The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Sue Lines ) took the chair at 10:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to the regulation of AI.
The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.
The Senate divided. [10:36]
(The Deputy President—Senator Brockman)
That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:
Knox Class Action (Facilitation) Bill 2026
National Student Ombudsman Levy Bill 2026
Passenger Movement Charge Amendment Bill 2026
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (National Student Ombudsman Levy) Bill 2026
Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026.
The Senate divided. [10:44]
(The President—Senator Lines)
Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026
The committee divided. [10:54]
(The Temporary Chair—Senator Ghosh)
(1) Clause 2, page 3 (at the end of the table), add:
(2) Page 52 (after line 8), at the end of the Bill, add:
Part 5 — Limited recourse borrowing arrangements
Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
10 Subsection 10(1)
Insert:
commercial property means business real property, or any other real property which is zoned to permit mixed uses where the dominant use of the property is for the conduct of one or more businesses.
development means any residential built form.
new residential dwelling means a residential dwelling, as at the time the limited recourse borrowing arrangements is entered, that will be, is being or has been built on land and that:
(a) either:
(i) has not been previously occupied; or
(ii) if the residential dwelling is contained in a development and the residential dwelling was sold by the developer of the development—has not been previously occupied and used for more than 18 months in total as a residential dwelling; or
(iii) for the purposes of subparagraph (a)(ii) above, where a previously uninhabitable dwelling has been substantially renovated, the 18 month occupation or use period is to be determined from the completion of the substantial renovation; and
(b) either:
(i) the land on which the dwelling is or will be built, was vacant land immediately before the residential dwelling was built; or
(ii) the building of the residential dwelling increases the total number of residential dwellings on the land; or
(iii) a substantial renovation to repair an existing uninhabitable residential dwelling to habitation; and
(c) eligible new residential dwelling limited recourse borrowing arrangements funding can include the total of any of (but is not limited to):
(i) acquisition of the land; and
(ii) acquisition or construction of the dwelling(s); and
(iii) associated civil and building works; and
(iv) progress payments under the building contract; and
(v) refinancing of a complete arrangement, providing the completed result of the funding is one or more new dwelling.
Note 1: For the purposes of this definition, new residential dwellings include the following:
(a) off-the-plan purchases;
(b) substantial renovations of dwellings previously uninhabitable and has the same meaning as in section 195-1 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999;
(c) house and land packages;
(d) vacant residential lots under a binding construction arrangement;
(e) separate but related land and building contracts.
Note 2: For the purposes of this definition, qualifying acquisitions include the following:
(a) a contract entered into before construction commences;
(b) a contract settled after construction is completed;
(c) staged deposits or progress payments;
(d) an acquisition where legal title is transferred only upon completion;
(e) an off-the-plan apartment, townhouse or house-and-land package.
residential dwelling has the same meaning as in theIncome Tax Assessment Act 1997 .
11 Paragraph 67A(2)(c)
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
(c) for an asset that is real property, one or both of the following apply:
(i) the dominant purpose for which the asset is used is a commercial property;
(ii) the asset is a new residential dwelling.
Note: For the purposes of subparagraph (c)(i)—real property that is used for mixed residential and commercial purposes may qualify. For example, a retail shop with apartment above or a residential dwelling that is also used as a doctor's clinic.
12 Transitional provision
Despite the amendments made by this Schedule and Schedule 5 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 , subsection 67A(2) of theSuperannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 , as in force immediately before the commencement of Schedule 5 to theTreasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 , continues to apply on and after that commencement in relation to:
(a) arrangements entered into before that commencement under which money is borrowed, or borrowings of money are maintained, for the acquisition of assets; and
(b) arrangements entered into on or after that commencement under which money is borrowed, or borrowings of money are maintained, for the acquisition of assets, to the extent that:
(i) the arrangement is for maintaining (or refinancing) a borrowing of money under another arrangement entered into before that commencement; or
(ii) the acquisition of the asset (to which the borrowing under the arrangement relates) happens under an arrangement entered into before that commencement.
Note: This item means each of the following continues to be covered by the exception in subsection 67A(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 :
(a) a borrowing arrangement entered into before the commencement of Schedule 5 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 ;
(b) a refinancing arrangement covered by subparagraph (b)(i);
(c) a borrowing arrangement for which the related asset is acquired under an arrangement entered into before that commencement (even if the settlement for the acquisition of the asset happens after that commencement).
The committee divided. [10:58]
(The Temporary Chair—Senator Ghosh)
That this bill be now read a third time.
Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026
The Senate divided. [11:14]
(The President—Senator Lines)
That this bill be now read a third time.
The Senate divided. [11:23]
(The President—Senator Lines)
Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
Early childhood education and care workers do one of the most important jobs in this country, but you wouldn't know it from what they've historically been paid.
When we were first elected, child care workers were leaving the job in droves—not because they didn't love the job but because they couldn't afford to keep doing it, because you could get paid more stacking shelves than you could educating the most precious things in our lives: our kids.
In some centres the attrition rate was 40 per cent.
That's 40 per cent of the workforce leaving the job they love in any given year, and that's a crisis.
But it's now changed and it's changed for a reason: the 15 per cent pay rise that this Government delivered almost two years ago.
When combined with the Government's support for minimum wage rises, this means $255 more per week for a typical full-time educator and $410 more per week for early childhood teachers, compared to December 2024 when we first implemented the pay rise.
More than 215,000 early educators at more than 11,600 centres across the country are now benefitting from this.
