This bill became law on Aug 17th, 2023.
Education & skills
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. now has a permanent leadership structure with up to two deputy commissioners to help run its work on skills, training and the labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers..
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. was set up with only interim governance so it could start work while consultation on its permanent model continued. This bill creates that permanent structure and functions, including a commissionerThe person who leads Jobs and Skills Australia under the permanent model created by this bill., up to two deputies, an advisory board, and a review of the agency.
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. had already been created with interim governance so it could start advising on the labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers. while the government worked out its permanent model. With unemployment at 3.5 per cent in February 2023 and skills shortages affecting critical industries, the bill was introduced to lock in a permanent commissionerThe person who leads Jobs and Skills Australia under the permanent model created by this bill.-led agency, advisory board and ongoing reporting duties, then passed Parliament and received Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into law when the Governor-General approves it. in August 2023.
The main criticism was that Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. might not be independent enough, with the advisory board seen as giving unions too much built-in influence and not enough balanced representation for business, states and regions. These concerns were raised mainly by Coalition speakers and amendments, and support for the bill was often conditional rather than outright opposition to the agency itself.
Brendan O'connor MP introduced this bill. It passed with support from Labor, Greens, Centre Alliance, some crossbench members; opposed by Liberal Party, Nationals, some crossbench members.
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 17 Aug 2023
Final passage
Recorded final vote
1 counted final-passage vote was recorded.
Passage speed
148 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. now has a permanent leadership structure with up to two deputy commissioners to help run its work on skills, training and the labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers..
The Minister must set up a Ministerial Advisory BoardA group the Minister must set up to advise Jobs and Skills Australia and the Minister on how the agency should carry out its work. within 12 months so the government and Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. get ongoing outside advice on its work.
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. must study skill shortages and workforce needs across Australia, including in regional and remote areas and where migration may help fill gaps.
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. must publish a yearly work plan and ask for public submissions before finalising its priorities.
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. must produce a public annual report on Australia's current and future skills and training needs, and the Act must be formally reviewed within two years.
There are to be up to 2 Jobs and Skills Australia Deputy Commissioners.Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(1) The Minister must, within 12 months beginning on the commencement of this section, establish, in writing, a Ministerial Advisory Board to advise:Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(cb) to analyse skills needs and workforce needs, including in regional, rural and remote Australia, and in relation to migration;Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(c) must invite public submissions.Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
(1) Jobs and Skills Australia must, before the end of each calendar year beginning on or after 1 January 2023, prepare and give to the Minister a report on Australia’s current, emerging and future skills and training needs and priorities (including in relation to apprenticeships) during the calendar year.Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Act 2023 final Act text
Context
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. had already been created with interim governance so it could start advising on the labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers. while the government worked out its permanent model. With unemployment at 3.5 per cent in February 2023 and skills shortages affecting critical industries, the bill was introduced to lock in a permanent commissionerThe person who leads Jobs and Skills Australia under the permanent model created by this bill.-led agency, advisory board and ongoing reporting duties, then passed Parliament and received Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into law when the Governor-General approves it. in August 2023.
Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. begins under interim governance
The agency started operating under earlier legislation while the government continued work on its permanent structure and functions.
Hansard ↗Unemployment falls to 3.5 per cent as skills shortages deepen
The minister said a tight labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers. and shortages across critical industries showed why Australia needed better long-term workforce planning.
Hansard ↗Government introduces bill to make Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. permanent
The bill was introduced to replace interim arrangements with a permanent leadership structure, advisory board and clearer ongoing functions.
Hansard ↗Parliament passes the bill
Both houses agreed on the final text, including amendments settled in the Senate and then accepted by the House.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into law when the Governor-General approves it. makes the changes law
Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into law when the Governor-General approves it. completed the move from an interim agency to a permanent statutory bodyAn organisation created by law with defined duties and powers, rather than just by government decision. with new governance and reporting requirements.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Referred to Committee (23/03/2023): Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (24/04/2023)
Referred to committee
APH bill page notesThe bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Recorded vote: 90 to 53.
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.
Consideration in detail debate
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber. Later message exchanges with the other chamber were still recorded afterwards.
Third reading agreed to
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.
Committee of the Whole debate
Recorded vote: 36 to 24.
