The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Sue Lines ) took the chair at 09:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023
…our members generally do not support a bespoke licensing regime separate to financial services licensing for crypto service providers.
…should look through the technology, and digital assets should be treated similarly to comparable, traditional financial products…
…the existing financial services licensing regime can be appropriately modified to accommodate crypto assets.
…where possible and appropriate, digital asset service providers should be licensed under existing regulatory regimes, and if any new licensing regime is introduced, unnecessary duplication and uncertainty should be avoided…
Broadly, we believe that Treasury's current consultation process provides the most appropriate forum to receive industry feedback and develop appropriate regulations for the crypto asset opportunity.
… if Australia fails to adapt to and enable digital business models, these platforms will still be built—they will simply be built in other jurisdictions, or remain in dark parts of the economy, leaving consumers and investors exposed.
… if Australia fails to adapt to and enable digital business models, these platforms will still be built—
… these platforms will still be built—they will simply be built in other jurisdictions—
or remain in dark parts of the economy—
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Modernisation) Bill 2022
That this bill be now read a third time.
Statute Law Amendment (Prescribed Forms and Other Updates) Bill 2023
These amendments will ensure well-targeted requirements will apply, taking into account the best modern practices available in the relevant circumstances. They will ensure there is still oversight of the information to be provided while enabling flexibility in updating and improving forms.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Bill 2023
This deterioration in affordability has been driven by a dramatic rise in mortgage rates, combined with rising home prices over recent years.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Law Improvement Package No. 1) Bill 2023
In another century the probability is that Australia will be a white continent with not a black or even dark skin among its inhabitants. The Aboriginal race has died out in the south and is dying fast in the north and west, even where most gently treated. Other races are to be excluded by legislation if they are tinted to any degree. The yellow, the brown, and the copper-coloured are to be forbidden to land anywhere.
The Regional Road and Transport Recovery Package means roads can be not just rebuilt, but also improved to withstand future extreme natural weather events.
People in two cars had lucky escapes when a bridge they were driving over collapsed in floodwaters in New South Wales.
The two groups are often at loggerheads—over Aboriginal identity, voting rights and land access—but are in furious agreement on one issue: the voice is no good.
… there are some real opportunities to expand sheep processing and expand exports of chilled frozen meat, including sheep.
… the sensible path is for both sides of the debate to construct a carefully considered transition to ending the trade permanently …
… … …
… what we both believe is an inevitable and permanent ceasing of all live sheep exports to the Middle East.
Order shall be maintained in the Senate by the President.
… the Senate shall be silent, so that the President may be heard without interruption.
That the Senate take note of the explanation.
That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked by opposition senators today.
Small businesses reject the proposed legislation.
The cost to implement any changes, the cost of advice, the loss of productivity and workforce flexibility are challenged by these changes.
Small businesses will need to spend time and invest money in obtaining advice to ensure they are not captured if these changes were to become law. This comes at a time when 43% of small businesses in Australia are not profitable.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance (Senator Gallagher) to a question without notice she asked today relating to native title.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance (Senator Gallagher) to a question without notice I asked today regarding superannuation on paid parental leave.
That the Senate take note of the documents.
Whilst the Scheme remains demand-driven, the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework agreed by National Cabinet will provide an annual growth target … of 8 per cent …
I continue to claim public interest immunity over the document prepared for the National Cabinet meeting … as its release would be detrimental to relations between the Commonwealth and the states and territories.
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators:
(a) Senators Dodson and Bilyk from 4 to 7 September 2023, for personal reasons; and
(b) Senator Dodson for 6 and 7 September 2023, on account of ministerial business.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, by no later than 4.30 pm on 7 September 2023, all documents relating to category 1 and 2 defence export permits provided to Sudan since 2015.