Job vacancies are now down 31 per cent, job applications in some places are up 30 per cent and there are now 20,000 more childcare workers doing that sort of life-changing work right across the country.
In other words, it's worked. It turns out that, if you pay people more, more people want to do the job.
That's why on the 17th of June, the Prime Minister announced an investment of $3.6 billion over the next two years to lock in this historic pay rise.
This bill delivers on this commitment.
It amends the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Act 2024 , crediting the Special Account and extending the Act's sunset date from 30 June 2028 to 31 December 2029.
The Special Account is used to administer the Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Retention Payment grant to ECEC providers to fund higher wages for eligible workers.
For the first time, all Child Care Subsidy-approved services will be eligible for funding as long as they meet the grant requirements.
This includes that all educators are engaged under a workplace instrument.
This is an important protection for workers and ensures the Government's investment is passed on in the form of higher wages.
But it's not just workers that benefit from this.
To receive the funding, services have to limit fee increases.
This has a real impact for families.
Over the first year of the program fees at centres that have received the payment have increased by about half the amount of centres that didn't sign up.
If this legislation doesn't pass, the advice of my Department is that child care fees could skyrocket by about 17 per cent.
We don't want this to occur.
That's why this legislation is important.
It means child care workers are paid what they deserve and the costs aren't passed on parents.
That will save the average family about $1,500 over the next two years.
That's big.
This bill does something else as well. Something very important.
It establishes a new object and condition of funding for the Act which puts service quality and the safety of our children at its heart.
To receive the funding, services will now also be required to meet Quality Area 2 relating to children's health and safety under the National Quality Standard.
If they don't, their funding can be cut.
About 95 per cent of services already meet this standard, but I want that number to be higher.
That's what parents have got a right to expect.
And it's what our children deserve.
The bill also allows for equivalent conditions to apply to services that are not regulated by the National Quality Framework, such as In Home Care services.
This is the latest in a raft of reforms we have introduced to improve safety in our early education system.
The legislation we passed last year gives my department the power to cut off funding to operators that don't meet quality, safety or compliance requirements under the National Law.
Since the legislation passed, my department has taken compliance action against 119 centres, putting them on notice to lift their game.
These are centres that haven't met the safety standards for at least 5 years.
And it is no accident that 55 of those centres have now suddenly fixed the problem they had refused to in the past.
The threat of cutting their funding has forced them to act.
This is not an idle threat. In June we cut off funding to a service for the first time.
Seven other centres have decided to close.
That legislation also gave my Department the power to undertake unannounced visits to child care services.
Since November 2025, Australian Government Authorised Officers have conducted more than 1,300 unannounced visits to services across the country.
States and territory regulators have stepped up too.
Last quarter, regulators undertook 1,540 compliance actions, more than double the 735 at the same time last year.
On 27 February, two other big reforms came into force.
The first of those is the National Early Childhood Worker Register.
The events of last year made clear how important this is. To know who is working where. And to be able to track people from centre to centre and from state to state.
The second is mandatory child safety training.
This is now a requirement for everyone who works in a centre. And not just them. Everyone up to the CEO and the Board of Directors has to do it as well.
They have six months to complete the training, and we've seen more than 350,000 do the foundation training so far.
The next stage of child safety training began two weeks ago.
We have also banned personal mobile phones in centres.
A national CCTV trial is also underway in more than 300 services.
The Australian Federal Police are part of the advisory group on that, as well as the Australian Centre for Child Protection, the National Office for Child Safety, and other leading experts.
All up, our Government is investing an extra $226 million in child safety reforms.
States and territories have committed more than $270 million as well.
That's around half a billion that governments are investing in strengthening quality and safety in early childhood education and care.
And last month, Education Ministers agreed to explore the development of an Early Education and Care Commission to strengthen quality and safety in the system.
This Bill supports the educators who support Australian families every single day.
It supports workforce participation.
And it helps make our centres better.
And safer.
I commend the Bill.
In early childhood education, we have to be bold in our vision, broad in our approach and brave in our means of delivery, and we need to do so in partnership with our early years educators, in whose hands we place our youngest and most vulnerable minds and yet whose critical work we choose to undervalue and underpay. Again, this is a choice—a policy choice and a values choice—and we must change our path.
At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:
(a) notes the uncertainty to the early childhood education and care workforce caused by the delayed confirmation of continued funding for the worker retention payment; and
(b) calls on the Government to:
(i) provide certainty in relation to Commonwealth-funded increased pay and improved conditions for the early childhood education and care workforce beyond this extension of the worker retention payment,
(ii) include the continuity, viability and sustainability of the early childhood education and care workforce in the design and priority work of the proposed Early Childhood Education and Care Commission; and
(iii) urgently progress a genuinely universal, high-quality and free early childhood education and care system that truly values educators, prioritises children and takes profit out of care".
The Senate divided. [13:16]
(The Acting Deputy President—Senator Blyth)
At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:
(a) welcomes the certainty that would be provided to the sector, and the avoidance of price shocks for families, if the worker retention payment ends in November 2026; and
(b) notes:
(i) the Government's failure to address the cost-of-living and operating cost pressures affecting families and providers,
(ii) that requiring a workplace instrument to access the payment places unnecessary administrative burdens on providers and places pressure on providers and employers to negotiate union agreements,
(iii) that the eligibility requirements for the payment effectively exclude much of the family day care and in-home care workforce, and
(iv) that extending the temporary payment does not provide a sustainable long-term funding model beyond June 2028".