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
The House dealt with Senate amendments or requests so both chambers could settle the bill in the same form. The main amendments were: The official record also shows Senate committee amendments carried on voices for the Greens and Jacqui Lambie Network, while the Opposition volunteer-sector amendment was defeated 28 to 31.
Consideration of Senate message
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into law when the Governor-General approves it., turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main criticism was that Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. might not be independent enough, with the advisory board seen as giving unions too much built-in influence and not enough balanced representation for business, states and regions. These concerns were raised mainly by Coalition speakers and amendments, and support for the bill was often conditional rather than outright opposition to the agency itself.
No party represented in the debate opposed the agency’s core purpose, but some support depended on governance changes.
Governance seen as too union-weighted
The strongest objection was that the ministerial advisory boardA group the Minister must set up to advise Jobs and Skills Australia and the Minister on how the agency should carry out its work. gave employee organisations too much guaranteed representation, which critics said could skew advice and weaken confidence that the body was genuinely balanced and independent.
Not enough safeguards and review
Critics wanted tighter governance checks, including a faster formal review and broader representation for small business, regional interests and state or territory voices, arguing the bill needed stronger safeguards around how the new body would operate.
Risk of extra bureaucracy
A narrower reservation was that the new board and structures should not become another bureaucratic layer that makes training, enrolment and skills recognition harder instead of solving workforce shortages.
Further sources
Votes
The chamber-passage votes come first. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.
House agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Passed 36 to 24. Support came from Labor, UAP, Greens, One Nation, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Liberal Party, Nationals, and minor parties and independents.
Earlier bill-stage votes
Passed 90 to 53. Support came from Labor, Greens, Centre Alliance, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Liberal Party and Nationals. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
Amendments grouped by chamber. Where APH reports aggregate counts, the package card summarizes the matching public amendment sheets by source theme.
House
Passed 79 to 50. Support came from Labor, Greens, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Liberal Party, Nationals, and Centre Alliance. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
This let the bill return to the Governor-General for assent and become law.
Passed 84 to 55. Support came from Labor, Greens, and Centre Alliance. Opposition came from Liberal Party and Nationals. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
This preserved the government's tripartite board structure with equal worker and employer representation.
Passed 83 to 58. Support came from Labor and Greens. Opposition came from Liberal Party, Nationals, and Centre Alliance. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
This left the bill's original governance and review settings unchanged at this stage.
Passed 78 to 14. Support came from Labor and Liberal Party. Opposition came from Greens and minor parties and independents. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
This added a transparency and integrity-focused safeguard to how board members are selected.
Passed 88 to 53. Support came from Labor, Greens, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Liberal Party and Nationals. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
This strengthened the bill's tripartite governanceA governance model that brings government, employers and employee representatives into the same advisory structure. model and made regional, rural and remote experience part of the board's expertise mix.
The House agreed to the amendments made by the Senate, so the bill could pass both chambers in the same form.
Carried on voices
The chamber decided this amendment without a counted division, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes.
Government amendments tighten the Ministerial Advisory Board by setting equal employee and employer representation and requiring regional, rural and remote Australia to be considered.
Passed on the voices
The chamber agreed to this amendment package without a counted vote. APH records the agreed count by amendment, while the source documents are grouped into amendment sheets.
Senate
Defeated 10 to 25. Support came from Greens and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Labor, UAP, Nationals, and Liberal Party.
This kept the second-reading motion as a simple approval of the bill, without the Greens' additional statement being added.
Defeated 28 to 31. Support came from Liberal Party, UAP, Nationals, and One Nation. Opposition came from Labor and Greens. Minor-party and independent votes were split.
This meant the bill did not expand JSAThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends.'s role to cover the volunteer sector specifically.
Defeated 27 to 34. Support came from Liberal Party, UAP, Nationals, and One Nation. Opposition came from Labor, Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network, and minor parties and independents.
This left the government's tripartite board model intact and preserved the bill's original review timing.
This amendment would require the extra Ministerial Advisory BoardA group the Minister must set up to advise Jobs and Skills Australia and the Minister on how the agency should carry out its work. member not to represent employee or employer organisations.
This amendment would require the extra Ministerial Advisory BoardA group the Minister must set up to advise Jobs and Skills Australia and the Minister on how the agency should carry out its work. member not to represent employee or employer organisations.
Passed on the voices
The chamber agreed to this amendment without a counted vote — the presiding officer judged the ayes louder than the noes, and no member called for a division.