The Senate divided. [16:48]
(The President—Senator Lines)
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Treasurer, by no later than 4.30 pm on 7 September 2023:
(a) all written correspondence between the Treasurer's office and the office of the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme between 17 April 2023 and 31 August 2023 in relation to the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework and related impacts; and
(b) all written correspondence between the Treasurer's office and the National Disability Insurance Agency between 17 April 2023 and 31 August 2023 in relation to the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework and related impacts.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water, by no later than 10 am on Thursday, 14 September 2023, any briefing notes, media briefing notes, file notes, emails, written communication and reports held and generated by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office since May 2022 regarding:
(a) the agreement of Murray-Darling Basin ministers to deliver the Basin Plan in full, released by the Minister for the Environment and Water on 22 August 2023;
(b) options to deliver the remaining water, including water efficiency infrastructure projects and voluntary water purchases;
(c) funding, including funding sources and rationale behind how much funding each state and territory will receive on signing up to the new agreement;
(d) new supply projects;
(e) options to deliver the 450 GL of water for enhanced environmental outcomes;
(f) package of 'no regrets' constraints relaxation projects, including what constraints projects are considered to be 'no-regrets';
(g) minimising the socioeconomic impact on communities of buybacks;
(h) water recovery options;
(i) consultants engaged to work on the agreement and all aspects related including market advice on options to recover water; and
(j) the December 2018 Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council agreement on socioeconomic criteria and the associated assessment, which was adopted as the basis of the neutrality test for assessing efficiency measures projects.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water, by no later than 10 am on Wednesday, 27 September 2023, the following documents, including audited reports held by the Murray Darling Basin Authority and/or the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment:
(a) the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) Funding Agreement for the funding of a Cultural Flows Project Officer (The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) reference MD004598), the Cultural Flows Agreement; and the 2021-22 Core Funding Agreement (MDBA reference MD005878);
(b) as required under the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) Cultural Flows Agreement, the final report for the project and the 2020-21 audited financial acquittal report;
(c) as required under the 2021-22 Core Funding Agreement, the progress and financial reports;
(d) copies of all Core Funding Agreements or related agreements with NBAN between 2017-19 and 2021-22;
(e) copies of each of the required reports under the Core Funding Agreement for each of the years since 2017-19, including:
(i) the annual report for each year outlining how the activities detailed in that agreement were delivered,
(ii) the grant report detailing the income and related expenses associated with that agreement, and
(iii) the audited financial report; and
(f) any briefing notes, media briefing notes, file notes, emails, written communication and reports, including audited reports held by the MDBA, and/or the department relating to:
(i) the requisite number of Nation Gatherings and community exhibitions,
(ii) support provided by the MDBA to NBAN's business improvement capability through funding the following business improvement activities:
(A) the Business Health Check, conducted between 17 November 2021 to 19 April 2022,
(B) the forensic audit conducted in 2022 and covering the period from July 2017 to March 2022,
(C) the Business Improvement Manager to assist NBAN in finalising its overdue contractual reporting, and
(D) work with NBAN on administering its business 3 operations, noting that the Business Improvement Manager was engaged for the period 31 August 2022 to 30 November 2022,
(iii) the decision made to defund NBAN and not renew its funding including discussions held on the 28 April 2022, with the decision communicated to NBAN on the 3 November 2022,
(iv) allegations of bullying and corruption within NBAN, and
(v) any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e).
Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:
Labor must listen to parents, carers, teachers, unions and 2.6 million stude nts, and deliver 100% funding to all public schools at the start of the next National School Reform Agreement.
To date, the National Policy Initiatives are unlikely to have affected the education outcomes of Australian students.
The National School Reform Agreement has gaps that undermine its effectiveness in facilitating collective, national efforts to lift student outcomes.
Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The statement by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) in its final monitoring report into airline competition in Australia that "a further direction to the ACCC would provide continued transparency and scrutiny of the industry at a time when new and expanding airlines are still trying to establish themselves", demonstrates the need for the Albanese Government to take immediate action to protect consumers and promote competition by reinstating the ACCC airline monitoring regime.
That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The statement by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) in its final monitoring report into airline competition in Australia that "a further direction to the ACCC would provide continued transparency and scrutiny of the industry at a time when new and expanding airlines are still trying to establish themselves", demonstrates the need for the Albanese Government to take immediate action to protect consumers and promote competition by reinstating the ACCC airline monitoring regime.
More than a year since the end of the final COVID-19 state border restrictions, the domestic airline industry has not yet managed to recover to pre-pandemic levels of passengers and capacity.
While the industry has increased international capacity over the past few months, capacity remains below pre-pandemic levels due in part to delays in aircraft and spare parts shortages. Qantas has also reported that demand for international travel remains strong, leading to a mismatch between demand and supply. This imbalance is putting upward pressure on international airfares.
A further direction to the ACCC would provide continued transparency and scrutiny of the industry at a time when new and expanding airlines are still trying to establish themselves.
That the Senate take note of the report.
That the senators be appointed to the Select Committee on Commonwealth Bilateral Air Service Agreements as set out in the document available in the chamber and listed on the Dynamic Red.
Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023
Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Australia's Engagement in the Pacific) Bill 2023
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023
That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time.
That these bills be now read a second time.
CRIMES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (COMBATTING FOREIGN BRIBERY) BILL 2023
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023 will amend the Criminal Code and theIncome Tax Assessment Act 1997 tostrengthen the legal framework for prosecuting foreign bribery. The measures in the Bill seek to address key challenges with investigating and prosecuting cases of foreign bribery in Australia.
The measures in the Bill will look familiar to many members of this Parliament.
That is because Schedule 1 of this Bill is in substantially the same form as Schedule 1 of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019—which was, in turn, in substantially the same form as Schedule 1 of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017.
On two occasions—across two Parliaments and over a period of 5 years—the previous government introduced a Bill to strengthen the legal framework for prosecuting foreign bribery. But on two occasions, the previous government allowed those Bills to lapse. Those Bills were never put to a vote, despite measures like those contained in Schedule 1 of this Bill enjoying bipartisan support over many years.
It is my hope that those opposite will work with the Government to complete the work that they commenced when they were on this side of the Chamber by supporting this Bill.
Foreign bribery is a serious and insidious problem across the world. At a local level, it can harm communities by increasing the costs and reducing the quality of vital public goods and services for citizens, skewing competition and misallocating precious resources. At a macro level, it impedes economic development, corrodes good governance and undermines the rule of law. Further, bribery by Australians and Australian businesses damages our international standing and can shrink the global market for Australian exports.