The Senate divided. [13:24]
(The President—Senator Lines)
(1) Schedule 1, page 5 (after line 2), after item 7, insert:
7A Before subsection 11(4)
(3B) The terms and conditions must not:
(a) require the recipient to engage workers through a particular kind of workplace instrument; or
(b) require the recipient to engage workers through a particular kind of industrial arrangement; or
(c) otherwise relate to the manner in which workers are engaged (other than requiring that the engagement of workers be compliant with any relevant law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory).
Men were being challenged to stay sane while madness came shrieking out of the summer sky.
Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, nationalists and ethno-nationalists exist in this country. We disavow them completely. They stand in opposition to everything One Nation believes.
Something is wrong with this girls mental capacity.
I don't know whats worse. Her voice or her face?
Some times its better to Shut your Bi*ch Ass Up.
You're past it old love. A quick Botox Session and get out to pasture.
We don't need people like you … telling us what to do and … most of you politicians are corrupt … and Canberra is full of Pedos … thank God for one nation and yeah born in the 60's bitch … I've seen corruption first hand know allot of people. Your ugly is inside and out good luck with that there is no stopping the masses from waking up, have a nice day you evil bitch.
Real wages are not improving … they're falling.
You had the treasurer say workers should be happy because their wage share is increasing, but their real wages are falling … It's just ridiculous and people get offended by it. They can't pay the bills, and you tell them your share of GDP is growing.
The PM is telling the country with glee that the price of property is falling, yet the unaffordability rate is increasing.
Because interest rates are rising and real wages are falling …
Knowing that I and others dealing with body image issues or disordered eating can simply say no to this content is empowering …
If you are focused on online safety for children, why are you trying to stop this bill coming into law?
That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today.
You had the treasurer say workers should be happy because their wage share is increasing, but their real wages are falling. It's just ridiculous and people get offended by it. They can't pay the bills, and you tell them your share of GDP is growing.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Industry and Innovation (Senator Ayres) to a question without notice asked by Senator Waters today relating to the gas lobby.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate (Senator Gallagher) to a question without notice I asked today relating to migration and productivity.
That the Senate records its sadness at the death, on 20 April 2026, of Kay Janet Denman, former senator for Tasmania, places on record its gratitude for her service to the Parliament and the nation, and tenders its sympathy to her family in their bereavement.
… I believe that justice, if it is running late or lagging behind some current development, will eventually arrive but that often we have to struggle, to wait … I aim to do something to improve the train's timetable of justice over the next six years …
… when social cohesion breaks down, the costs are self-evident.
Then, as now, I was absolutely committed to the implementation of social justice and a more equitable society. Whilst there have been many improvements, this task still lies ahead of us.
During the week more than one of my colleagues asked me how I managed to remain tolerant during my time here.
The answer probably lies in the fact that I never believe in playing the person. To me, it is the cause or the issue that is fundamental. I accept that there are others who may have, and are entitled to have, a different view. It is important that we respect that. It has therefore been my task to try and convince them as to where they are going wrong.
That the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Amendment (No Jab No Pay Repeal) Bill 2025 be considered on Wednesday 16 September 2026 at the time for private senators' bills.
Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Fast Tracking Coal, Gas and Oil Projects) Bill 2026
That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to fast track and support coal, gas and oil projects, and for related purposes.
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
We are rich by nature but poor by policy, our nation is full of natural resources.
Since their election, the Albanese Labor Government has legislated a series of changes to prohibit public funding, financing, or legal permitting, or equal regulatory treatment of fossil fuels.
These changes are holding back development of oil, coal and gas projects. The Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Fast Tracking Coal, Gas and Oil Projects) Bill 2026 (the Bill) seeks to reverse those changes across six pieces of legislation. The Bill presents a set of near-term measures that we can announce that focus on unlocking our domestic energy resources, particularly oil, coal and gas, as part of a response to addressing the global and national fuel crisis; as well as to shine a light on Labor's persistent energy failures.
Labor has done all it could to suppress the supply of oil over recent years, and now we are in an oil supply crisis. It is clear environmental laws, particularly the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), have piled on costs and red tape while holding back our resilience as a nation because energy developments do not get approved or are delayed forever.
This includes oil, coal and gas, but also renewable energy projects. We should want Australian oil as much as we want Australian critical minerals or Australian renewable energy. If we don't get more oil, we will have to import more. Just as if we do not get more industrial-scale renewable energy, we won't get the data centres needed to support artificial intelligence. We need all forms of energy.
Australia is one of the most energy-rich nations on the face of the Earth. We have vast reserves of natural gas, coal, critical minerals, and liquid fuels. Yet, despite this extraordinary natural endowment, Australian families and businesses are being forced to pay exorbitant prices for basic electricity and fuel. This is because under Labor, our policy framework has systematically made it harder to produce domestic energy.
At its core, Australia does not lack energy resources; it lacks a government with the policy courage to develop them. This Bill is designed to reverse that failure and restore three fundamental principles to Australian energy policy: drill, build, approve.
This Bill will back Australian resources, unlock new supply, and deliver cheaper, more reliable power for households and businesses right across the nation.
We cannot solve a fuel supply crisis by continuing to lock up Australian fossil fuels. Our focus must be energy abundance and energy security.
We are living through an energy and sovereign security crisis born of our own legislative making. The deeply unsophisticated domestic political debate on energy in this country—and a broken environmental law framework has guaranteed that 42 years' worth of Australian oil endowment remains locked underground.
