that shares staff, resources and facilities. As a result, the AER Board, which is responsible for regulatory functions, does not have direct control over resources and staff, which remain under the ACCC's authority, and this separation of accountability is creating increasing difficulties for the AER as it prepares for legal separation while performing its statutory functions and engaging in a significant data capability uplift program.

The scale and pace of the energy transition requires the AER to operate with greater financial and operational autonomy. A distinctly separate AER will contribute to its overall effectiveness as Australia's energy regulator.

The below reviews have previously highlighted the governance risk for both organisations and made the following observations and recommendations.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2025 SPRING SITTINGS

HEALTH LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (IMPROVED MEDICARE INTEGRITY AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2025

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to support the integrity and sustainability of the Medicare system and respond to recommendations made in the Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance undertaken by Dr Pradeep Philip (Philip Review). The Bill contains measures to address non-compliant and fraudulent Medicare claims before they are paid, as well as improving recovery arrangements. Additional amendments relating to therapeutic goods and tobacco legislation are required to provide regulatory clarity and support for enforcement and compliance activities.

Reasons for Urgency

Urgent changes are required to address vulnerabilities in the Medicare system. In order to respond to the Philip Review, changes are required to reduce the number of incorrect Commonwealth payments in respect of Medicare programs, and to recover any such payments already made. The measures would enable health regulatory bodies to respond to significant threats to life or health and non-compliance with professional standards. These bodies currently face restrictions in responding to information referred to them involving a risk of harm to patients.

The Government commissioned the Philip Review after reports of extensive Medicare fraud and non-compliance. The Philip Review estimated the cost of non-compliance and fraud in the Medicare system as being between $1.5 and $3 billion per year. The Philip Review stated this amount is likely to increase without changes to Medicare and its legislative framework. Public policy considerations require the integrity of the health system to be appropriately protected, as any loss due to incorrect payments and fraud results in reduced access to health services.

The measures would reduce the usual timeframe for making bulk-billed claims and strengthening information gathering and recovery powers. This would result in savings by reducing the number of incorrect and fraudulent Medicare payments before they are made. If payments have been made, the changes would better enable the recovery of incorrect and fraudulent amounts. One measure was approved at MYEFO 2023-24 and another was approved at Budget 2024-25 with savings of up to $33.6 million. If the Bill is not passed in the current sittings, the recommendations in the Philip Review will not be implemented and the ability of the Commonwealth to address fraud and non-compliance would not be improved.

The Bill would also amend the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to introduce a number of important public health measures that, among other things, would enhance the Department's capacity to manage and alleviate the potentially grave consequences of therapeutic goods shortages in Australia. Additionally, the Bill would amend the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 (Tobacco Act) to improve the integrity and effectiveness of the regulatory regime, particularly for vaping advertisement requirements. The Bill would strengthen compliance and enforcement, including to support responses to illicit trade in tobacco. Delay in passage would significantly impact the ability to ensure compliance with the Tobacco Act in the short term.

All measures have been previously introduced into Parliament, however, that Bill lapsed when Parliament was prorogued in March 2025.

(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Health and Ageing)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE     IN THE 2025 SPRING SITTINGS

UNIVERSITIES ACCORD (NATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION CODE TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE) BILL     . UNIVERSITIES ACCORD (NATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION CODE TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE) (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL

Purpose of the Bills

The Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill (the Bill) will establish a new standalone regulatory framework that will hold higher education providers to account for their performance in preventing and responding to gender-based violence through a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence ('National Code').

The National Code will include standards and requirements that all higher education providers must meet, including developing, implementing and embedding a whole-of-organisation approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. The Bill will also amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to make compliance with the National Code a quality and accountability requirement for approved higher education providers under that Act.

Reasons for Urgency

This Bill seeks to urgently address gender-based violence in higher education and contribute to the national priority of ending violence against women and children in one generation under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.

Higher education providers have not done enough to address the alarming rates of sexual violence in the sector, with key reports on the issue dating back to 2017. The Australian Universities Accord Interim report of July 2023 recommended governments address student and staff safety as an urgent priority. This was followed by a report from the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee in September 2023 that stated it lacked confidence the university sector will respond appropriately to the crisis of sexual violence in universities without strong intervention.

The National Code, which will be made under this Bill, is this strong intervention. It is the third action of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education, agreed to and released by Education Ministers on 23 February 2024.

Passage of the Bill in the 2025 Spring sittings is critical to ensure the National Code can commence as early as possible in 2026 to protect the safety of students, staff and the wider community.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education)