As the Australian Institute of Company Directors told the Senate Committee that inquired into the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019, "[f]oreign bribery and corruption causes significant harm to the governance of societies and economies abroad, as well as distorting competition and the integrity of markets".
As a signatory to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, Australia is required to ensure that our laws are effective in holding natural and legal persons to account for foreign bribery. In 1999, Australia gave effect to these obligations by enacting the current foreign bribery offence in Division 70 of the Criminal Code . Over time, that offence has proven to be overly prescriptive and difficult to use. The measures in this Bill have been carefully developed and targeted to overcome these issues, to ensure our legislative framework adequately deters and punishes the corrupt practice of foreign bribery.
Under the current foreign bribery offence, the prosecution needs to show that both the bribe and the business advantage sought were 'not legitimately due'. This presents challenges where bribes are concealed as legitimate payments.
To address this, the Bill replaces this requirement with the concept of 'improperly influencing' a foreign public official to better reflect the type of conduct involved in foreign bribery. The Bill amends the definition of 'foreign public official' to also include candidates for public office.
The Bill also broadens the scope of the foreign bribery offence to capture bribery conducted to obtain a personal advantage, not a business advantage . This is because, as the experience of law enforcement agencies has shown, a bribe could be in a range of different forms—such as the include the bestowal of a personal honour, the processing of a visa request, or a reduction in an individual's personal tax liability.
The Bill also removes the existing requirement that, for the offence to be established, the foreign public official must be influenced in the exercise of their official duties. The Bill also clarifies that the offence does not require the accused to have had a specific business or advantage in mind, and that the business or advantage can be obtained for someone else.
Most significantly, the Bill creates a new offence for corporations that fail to prevent foreign bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of $27.5 million or higher.
This measure holds companies directly liable for the foreign bribery activities of their employees, external contractors, agents and subsidiaries, unless the business can demonstrate that they had adequate procedures in place.
The United Kingdom has successfully used a similar offence to prosecute companies in several foreign bribery cases, which has reportedly had a significant and positive influence on the adoption of more effective corporate compliance programs to prevent bribery.
To support the introduction of this new offence, guidance material on what constitutes 'adequate procedures' to avoid criminal liability will be published. The Bill requires me, as the responsible Minister, to publish guidance on the types of measures that are likely to constitute 'adequate procedures' within 6 months of Royal Assent of the Bill. The draft Guidance will largely be modelled on the UK Government's Guidance that accompanies the 'failure to prevent' offence under section 7 of the UK Bribery Act.
In finalising the Guidance material over the coming months, the Government will build on the work that was undertaken—but never completed—by the previous government in 2019 and 2020.
The Government will also have regard to existing guidance published by the Australian Trade Commission, the OECD and other international organisations.
This is intended to enable Australian companies that have already framed their anti-bribery policies on international guidelines to easily incorporate additional policies relevant to the Australian context.
In addition to the measures contained in this Bill, the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 would have introduced a Deferred Prosecution Agreement Scheme. This Bill contains no such scheme.
The purpose of a Deferred Prosecution Scheme is to strike a balance between encouraging companies to self-report serious offending and holding companies to account for serious corporate crime. However, given that the is universal agreement that the existing foreign bribery offences in the Criminal Code are grossly inadequate, it is premature to entertain the introduction of a Deferred Prosecution Scheme.
The introduction of such a Scheme should only be entertained after the measures in this Bill have been enacted and given time to work.
When ordinary Australians commit crimes, they feel the full force of the law. However, under the Deferred Prosecution Agreement scheme proposed by the former government, companies that engaged in serious corporate crime, including foreign bribery, would have been able to negotiate a fine, agree to a set of conditions and have their cases put on indefinite hold.
The amendments in the Bill will strengthen Australia's implementation and enforcement of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and the United NationsConvention against Corruption .
In December 2021, the OECD found that Australia had increased its enforcement efforts against companies and subsequently upgraded Australia under the relevant recommendation. Introduction of this Bill will further enhance our enforcement efforts under the Anti-Bribery Convention.
The Albanese Government takes corruption very seriously—whether it is corruption in the public sector or the private sector.
In July 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Commission will be established to investigate and report on serious or systemic corruption in the Commonwealth public sector, refer evidence of criminal corrupt conduct for prosecution and undertake education and prevention activities regarding corruption. The Combatting Foreign Bribery Bill enhances Australia's response to foreign bribery and supports our obligations under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.This Bill demonstrates the Government's commitment to combatting foreign bribery and ensuring our laws are effective in detecting, investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES) BILL 2023
The Bill makes some technical amendments to Chapter 2D of the Social Security Act, which provides legislative authority for spending on grants and arrangements to help people obtain and maintain paid work, to address labour shortages, and for related purposes.
Chapter 2D was introduced in April 2022. Its purpose was to provide more streamlined and transparent legislative authority for spending on such assistance.
More specifically, Chapter 2D was intended to provide more streamlined legislative authority than that provided by section 32B of the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997 (the FF SP Act), without changing processes and requirements for the establishment and oversight of programs supported by Chapter 2D.