The Senate agreed on voices to add a function for Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. to support evaluation of relevant program outcomes and measure targets for the listed cohorts where appropriate.
Carried on voices
The chamber decided this amendment without a counted division, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes.
This list includes amendment votes, procedural votes and votes on the bill itself.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Brendan O'Connor strongly supports the bill because it fully establishes Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. as a permanent, independent statutory bodyAn organisation created by law with defined duties and powers, rather than just by government decision. with tripartite governanceA governance model that brings government, employers and employee representatives into the same advisory structure. and a broader evidence role on skills shortages, workforce planning, and regional labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers. needs.
Read in Hansard ↗Aaron Violi says the coalition will not back the bill as drafted because it gives union officials too much control over the advisory board, but he supports amendments to add small business and regional voices and shorten the review period.
Read in Hansard ↗James Stevens says the coalition will support the bill, but wants stronger governance amendments and a much more serious workforce training response from the government.
Read in Hansard ↗Haines supports the bill and says it will make Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. a permanent body with a stronger role in workforce planning.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
20 speakers · 22 contributions · 20 support
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Brendan O'Connor, including an amendment-moving contribution. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Moved amendment
Brendan O'Connor strongly supports the bill because it fully establishes Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. as a permanent, independent statutory bodyAn organisation created by law with defined duties and powers, rather than just by government decision. with tripartite governanceA governance model that brings government, employers and employee representatives into the same advisory structure. and a broader evidence role on skills shortages, workforce planning, and regional labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers. needs. He says it will help deliver better advice for government and industry, improve training policy, and address insecure work and future workforce pressures.
“This bill now establishes the permanent Jobs and Skills Australia, including its full range of functions and governance arrangements. The government is committed to strengthening Jobs and Skills Australia as an independent advisory body, trusted to produce a robust evidence base on the critical issues facing Australia's labour market.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Brendan O'Connor supports the bill and says it is needed to give Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. ongoing governance and stronger functions so it can provide national data and advice on skills shortages. He also says the government’s amendments strengthen regional and remote analysis and hopes the bill passes after debate on the amendments.
“Government amendments have been circulated, and I'll discuss those in more detail when the House considers them, but I also want to specifically thank the member for Indi in particular, as I said, for her constructive engagement, which is reflected in the government's amendments. In addressing the member for Indi, I also want to thank her staff for their engagement with my office and thank the department for the manner in which analysis related to regional, rural and remote Australia is strengthened by the amendments in this bill. I want to provide assurances that these amendments strengthen JSA's remit in this space, and I look forward to their analysis being made public and supporting policy development to support those areas. I want to again thank all members of the House who've contributed to this very important debate, and I hope we see its passage after the debate on the amendments.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
“As the Treasurer put it, we need to give our young people the tools for success in life, and that's why I'm supportive of this particular piece of legislation and supportive of the fee-free places that we announced. And I'm looking forward to some of the extra 300,000 fee-free places provided in the budget last night going to my electorate. (Time expired)”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Jobs and Skills Australia is much like the union movement—here to stay and to provide a positive influence within Australia's labour market. Jobs and Skills Australia will lead to many benefits to workers and to businesses small and large. With this bill, through monitoring and forecasting the labour market, we can address the critical shortages of tomorrow today. I commend the bill to the House and encourage all members to support Jobs and Skills Australia, so that our country can reap the many benefits that cooperative, evidence based, public-policy decision-making can accomplish—a hallmark of this government. I thank the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“That's why we got up and running early, and now this bill will finalise its establishment as a full statutory body.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I am pleased today to speak in support of the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. This bill will allow the Australian government to establish Jobs and Skills Australia as a statutory body.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill will legislate significant changes to Jobs and Skills Australia that will improve the lives of working Australians and better enable the Albanese Labor government to continue to deliver for the men and women that rely on Labor governments across our country.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise today in support of this bill, the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. This bill, of course, relates to the labour market—to one of the most important areas of social and economic policy. In fact, there's no area of social and economic policy more important than ensuring that our labour market functions well and that it gives opportunities in our society to all.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill creates an economy-wide perspective on labour market matters. It considers the contribution of vocational education and training, higher education and migration to meet Australia's skills and workforce challenges.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to speak in support of the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. This bill confirms the ongoing model for Jobs and Skills Australia and finalises essential functions and governance arrangements. The work of Jobs and Skills Australia is well underway so that it can effectively address Australia's current labour supply shortages and work to develop solutions for our future skills and training needs.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I close on this point: Jobs and Skills Australia can become a key coordinator and collaborator, and have authoritative input into the employment services system. The authoritative input will be developed in collaboration with unions—I said it again!—state and territory governments and employers, with advice on labour markets needs and skills needs to inform the skills training system, the higher education system and our employment services system. I commend the bill to the House, and I suggest the opposition withdraw their silly amendment. We can all go out, say it together, hold hands and say, 'Unions represent workers,' and then they can vote for the bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Brian Mitchell on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Mitchell supports the bill and says it will help fix Australia’s skills shortages by establishing Jobs and Skills AustraliaThe government body this bill makes permanent; it gives advice on skills shortages, training, jobs and labour market trends. as an independent statutory bodyAn organisation created by law with defined duties and powers, rather than just by government decision. with better labour marketThe market for jobs and workers; on this page it means how Australia tracks shortages, demand and supply of workers. advice and regional data. He frames it as part of Labor’s plan to expand training and apprenticeships and give workers and employers the skills they need.