It is almost unbelievable how few lessons were learned from the COVID-19 pandemic about Australia's resilience and security. Australia sits literally at the very end of global supply chains for the basic products that keep our economy, our transport networks, and our society afloat—energy being chief among them.
In 2020, Australia was exposed because we could not get enough face masks. In 2026, we were exposed because we could not get enough fuel. When international conflicts flared, Australia was left vulnerable because we lacked the fuel needed to run the country. We saw petrol prices surge by nearly 50 per cent—the highest increase in the OECD, and vastly higher than the 15 per cent average seen in nations like Japan and South Korea, neither of which possess a fraction of our natural resource wealth.
Why are we in this position? Because Australia has been operating on the naive assumption that everything will be okay and that the rules-based order will continue to function on autopilot.
We have repeated the same mistakes now in the latest oil and fuel crisis due to conflict in Iran and the broader Middle East.
We've had the Prime Minister and the Energy Minister going cap in hand and begging for fuel.
We hear government announcements about critical minerals, local manufacturing, and ambitious transition targets, but when a supply chain shock hits, we resort to a last-minute Band-Aid approach. These have turned out to be just announcements with little action.
We don't have a plan, and it is no way to run a country. We have repeatedly failed to prepare the nation for supply chain shocks.
The late Senator Jim Molan warned this Parliament time and time again about fuel security. Yet, rather than building national strength, recent policy has actively dismantled our sovereign capacity.
Let us be completely honest with the Australian people: our economy is transitioning, but as we transition, we require plentiful, reliable, and affordable energy of all forms.
The United States Government estimated that across six major basins in Australia, there are an estimated 403 billion barrels of shale oil, with 17.5 billion barrels considered technically recoverable. From Queensland's Taroom Trough to the Browse, Northwest Shelf, and Barossa gas and condensate fields, Australia holds vast natural wealth.
Yet our current economic model ignores our own natural endowment and relies instead on importing refined and unrefined fuel on ships from Asia. The Australian energy debate should not be an ideological culture war. The truth is that we need energy of all forms. We need Australian oil and gas as much as we need, wind and solar energy. We need it all.
If we do not extract more domestic oil and gas, we will simply be forced to import more from foreign jurisdictions with lower environmental standards. Similarly, if we do not approve industrial-scale energy projects, we will not have the power needed to drive housing construction, rebuild domestic manufacturing, or power the data centres required for artificial intelligence.
A key handbrake on Australia's sovereign resilience is the EPBC Act. It takes seven or eight years just to obtain EPBC approvals for major offshore gas and condensate developments. In a competitive global market for mobile capital, delays of this magnitude guarantee that investment leaves our shores for the United States, South America, or Southeast Asia.
Environment Minister Murray Watt claimed that Labor fixed environmental laws for business. The reality is that the primary legislation was gutted, creating more uncertainty than ever.
In a political backroom deal struck with the Greens, oil, gas, and coal ventures were explicitly banned from accessing fast-track approval processes, priority class declarations, and national interest pathways. That deal was an act of economic self-harm. It undermined Australia's energy security by design.
There was little or no analysis of the economic, energy and broader impacts of this deal.
Today, nearly 40 gas and oil projects sit bogged down in EPBC bureaucracy. But it is not just fossil fuels—around 90 renewable energy developments are similarly trapped in administrative gridlock. And some 80,000 houses are also stuck in this quagmire. Bureaucratic paralysis harms every single sector of our economy.
This Bill seeks to rectify this state of affairs. At the most basic level, federal environmental laws must protect our natural environment, but they must also promote the fundamental national security and economic interests of the Australian people.
What This Bill Achieves
This Bill reverses those ideological exclusions and restores a level, merit-based statutory framework across six key Acts of Parliament.
EPBC Act Reforms
This bill amends the EPBC Act to remove explicit statutory bans, to be imposed by the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025, targeting fossil fuel actions by:
Restoring Financing and Support Infrastructure
In addition, statutory bodies are legally barred from providing standard commercial financing, export support, or research co-funding. This Bill repeals blanket prohibitions across key Commonwealth agencies by repealing:
President, we owe it to current and future generations of Australians to ensure that our laws do not turn Australia into a weak, vulnerable, and energy-dependent nation.
The changes in this Bill will ensure there is a fast-track approvals pathway for projects that are deemed of critical sovereign or national significance, meaning that the usual environmental standards would not apply.
Such projects would not be limited to oil and gas, but also relate to any critical projects, such as in housing and large-scale renewables.
We need all forms of energy.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Prime Minister, by no later than 5 pm on Friday, 16 October 2026, copies of all emails and instant or other electronic messages created after 4 July 2024 and held by the Prime Minister or his office which relate to any decisions of the Prime Minister to use or not use his powers under sections 4 and 12 of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 , but not any documents which constitute direct private correspondence between the Prime Minister or his office and members of Parliament.
GENERAL BUSINESS NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 702
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, by no later than 5 pm on Thursday, 1 October 2026, copies of all ministerial submissions, briefing notes, emails, meeting notes and instant or other electronic messages between the Minister for Communications or her office, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts and the Age Check Certification Scheme created after 1 August 2026 in relation to the erroneous citations identified in the report of the Age Assurance Technology Trial and the department's evidence regarding these errors at the hearing of the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee on 14 August 2026.