Chapter 2D was introduced by the former Government as part of the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Streamlined Participation Requirements and Other Measures) Bill 2022. The explanatory memorandum stated that:
"all Chapter 20 does is provide statutory authority for expenditure ... All of the usual processes and requirements for the establishment and oversight of such programs will remain unchanged."
The amendments in this Bill will ensure that this original intent is achieved by making it clear that regardless of whether a program derives its legislative authority from Chapter 2D or elsewhere, the processes and requirements for the establishment and oversight of the program will be the same. That was always the intention of Chapter 2D.
While Chapter 2D is achieving its purpose, its operation will be improved through the technical amendments in this Bill.
The Bill will ensure that where new or updated legislative authority is needed for programs that help people to obtain and maintain paid work, it is available in the best possible way.
I commend this Bill to the chamber.
SOCIAL SERVICES AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIA'S ENGAGEMENT IN THE PACIFIC) BILL 2023
The Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Australia's Engagement in the Pacific) Bill 2023 will establish the legislative power to extend a range of government supports and benefits to Pacific Engagement Visa holders and eligible Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme families.
The Bill will provide immediate access for Pacific Engagement Visa holders to higher education and VET student loans, financial supports while studying and training, and Family Tax Benefit Part A.
It will also extend access to Family Tax Benefits and Child Care Subsidy for families participating in family accompaniment under the PALM scheme.
This Bill reflects Australia's special relationship with the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
The Albanese Government has said before that Australia's central message to the Pacific is that we are here to listen, we are here to work together, and we are here to make a difference.
This Bill puts words to action.
The measures contained in the Bill extend support and benefits to Pacific Engagement Visa holders, so that participants have the opportunity to not just settle in Australia, but to pursue education opportunities and flourish in their new communities.
The new Pacific Engagement Visa is designed to grow the Pacific and Timor-Leste diaspora in Australia with ongoing connections to their home country, deepening our ties to the region.
The Bill also delivers on the Government's commitment to expand and improve the PALM scheme by introducing family accompaniment, beginning with a pilot of 200 families.
Workers under the PALM scheme provide essential support to Australia's economy, often in critical sectors, including in aged care and agriculture.
But to do so, many leave their families behind for months or years.
PALM scheme family accompaniment will permit workers on one to four-year placements to bring their immediate family to Australia, with the support of their employer.
This Bill means that PALM scheme workers participating in family accompaniment will be able to access benefits to support them with the costs of raising a family and enable full participation of spouses in the workforce, if they choose to do so.
It recognises the invaluable contribution that people from the Pacific and Timor-Leste make to Australia.
And addresses the under-representation of some of Australia's closest neighbours and partners in our migration program.
It brings to the fore the importance Australia places on our relationships with the countries of this region, and upholds our commitment to strengthening ties with the Pacific family.
Pacific Engagement Visa
This package of legislation builds on two related Bills introduced by my colleague Minister Giles to establish a pre-application ballot process for prospective Pacific Engagement Visa holders, and charge a small fee to enter the ballot.
Collectively, these Bills represent a significant step towards delivering on the Government's commitment to introduce a new Pacific Engagement Visa—a ground-breaking, signature initiative of our plan to build a stronger Pacific family.
The Pacific Engagement Visa is a substantive expression of the value Australia places on its relationship with the Pacific family and has been welcomed by the Pacific.
Importantly, the Pacific Engagement Visa will address longstanding concerns of Pacific countries about limited migration pathways to one of their closest neighbours.
Less than one per cent of Australia's permanent migrant intake is from Pacific countries, which is disappointing given our proximity and many shared values.
The Pacific Engagement Visa will establish a permanent resident visa program for participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
3,000 visas, inclusive of partners and dependent children, will be allocated annually through a ballot process.
While the ballot process has been the subject of debate already in this chamber, I cannot overemphasise the importance of the ballot process to delivering on the objectives of the program. A ballot process ensures fair and transparent access, and gives equal chance to higher and lower skilled applicants, ensuring we do not deprive Pacific countries of skills and talent.
This approach has been welcomed by Pacific partners during consultations. It provides broad access for Pacific and Timor-Leste citizens, including for applicants from remote and economically disadvantaged islands and regions.
Eligible participants aged 18 to 45 will register in the ballot. If drawn from the ballot, they can then apply for the Pacific Engagement Visa and include their partner and dependent children in their application.
Being drawn in the ballot does not automatically mean a visa will be granted.
To be granted a visa, those drawn from the ballot will then need to apply and show that they meet the relevant criteria before being granted a visa.
Those drawn or their partners will need to have an ongoing job offer in Australia.
There will also be basic English language, health and character requirements for applicants.
The Government has consulted widely with Pacific leaders to ensure the program meets the shared needs and priorities of our Pacific and Timor-Leste partners, and removes barriers for low- and semi-skilled workers.
This is a key ask of the Pacific, and the ballot and the measures contained in this Bill respond to this ask.
A key measure of success will be the growth of a flourishing diaspora with opportunities for education and skills development and career progression.
The measures outlined in the Bill will support this shared objective ensuring Pacific Engagement Visa holders are afforded basic levels of economic security when settling in Australia.
Pacific Engagement Visa Support Measures
To help eligible Pacific Engagement Visa holders and their families, the Bill will introduce measures that assist with the cost of raising a family and ease the financial burden of undertaking further education.
The Bill will amend the Social Security Act 1991 to provide an exemption to the newly arrived resident's waiting period for Pacific Engagement Visa holders' access to Austudy and Youth Allowance, while studying or completing an apprenticeship.
The Bill also amends A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to provide an exemption to the newly arrived resident's waiting period for Pacific Engagement Visa holders for Family Tax Benefit Part A.
We know the power of education and upskilling, and so supporting access to our world class education and training system for the Pacific family is a top priority.
That's why the Bill also amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to extend the Higher Education Loan Program or HELP to Pacific Engagement Visa holders.
It also amends the VET Student Loans Act 2016 to extend eligibility for holders of the Pacific Engagement Visa.
These initiatives will open pathways for lower skilled and low-income applicants to upskill, and enable career progression and economic mobility. This will be good for individuals and families, Australian employers and regional economies and communities.
Providing access on arrival to Family Tax Benefit Part A demonstrates our commitment to growing a flourishing diaspora from a diverse range of backgrounds and skills. The waiving of the one-year waiting period will also provide immediate access to Rent Assistance and the Health Care Card for eligible families.
The inclusion of HELP and VET student loans for PEV holders will be transformative.
Providing immediate access to Youth Allowance for students and apprentices is an important step to ensuring Pacific Engagement Visa holders can meaningfully engage with Australia's quality education and vocational training sectors.
We expect these reforms will result in more Pacific islanders participating in Australia's domestic education system than ever before.
By supporting participation in our education system, we are saying to our Pacific family: 'We support your ambition to further your education and the opportunities that this will bring you, your families and future generations of Pacific diaspora in Australia'.
It will mean Pacific Engagement Visa holders are better equipped to participate in the job market and contribute to both the Australian economy and their Pacific communities through remittances or during periods living back home, should they wish to do so.
PALM scheme
The PALM scheme allows approved employers to recruit workers from nine Pacific countries and Timor-Leste to address labour shortages in rural and regional areas. It includes short term, seasonal work placements of up to nine months, and long-term placements between one to four years.
The PALM scheme is highly valued by Australia, the Pacific and Timor-Leste. It delivers wins for workers, communities, Pacific countries and Australian businesses.
And it addresses youth unemployment, supports economic integration of our region and draws our societies together.
The scheme is an important part of a wider package of measures designed to deepen Australia's ties with the Pacific and build a stronger and more united Pacific family.
PALM scheme workers are reliable and productive, ensuring businesses can continue to run and support their communities when there are not enough local workers available.
And they make a positive contribution in their communities.
Fijian workers in Swan Hill have joined the Country Fire Authority as volunteer fire fighters.
In Stawell, ni-Vanuatu workers spend time in the community visiting the elderly and people living with disabilities, helping them with general chores like gardening and moving furniture.
And during the flooding in Lismore, PALM scheme workers volunteered to be part of the rescue effort, working with the SES to rescue people trapped by flood waters and get them safely to evacuation centres.
The PALM scheme also, importantly, helps support the economic development of Pacific countries and Timor-Leste through remittances.
We have already delivered on our commitment to expand the PALM scheme. The total number of Pacific and Timor-Leste workers in Australia has risen from over 24,000 a year ago to more than 39,000 today.
And we will continue to expand the scheme, responsibly.
New investments in skills development will deliver more training opportunities—helping PALM scheme workers return home with important skills and qualifications to contribute to their home economies and communities.
Over the next six months, we will welcome 500 new workers in the aged care sector who will complete a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing), while working as carers in aged care homes in rural and regional Australia.
Before the last election, as part of our plan for a stronger Pacific family, we announced that families would be able join PALM scheme workers in Australia.
This arose from feedback from Pacific countries and Timor-Leste and their workers regarding the negative social impacts of extended periods of family separation.
Currently, workers on long-term placements can spend up to four years in Australia filling critical roles that employers cannot find local labour to fill. This means they are separated from their partners and children back home for an extended period.
Family accompaniment will allow these workers to bring their immediate families to Australia.
We will start with 200 families and carefully monitor, evaluate, adjust and refine the program to ensure that family accompaniment is delivering for everyone.
Any workers seeking to bring their families to Australia will need the agreement of their employer and will need to have been approved as participants in family accompaniment.
They will also need to meet additional program criteria to be eligible to participate, particularly in the initial stage.
Workers participating in the pilot will need to have spent 12 months in Australia prior to their families arriving. This means that the workers will have already completed the newly arrived resident's waiting period for Family Tax Benefit Part A prior to families arriving. After 12 months, PALM scheme workers will also be familiar with life in Australia and will be able to help their family settle into their communities.
We know that for family accompaniment to be successful, partners and children will need to feel part of their local communities, whether through work, study, or other community involvement. That is why accompanying family members will be able to take up paid work and children will be able to go to school. For some families, the opportunity for their children to benefit from an Australian education will be an important factor in their participation.