GENERAL BUSINESS NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 703
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, by no later than 5 pm on Thursday, 1 October 2026, copies of all ministerial submissions, briefing notes, emails, meeting notes and instant or other electronic messages created by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts in relation to the development and preparation of the letter from the Secretary of the department (Mr Betts) to the Chair of the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (Senator Ghosh), dated 31 August 2026, relating to the final report of the Age Assurance Technology Trial, including any drafts of this letter.
GENERAL BUSINESS NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 704
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, by no later than 5 pm on Thursday, 1 October 2026, copies of all ministerial submissions, briefing notes, emails, meeting notes and instant or other electronic messages between the Minister for Communications or her office, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts and Guardian Australia created after 1 August 2026 in relation to the erroneous citations identified in the report of the Age Assurance Technology Trial and the department's evidence regarding these errors at the hearing of the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee on 14 August 2026.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Trade and Tourism, by no later than 5 pm on Monday, 12 October 2026:
(a) all end-of-financial-year, financial, management or other reports prepared by Export Finance Australia for the 2025-26 financial year that identify or quantify the cost or financial exposure associated with underwriting shipments of fuel to Australia; or
(b) if the documents referred to in paragraph (a) cannot be provided in full, a statement setting out, for the 2025-26 financial year:
(i) the total cost to Export Finance Australia or the Commonwealth of underwriting shipments of fuel to Australia,
(ii) the total value of fuel shipments underwritten and the maximum financial exposure of the Commonwealth, and
(iii) any payments, losses, provisions or contingent liabilities arising from those underwriting arrangements, less any fees or other revenue received in connection with those arrangements.
That the following matter be referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee for inquiry and report by 18 November 2026:
The administration of the Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program including:
(a) program design, guidelines, funding criteria and eligibility requirements;
(b) the processes for identifying, inviting, assessing and selecting applicants;
(c) the role of the offices of the Prime Minister and other relevant ministers or members of Parliament in determining which organisations were invited to apply, which grants were awarded and who would announce successful grants;
(d) the role of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts in identifying and recommending which organisations were invited to apply;
(e) the geographic and electoral distribution of grants;
(f) any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest involving ministers, members of Parliament and applicants or grant recipients, or breaches of the Code of Conduct for Ministers; and
(g) any other related matters.
The Senate divided. [16:25]
(The Deputy President—Senator Brockman)
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, by no later than 28 September 2026, the memorandum of understanding between Australia and Nauru on which the Intergenerational Trust Fund No. 2 for the People of the Republic of Nauru was established, and all other documents relevant to the trust's establishment.
The Senate divided. [16:28]
(The Deputy President—Senator Brockman)
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, by no later than 5 pm on Friday, 18 September 2026, a copy of the report entitled 'Health Technology Assessment—Reform Roadmap and Final Report'.
The Senate divided. [16:32]
(The Deputy President—Senator Brockman)
That—
(a) there be laid on the table by the Minister for Finance or, if the Minister for Finance is a member of the House of Representatives, the Senate minister representing the Minister for Finance, as soon as practicable after the end of each three-month period commencing 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October, a statement setting out, for that period:
(i) the number of Serious Underperformance Reports investigated under the Digital Seller Underperformance Policy,
(ii) the number of times a finding of Confirmed Serious Underperformance (CSU) was made,
(iii) the name and date of inclusion in the CSU Register of all sellers who became registered in the CSU Register,
(iv) the name and date of change of status of all sellers who had their CSU status changed to historical in the CSU Register, and
(v) the name and date of change of status of all sellers who had their CSU status archived; and
(b) this order is of continuing effect.
The Senate divided. [16:40]
(The Deputy President—Senator Brockman)
That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The need to end the Albanese Government's assault on household budgets, with Australians paying more tax, more for their mortgage or rent and more for everyday essentials, while Labor pursues even more taxes that will make it harder to get ahead.
That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The need to end the Albanese Government's assault on household budgets, with Australians paying more tax, more for their mortgage or rent and more for everyday essentials, while Labor pursues even more taxes that will make it harder to get ahead.
Real wages are not improving in any significant way—they're falling.
You had the treasurer say workers should be happy because their wage share is increasing, but their real wages are falling.
It's just ridiculous and people get offended by it. They can't pay the bills, and you—
tell them your share of GDP is growing.
The PM is telling the country with glee that the price of property is falling, yet the unaffordability rate is increasing.
Because interest rates are rising and real wages are falling.
The Senate divided. [17:18]
(The President—Senator Lines)
That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The need for the Commonwealth Government to urgently intervene against any proposed plans to privatise Australian water supply, including the potential sale of Melbourne Water by the Victorian Labor government.
That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The need for the Commonwealth Government to urgently intervene against any proposed plans to privatise Australian water supply, including the potential sale of Melbourne Water by the Victorian Labor government.
The Senate divided. [17:56]
(The Acting Deputy President—Senator Ghosh)
Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
The Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026 represents a vital step in protecting athletes, officials, and fans across all sporting codes by keeping criminal elements out of Australian sport.
Sport is woven into the fabric of Australian life. From the grassroots to the professional level, sport builds community, teaches resilience, and unites us across generations and cultures. Over 14 million Australians participate in sport-related activities annually, helping to generate approximately 3 per cent of our national GDP. Sport in Australia provides $83 billion in combined economic, health and educational benefits each year and makes a vital contribution towards our national identity.
Competition manipulation, or match-fixing as it is commonly known, is not a victimless crime. It undermines the credibility of sporting competitions, defrauds the public and exposes athletes to coercion and exploitation.
It can also provide a foothold for transnational crime syndicates to launder money, manipulate outcomes and target vulnerable participants in our domestic sporting codes.
In recognition of these threats to the integrity of the sports sector, the Review of Australia's sports integrity arrangements, conducted by the Honourable James Wood AO QC in 2017, recommended that Australia become a party to The Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (the Macolin Convention), supporting an effective global response to international sport integrity matters. The Wood Review also recommended that the Australian Government establish national match-fixing offences.
In line with these recommendations, the Bill introduces a comprehensive suite of reforms that will protect Australian sport.
This Bill imposes significant penalties for these offences—including penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment for individuals who engage in conduct that corrupts a sporting event.
The penalties reflect the gravity of the harm that can arise from match-fixing conduct. Where sporting outcomes are manipulated, the resulting harm extends beyond the participants, potentially affecting spectators, sponsors, sporting organisations and the broader community.
The implementation of these offences will mean Australia is compliant with the Macolin Convention—a multilateral treaty with the key objective of preventing, detecting and sanctioning manipulation the manipulation of sports competitions. Compliance with the Macolin Convention ensures Australia is connected to our international counterparts to better combat offshore networks attempting to corrupt our sports competitions.
Australia is privileged to host a variety of international sporting events in the lead up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. To maintain our reputation as a sport loving nation, it is essential that Australia has effective laws that ensure the integrity of sport.
A fair, safe and strong sport sector, free from corruption is vital to the safety and credibility of sports and their participants, and to Australia's participation in the international sporting arena.
We owe it to our athletes, our fans, and our future generations to ensure that the sports they play and watch are fair and decided on merit, not manipulation.
I commend the Bill to the Chamber.
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026
Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2026
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.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (TECHNICAL CHANGES NO. 2) BILL 2026
Since this government was elected, we have been hard at work restoring trust in Australia's social security system.
This is one of the critical tasks of government.
Without this trust, the social security system loses legitimacy in the eyes of the community.
We understand the importance of the social security, family payment and child support systems to all Australians. Help must be available when and where Australians need it most.
This Bill builds on the significant improvements the government has made since the 2022 election, restoring fairness and adequacy for many income support and family payment recipients, as well as children and parents supported by the child support scheme.
We have raised the rate of working-age and student payments, providing real increases in the support for low-income Australians.
We have increased the annual single rate of JobSeeker Payment by almost $4,000; this is the result of the Government's increase to working age and student payments of $40 per fortnight, along with regular indexation.
Commonwealth Rent Assistance maximum rates have increased by over 50 per cent through the Government's real increases in 2023 and 2024 as well as indexation.
We have made sure support is going to those who need it with our changes to Parenting Payment Single eligibility, which has benefitted around 200,000 single principal carers since September 2023.
We are expanding Paid Parental Leave to 26 weeks this year, with superannuation now paid on top of Paid Parental Leave.
Parents who have a child after today will be able to receive almost $16,000 more through the Paid Parental Leave scheme than when we came to government.
Most recently, through the passage of legislation late last year, the Government increased the small debt waiver threshold for the first time in over 30 years to $250.
The threshold will be indexed from today, increasing to $260, and will continue to be indexed annually in line with the changes to the Consumer Price Index. We expect that in 2025-26 alone around 1.2 million undetermined debts will have been waived or not raised at all.
Access to the special circumstances debt waiver was expanded to better protect victim-survivors from coercive social security debt. The waiver can now be applied more widely and more fairly in situations where a person has genuine limitations on their ability to comply with their reporting requirements.
This includes cases of family and domestic violence, where a debt arises due to coercion or financial abuse.
In the recent Budget, the Government announced significant reforms to make the child support system safer and more effective for Australian children and parents.
The Bill before Parliament today is another important milestone in our efforts to restore the integrity of our social security, family payment and child support systems.
This Bill includes measures which resolve some historical legal and compliance issues that have been identified with the operation of these systems.
It builds on work we have already progressed.
Over the last two years, the government has passed four pieces of legislation to address historical legal and compliance issues in the social security and child support systems.
With these amendments, we have taken action to resolve outstanding legal and compliance issues identified in the operation of the social security, family payment and child support systems.
Many of these issues have been impacting the operation of these critical systems since well before this government was elected.
The Bill ensures systems are up to date, working effectively and that people can have confidence in their integrity and the support they can rely on.
We need to make sure people have confidence in the safety net so they can take a step forward and take up opportunities.
This is a largely technical Bill, reflecting the need for regular updates to ensure legislation remains up to date. It enables efficient and fair administration for the benefit of people who are supported by the social security and child support systems.
The Bill also responds to priorities identified through Services Australia's Legal Compliance and Remediation Program.
Many compliance issues are being resolved simply by operational or system changes at Services Australia. Others require legislation.
Minister Gallagher and I are actively responding to these issues as they arise.
This Bill strengthens our social security safety net by ensuring there is legislative clarity in how the social security, family payment and child support systems support people.
The Bill includes the following technical changes.
Advance Payments
Advance payments allow income support or Family Tax Benefit recipients to receive a lump sum advance of their entitlement. The money is repaid through a deduction of a person's future payments.
Advance payments are an important part of the social security and Family Tax Benefit systems, with approximately 2.7 million advance payments being granted in the 2024-25 financial year.
The Bill makes technical changes to provide legal certainty for Services Australia's administration of advance payments and continue current service delivery arrangements. We are removing outdated provisions related to social security and Family Tax Benefit advances, including the requirement for Services Australia to be satisfied that the repayments won't cause the person to suffer financial hardship.