In the most recent budget, we announced that workers and their families participating in the family accompaniment pilot will also be able to access Medicare. This will support families to receive the health care they need during their time in Australia.
The Government is committed to supporting the welfare of PALM scheme families. We will be providing a range of settlement and welfare support to help families transition smoothly to life and work in Australia.
It's in nobody's interests for PALM scheme workers or their families to be inadequately supported during their time in Australia.
This Bill is an important part of the support the Government is providing to PALM.
The Bill will amend the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to enable eligible PALM scheme workers and their families in Australia under the family accompaniment initiative to access Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B and associated payments; and the Child Care Subsidy.
These measures will support eligible PALM scheme families while they are raising children in Australia. These measures will also reduce the barriers to workforce participation for partners of PALM scheme workers, by ensuring the cost of childcare does not act as a disincentive.
We have prioritised those payments of most importance to lower income families.
Conclusion
Closer engagement between Australia and Pacific island countries deepens our people-to-people connections and enriches our communities and countries.
As a member of the Pacific family, Australia is committed to working with all countries in the Pacific and Timor-Leste to achieve our shared aspirations and address our shared challenges.
This Bill is an important step towards delivering on our commitment to strengthen the Pacific family by supporting a flourishing Pacific diaspora in Australia, deepening connections with the countries of the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
We will look back on this moment as a critical advancement in our relationship with the Pacific. A moment when Australia took steps to address a major shortcoming in our migration program—the under-representation of some our closest neighbours, those we consider family.
These initiatives will strengthen our links with the Pacific family and deepen our ties to the region that is our home, and that is critical to our future.
I commend this Bill to the Chamber.
Higher Education Support Amendment (Response to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report) Bill 2023
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
In November last year, the Minister for Education appointed Professor Mary O'Kane AC to lead the biggest and broadest review of Australia's higher education system in 15 years.
Professor O'Kane is the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. She was also the first woman to become the Dean of Engineering at any university in Australia.
She is an extraordinary Australian and she leads an extraordinary team in this important task.
The other members of the Accord team are:
and
Together, they bring to bear enormous experience in our universities, in business and in public policy.
And a mix of experience in STEM and humanities.
From our cities and our regions.
From across the political divide.
Their terms of reference are also broad. They are looking at everything from access to affordability.
From teaching quality to research.
From governance and employment conditions to how higher education and vocational education and training can and should work more closely together.
The Interim Report was released on 19 July 2023.
It is an important first step.
What it says is that in the decades ahead more jobs will require a university qualification.
36 per cent of the current Australian workforce has a university qualification today.
The Interim Report estimates that could jump to 55 percent by the middle of this century.
That's a rough estimate but it gives the Parliament an idea of the skills challenge we face in the years and decades ahead.
And what the Accord team argues in this report is that the only way to so significantly boost the percentage of the workforce with a university qualification is to significantly increase the number of students who are currently under-represented in our universities.
Students from our outer suburbs and the regions.
Students from poor backgrounds.
Students with a disability.
And Indigenous students.
Today almost one in two Australians in their late 20s and early 30s has a university degree.
But not everywhere.
In the outer suburbs of our major cities, only 23 per cent of young adults have a university degree.
In the regions it is 13 per cent.
Only 15 per cent of young adults from poor families have a degree.
And if you are a young Indigenous Australian, it's even lower again. Only 7 per cent.
If you are a young Indigenous man today you are more likely to go to jail than university.
What this report says is we need to fix this.
All of this.
Not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's what we have to do.
If we don't—if we don't significantly boost the number of students from the outer suburbs and the regions and other under-represented groups—we won't have the skills we need, and the workforce we will need, in the years ahead.
This report is in two parts. The first part sets priorities for immediate action. It makes five recommendations and says the Government should act on these now, ahead of its final report.
When he report was released, the Government confirmed it would implement all five recommendations.
This legislation is necessary to implement two of those.
The five recommendations in the Interim Report are as follows :
1. that we create more university study hubs—not only in the regions, but in our outer suburbs;
2. that we scrap the "50 per cent pass rule", and require better reporting on how students are progressing;
3. that we extend the demand driven funding currently provided to Indigenous students from regional and remote areas—to cover all Indigenous students;
4. that we provide funding certainty during the Accord process by extending the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee into 2024 and 2025—with funding arrangements that prioritise support for equity students;
and
5. that we work with states and territory governments, through the National Cabinet, to improve university governance.
The Government will implement all of these recommendations.
In response to Recommendation One, we will double the number of university study hubs. There are currently 34 in regional Australia. We will establish 20 more in the regions and for the first time establish 14 in outer suburbs of our major cities where the percentage of people with a university qualification is low.
In response to the Fourth Recommendation, we will extend the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee into 2024 and 2025.
And as part of that we will require universities to use any funding remaining from their grant each year on things like enabling courses and extra academic and learning support for students from poor backgrounds, from the regions, and other under-represented groups.
In response to the Fifth Recommendation, we will work with the states and the territories on improving university governance.
The Minister for Education wrote to the Ministers responsible for higher education in each State and Territory to convene a working group which will be led by Ben Rimmer, the Deputy Secretary—Higher Education, Research and International in the Department of Education. Its job will be to provide advice to the Minister for Education and other Ministers on the immediate actions to be taken to improve university governance.