This allows people to continue to access advance payments when they need it most and at a time and place that suits them.
We are also aligning Mobility Allowance debt recovery provisions with the usual debt raising practices for social security and Family Tax Benefit advances, improving legislative consistency across the social security system.
Pre-issue Income Data
The Bill makes technical changes to ensure that Services Australia can use income data supplied by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) before a notice of assessment is issued. This is known as pre-issue income data.
For 99.8 per cent of people, their income information doesn't change once a notice of assessment is issued.
Pre-issue income is used for child support, Family Tax Benefit, Single Income Family Supplement and Child Care Subsidy purposes.
The Bill allows Services Australia to use pre-issue income data to finalise or reconcile Family Tax Benefit or Child Care Subsidy payments and administer the child support scheme, rather than having to rely on tax-assessed income information.
It also ensures that people's incomes can be updated if Services Australia receives new income data.
The amendments ensure that Services Australia can make accurate payments for families seeking assistance, and make accurate and timely child support assessments. This aligns with Services Australia's current practices.
It will allow claims to be assessed as early as possible based on pre-issue income data supplied by the ATO, rather than having to wait longer for the final tax-assessed amount.
The small proportion of cases where there is a difference between the pre-issue income data and the final tax-assessed amount are corrected through reconciliation processes or automatic adjustments.
These changes will ensure child support assessments are timely and accurate and protect child support debt collection opportunities through the tax-refund interception process, which collect around $41 million in child support debt owed to children a year.
The Bill also includes the following amendments to improve the operation of the social security, family payment and child support systems.
All the amendments contained in this Bill, while technical in nature, will ensure the social security, family assistance and child support systems can better operate as intended.
Together, they continue our work restoring trust in Australia's social security system and ensuring our safety net provides the assistance people need.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (UNIVERSAL OUTDOOR MOBILE OBLIGATION) BILL 2026
The Albanese Government is committed to keeping Australians connected.
We believe in a simple principle: no one held back, no one left behind.
Access to telecommunications is not a luxury, it's an essential service that underpins public safety.
Australians rely on mobile phones for their connectivity more than ever. However, Australia's longstanding Universal Service Obligation does not include mobile services.
The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will change that.
For the first time, our national mobile network operators, Telstra, Optus and TPG will need to provide reasonable access to outdoor baseline mobile coverage across Australia on an equitable basis. This will initially require providers to support voice and SMS services.
Many thought it would never be possible to deliver mobile coverage across Australia's vast inland areas, but the advent of new, Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOSat) Direct to Device technology, will make it possible.
Within the next couple of years, Direct to Device—or 'D2D'—coverage will be able to provide baseline outdoor coverage in areas outside terrestrial coverage, allowing people to seek help if they are lost, injured, or facing natural disasters in areas without traditional terrestrial mobile coverage.
As National Farmers Federation President Hamish McIntyre has said today—this is a world first policy and we could become the gold standard for regional communications—that is our goal and that's why we have introduced this legislation.
Some would say we should wait until the technology is widely available before legislating the UOMO.
But to wait would mean leaving rollout decisions to industry alone, and risk some Australians being left behind. The Albanese Government is legislating the UOMO now to ensure baseline mobile coverage is widely available and available as quickly as possible.
The UOMO is not about replacing traditional mobile coverage with new technology. It will complement existing networks, so that we cover as much of Australia as possible and enable the community to benefit from new technology.
The Government will continue to invest in communications infrastructure and resilience in regional and rural Australia, including through the $1.1 billion Better Connectivity Plan.
The plan includes successful initiatives like the Mobile Black Spot Program, the Mobile Network Hardening Program, the Regional Connectivity Program, the On Farm Connectivity Program and the Broadcasting Resilience Program.
We have also provided significant funding to upgrade the NBN in regional, rural and remote Australia, including upgrading fixed-line areas with more resilient fibre services and expanding the fixed wireless footprint.
NBN Co's partnership with Amazon's Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, will ensure city-quality broadband is available within the NBN's satellite footprint.
Additionally, the Albanese Government's $68 million package of measures to support First Nations digital inclusion will further contribute to improving digital participation in First Nations communities—a critical step towards achieving Target 17 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The new baseline connectivity which will be delivered by the UOMO will help improve public safety and mean better access to emergency services and support, particularly in regional and remote areas outside terrestrial mobile coverage where no access to triple zero is possible unless people are calling from a home phone.
Turning to the specifics of the Bill, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 establishes the framework for the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation.
The Bill extends the existing Universal Services framework which currently encompasses the reasonable provision of fixed voice services and pay phones to include outdoor mobile services. It will apply to all three national mobile operators- Telstra, Optus and TPG.
There is one Schedule to the Bill, comprising two parts which together amend the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (TCPSS Act) to incorporate the UOMO into the existing universal service regime. The Bill also makes minor amendments to theCompetition and Consumer Act 2010 andtheTelecommunications Act 1997.
Part 1 of the Bill sets out measures to extend the existing universal services regime outlined in the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to include the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation.
The objective is to ensure mobile coverage is reasonably available outdoors to all people in Australia on an equitable basis.
The concept of reasonableness deals with situations where it may not be possible for a mobile operator to supply a designated mobile service that provides mobile coverage at a particular area.
There could be several reasons for this, such as technical limitations, temporary interruptions to the availability of wholesale services, temporary outages, and a choice by a consumer not to purchase an appropriate handset or plan to access UOMO services.