There are three areas this working group will focus on.
1. Ensuring universities are good employers providing a supportive workplace—and importantly a workplace where staff can have confidence that they will not be underpaid for the important work they do.
2. Making sure governing bodies have the right expertise, including in the business of running universities; and
3. And of critical importance—making sure our universities are safe for students and staff.
The 2021 National Student Safety Survey found that one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university.
And that one in six had been sexually harassed.
The actions universities have taken to address this to date have not been good enough.
We have the research. We have the evidence. We know the scope of the problem.
We have to act.
The Minister for Education met with members of the STOP campaign on 2 August 2023. A group of remarkable young women led by Camille. They told the Minister for Education that in residential colleges there is no consistency of process to make a complaint.
No easily available materials to inform students how to make a complaint.
No formal feedback process once a complaint is made.
And no support to produce and distribute the educational materials that they have created.
Camille and her colleagues didn't just feel unheard—they felt blocked.
As part of establishing this working group on university governance, on 9 August 2023 the Minister for Education appointed Patty Kinnersly, an expert on prevention and response to sexual harassment and sexual violence and the CEO of Our Watch, to join the group.
Ms Kinnersly will be part of the working group that will provide advice to the Minister for Education and other Education Ministers on the actions which should be taken and the measures which should be implemented to improve student and staff safety on campus, including in the variety of student accommodation settings.
The Minister for Education has also asked the Department of Education to make sure the working group consults with groups like STOP, End Rape on Campus and Fair Agenda.
The Government is serious about this. On this point the broader work being done by the Minister for Social Services on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children is also noted.
That's recommendations one, four and five of the Interim Report.
This Bill itself implements recommendations two and three.
In response to Recommendation Two, it amends the Higher Education Support Act to remove the requirement that students pass 50 per cent of the units they study to remain eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place and FEE-HELP assistance.
The former government introduced this rule as part of its Job-Ready Graduates package and it has seen a disproportionate number of students from poor backgrounds being forced to leave university.
More than 13,000 students at 27 universities have been hit by this in the past two years, mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Western Sydney University has said that this year alone 1,350 students have lost their funding and withdrawn from their courses.
We should be helping students to succeed—not forcing them to quit.
This bill requires that universities and other providers have in place a dedicated plan—a Support for Students Policy—under which they will be required to proactively identify students who are at risk of falling behind and set out what they will do to help them succeed.
These Policies will cover matters like:
The Department of Education has released a Consultation Paper on the proposed content of the Support for Students Policies. That proposed content will form part of mandatory obligations in the Higher Education Provider Guidelines.
This will also be backed by financial penalties for those institutions that don't meet these obligations. This bill provides for a civil penalty of 60 penalty units for non-compliance.
Universities and other providers will also be required to regularly report to the Department of Education on the effectiveness of their policies.
In addition to these measures, the Minister for Education has written to the Higher Education Standards Panel asking that the Panel consider the effectiveness of the current Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 in supporting students, and that they provide him with advice on matters such as:
1. whether current thresholds are sufficiently detailed to cover issues like student retention, completion and success;
2. ensuring universities are appropriately implementing the threshold standards; and
3. ensuring students know what protections and supports are already available to them—protections like the ability to obtain refunds where their university has failed to properly assess their ability to undertake a course, or has let them take on too heavy a workload. Or where a student has had to discontinue a course for reasons beyond their control.
The Minister for Education has also asked the Panel to advise what can be done to improve the standards currently in place.
This is all part of ensuring students are set up to succeed when they attend one of our universities.
Removing the "50 per cent pass rule" has been called for by universities right across the country.
Universities like the University of Adelaide, Monash University, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of the Sunshine Coast, University of New England, the Queensland University of Technology and Western Sydney University.
By way of example, Universities Australia has described it as a " punitive measure … widely rega rded as being unnecessarily harsh ", and noted that "the students most likely to fall afoul of the 50 per cent pass rule are first year students from low socio-economic status backgrounds ". They have welcomed this recommendation and the Government's plan to implement it.
Innovative Research Universities also called the rule " punitive " and congratulated the Government in moving to abolish it.
The other Accord priority action addressed in this bill, Recommendation Three, is to ensure all Indigenous students are eligible for a funded place at a public university if they meet the entry requirements for the course.
This means that where a student meets the entry requirements for a course, they are able to access support in the form of a Commonwealth Supported Place and a HELP loan.
It's a proven mechanism to increase access to university for under-represented groups.
Under the current legislation, only Indigenous students from regional and remote Australia can access demand driven places.
In other words, it applies to students who live in Townsville, but not Logan. If you live in Armidale, but not Mount Druitt. If you live in Port Hedland, but not Perth.
This bill means that demand driven places for bachelor level courses (excluding medicine) will now be available to all Indigenous students, wherever they live.
The Department of Education estimates this could double the number of Indigenous students at university within a decade.
This is another reform strongly supported by universities.
Universities like the Australian National University, University of Queensland, Western Sydney University Macquarie University, James Cook University, University of Southern Queensland, University of Melbourne, University of Adelaide, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Technology Sydney.