The aim of the overarching obligation is that end-users of Designated Mobile Telecommunication Services can be used outdoors at locations where it is reasonable to expect them to be able to be used.
ACMA will be responsible for the enforcement of the UOMO. The Telecommunications Act 1997 provides it with powers to take enforcement action, including to investigate breaches, issue infringement notices, impose sanctions and penalties for non-compliance.
ACMA would also be responsible for the enforcement of any UOMO standards, rules or benchmarks that may be applied to services. I note that ACMA already fulfils this role in relation to existing universal service arrangements.
The Bill includes a power for the Minister to determine circumstances when it would not be reasonable to make mobile coverage available, or matters to which regard must, or must not, be had in determining whether mobile coverage is reasonably available outdoors.
This Part also incorporates designated mobile telecommunications services into the list of public interest telecommunications services. At the time of commencement, the designated services will be voice and SMS.
The UOMO will apply to the general Australian outdoor mobile coverage area, which includes all states and mainland territories, and the eligible external territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
This is the area in which mobile operators will be expected to provide mobile coverage to meet the obligation. There is one specified exception, being the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia.
The Bill also provides the Minister with power to determine an area via legislative instrument. This could be required if an area needed to be excluded from the UOMO, had specific needs or one mobile operator was unable to service it.
The Bill includes a default commencement date of 1 December 2027, at which time all three mobile network operators will be obligated to ensure that baseline mobile coverage is reasonably available outdoors throughout Australia.
A default date provides a clear signal to the market of the importance of equitable and accessible outdoor mobile coverage, and that the intention of government is to see services provided as soon as feasible.
However, the Bill also creates a flexible framework where the scope and timing of the UOMO can be adjusted, by legislative instrument, in response to market readiness and extended as technology evolves.
There is also flexibility in the Bill to split the voice and SMS obligations should that be necessary due to market conditions at the commencement of the obligation.
The Bill is technology-neutral with mobile operators expected to leverage their existing and future terrestrial mobile infrastructure, as well as Direct to Device technology delivered by LEOSat platforms outside areas of mobile coverage.
Terrestrial mobile coverage provides mobile phone connectivity through land-based cellular antennae, connecting mobiles within the range of mobile phone infrastructure (such as a mobile network towers).
D2D uses LEOSats to provide mobile connectivity direct to mobile handsets. This requires a direct line of sight to the sky to enable handsets to communicate with the LEOSats, but does not require a fixed dish or base station at the consumer's end.
Mobile operators are already considering and negotiating arrangements with Direct to Device providers. Telstra has a commercial D2D SMS service available in Australia. Optus and TPG have announced plans to introduce D2D.
Ultimately, the Bill recognises D2D is still an evolving technology, which will become increasingly available.
There are no financial impacts from this Bill, though I note that the Bill will enable the Government to use funds in the Public Interest Telecommunications Services Special Account to support contracts or grants for the UOMO that maximise public interest outcomes.
This will provide flexibility to deal with emerging issues after implementation and reflects the long-standing policy principle that the telecommunications industry should contribute to the costs of delivering universal telecommunications services.
Part 1 also includes amendments to the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to provide Ministerial powers to set standards, rules and benchmarks for UOMO services.
Part 2 of the Bill creates a separate additional Ministerial power to set standards, rules and benchmarks relating to mobile services prior to the UOMO default commencement day if required.
The ability to make standards is essential to ensure that the Government can respond if the market fails to deliver quality or equitable mobile services. This is consistent with arrangements under the existing universal services framework.
While the UOMO provides the underlying framework for baseline connectivity that can support Triple Zero access, the Bill does not explicitly reference access to an emergency call service as a requirement for the mobile operators to meet the Bill's objectives.
This is because there is a longstanding requirement for providers of public mobile telecommunications services to provide equitable access to Triple Zero. This is governed by the rules set out in the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 , made under Part 8 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 .
Any voice services carried by public mobile telecommunications services are currently captured by the Emergency Call Service Determination 2019. As voice services will need to be supplied outdoors to fulfil the UOMO, the Emergency Call Service Determination 2019 will apply to mobile telecommunications services offered and supplied in compliance with the UOMO. Accordingly, this means the UOMO will support access to Triple Zero regardless of the technology used to supply voice services to consumers.
Public consultation on the exposure draft of the Bill took place from 18 September 2025 to 19 October 2025. There were 88 submissions on the Bill from industry, individuals, consumer representatives, state and local governments.
Submissions included the mobile network operators, Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, National Famers' Federation and ACCAN. The Government has worked closely with stakeholders in drafting the Bill, and I would like to thank
This Bill will modernise Australia's universal service arrangements to provide equitable access to basic mobile coverage outdoors and provide all Australians greater access to essential telecommunications services, improving public safety and ensuring critical new technology is available as widely and as equitably possible.
I commend the bill to the House.
Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026
Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026
Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026
That the following matter be referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 February 2027:
The operation and administration of the Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility, with particular reference to:
(a) the extent to which the facility impacts investment in fertiliser production or importation, processing, storage, transport and distribution;
(b) the facility's contribution to national food security, regional economic development and the continuity of essential services;
(c) the accountability and effectiveness of financial assistance provided for fertiliser through the facility; and
(d) any related matters.
The Senate divided. [18:33]
(The President—Senator Lines)
Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026
Customs Amendment (Safeguard Inquiries) Bill 2026
That this bill be now read a third time.
Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026