Universities Australia said:
" Universities have long called for uncapped places for all Indigenous students, and the removal of barriers to a university education for students from under-represented backgrounds, which the creation of more study hubs will help facilitate ".
, There are two parts to the Universities Accord Interim Report.
That's the first part.
The second part proposes more than 70 different ideas to reform our higher education system.
Between now and the end of the year when their final report is due, Professor O'Kane and the Accord team are seeking feedback on these ideas, including from members of this place.
Here are just some of those ideas:
They're just some of the ideas in this report.
Now is a chance for everyone, here in this place, and right around the country, to read the report and have your say.
Be part of this reform work.
Pull the ideas in this report apart.
Challenge them and improve on them.
Or reject them and suggest others.
Big reform is hard, and not every good idea can be funded by Government.
As Professor O'Kane has said, there will be far less than 75 recommendations in the Accord panel's final report.
The final report will look at what the top priorities should be and what reforms should be rolled out over time.
So this debate in here and around the country in the months ahead is important.
Professor O'Kane and the whole Accord team are thanked for their work to date.
For their immediate recommendations that we are acting on here.
For the ideas that they are asking us to debate.
And for the common thread which runs through all of this.
And that's about ensuring that more Australians, wherever they live, get a crack at going to university.
That—as the Prime Minister puts it—we open the door of opportunity a bit wider.
That's what this is all about.
I commend the bill to the Senate.
That the following matter be referred to the Finance and Public Administration References Committee for inquiry and report by 3 October 2023:
The activities of Aboriginal Community Services (ACS), with particular reference to:
(a) whether there was fraudulent usage of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation (NATSIC) vehicles and fraudulent usage of NATSIC fuel cards and credit cards by current and former staff members and directors of ACS;
(b) whether any former NATSIC members and/or employees were in receipt of payments from ACS as contractors or employees;
(c) whether any of these former NATSIC members and/or employees were receiving WorkCover or other workers' compensation/insurance payments while being paid/employed by ACS;
(d) whether third party related member benefits were appropriately approved by membership and reconciled against grant agreements (approved, expended and reconciled in accordance with grant agreement requirements);
(e) whether employment of family members was appropriately approved by the membership and in accordance with conflict of interest requirements;
(f) whether taxation was avoided through the use of third party related member benefits, or income in the form of payments, incidental costs, including credit cards, and fringe benefits arrangements for staff and directors, and what property has been purchased as a result (for example, housing, vehicles, jewellery etc, subject to Proceeds of Crime legislation);
(g) whether unlawfully obtained income or benefits were used in the setup of trust accounts related to ACS or by any staff or directors of ACS;
(h) whether investigations, whether related to fraud or otherwise, have been undertaken by the relevant Commonwealth and state departments into the operation of ACS and current and former staff and directors of ACS, including their involvement in suspected fraud relating to other organisations and boards such as the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Executive Board and NATSIC;
(i) any third party payments, including any payments made to consultancy firms, including James S Sturgeon Consultancy (ABN 55 592 208 638), Altitude Strategies Pty Ltd, NFP Success and other related entities;
(j) whether there are any financial conflicts in the provision of auditing services to ACS;
(k) whether the ACS board has complied with legislative governance requirements in regard to financial approvals, processes, reporting and transparency, including membership transparency requirements, for example, notifications to members for annual general meetings and whether ACS has met all requirements for legitimate annual general meetings;
(l) whether any current or former ACS staff and directors were unable to obtain appropriate working with vulnerable people and working with children's tickets in any jurisdiction across Australia;
(m) whether any current or former ACS board members have been paid in any form by ACS, including through income or by receiving benefits; and
(n) any other related matters.
That the question be now put.
… we received evidence that clearing of native forests and bushland required for HumeLink—
will have 'serious impacts' on the habitat for 82 threatened species of plants and animals, including the koala, Booroolong frog, wedge-tailed eagle and powerful owl.
This Inquiry … was a missed opportunity to provide strong recommendations …
It was made abundantly clear to the committee that HumeLink, as currently proposed, has no social licence.
The transition to 100% renewable energy does not have to mean 500kv transmission lines with hundreds of giant steel towers criss-crossing through our national parks, state forests and productive agricultural land, with all of the associated fire risks.
One of the biggest challenges facing NSW is ensuring we can keep the lights on while managing the biggest change in energy mix and consumption in the shortest period of time in our nation's history.
Professor Saul recommended that the government's primary response to the violence and killing of women, girls and protestors in Iran should be to widen the regulations to capture other serious human rights violations …
Australia has not only a moral obligation to take a stand against such behaviour, but a practical requirement to protect Australians from the dangerous and threatening behaviour of the IRI.
The recommendations in this report are designed to ensure Australia acts in accordance with our principles and with respect for human rights. It is entirely appropriate that the IRI regime, which has chosen to trample human rights and international norms in so many ways over such a long period of time, bears the consequences of its own actions in the form of being isolated from the international community. It is in Australia's interests to be at the forefront of international efforts to make clear to the IRI, and to other rogue nations, that there will always be consequences for engaging in unlawful activities—