“This bill before the House gives effect to the Australian government's commitment to finalise the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia as a statutory body to be established and funded as announced in the 2022-23 October budget, and the amendment ensures that representation across the board is underpinned by expertise. We are serious about fixing the skills crisis, and this bill helps us achieve it. Jobs and Skills Australia will operate as a truly tripartite organisation with unions, employers and state and territory governments brought in as partners, informing and resolving the skills and labour market crisis that we are facing and the need to build the workforce we need for Australia's future.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Mitchell says Labor supports the bill because it is part of the government's plan to rebuild and modernise the skills sector so more Australians can get well-paid, secure jobs.
“I am very pleased to stand in support of the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill. Last night the Treasurer outlined the government's plan for jobs and skills and to rebuild and modernise our skills sector, to ensure a stronger and more resilient economy and give more Australians the opportunity to access well-paid and secure jobs. I do look forward to speaking in more detail about that and, indeed, to elements of the bill itself, which is before the House. It's comprehensive. There's a lot to get through. I think time's going to get me here, but that's just the nature of this place, isn't it?”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
“The provisions outlined in this bill specifically require JSA's advice to be informed by stakeholder expertise, insights and networks.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“We made a commitment at the election to establish Jobs and Skills Australia. This bill delivers on that. We established JSA as an interim body in 2022, in November. JSA will play a critical role in addressing Australia's current and emerging skills and training needs. This amendment bill delivers again on that commitment to collaborate and seek wideranging advice from tripartite partners.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill follows through on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to the Australian people to build a national partnership to drive VET education and strengthen workforce planning by working together, as the previous speaker said, with employers, with unions and with the training and education sector. This bill amends the Jobs and Skill Australia Act 2022, providing for its permanent functions and governance arrangements.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to support the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. This bill comes at a critical point in time.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The permanent establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia will be a benefit for government, business and workers, providing independent and evidence-based advice on these challenges.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia is a critical step towards addressing Australia's skills crisis, and this amendment will provide the necessary resources and support to ensure that Australia can build a skilled workforce for the future—a better future for all. I urge all members of the House to support this amendment.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“In conclusion, I make mention of the Senate committee's tabled report and recommendation from the inquiry. A single recommendation that the bill be passed reflects the government's priority to establish a permanent Jobs and Skills Australia so we can prioritise getting on with it, working productively with stakeholders and producing better data and analysis to help inform Australia's skills crisis and labour market issues. I commend the bill to the chamber.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill will create a bigger and better trained Australian workforce. Every Australian deserves secure and meaningful work, and under this bill we are closer to making that a reality. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
8 speakers · 2 support · 3 oppose · 3 mixed
“We will also move an amendment to mandate the commencement of an independent review into the operation of the act no later than 12 months after the commencement of that section, and if we do not gain support for our amendments, we will oppose the bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Like I said, we've been cooperative in the space of jobs and skills, but we won't give Labor a blank cheque to create jobs for their union mates. Jobs and Skills Australia does important work that cannot be overshadowed by Labor's inclination to help out their union mates. I'm supporting the coalition amendments on this bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“That's why, in relation to the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill, we urge and encourage the government to adopt the very sensible, practical and pragmatic amendments that we've foreshadowed. They will certainly make sure that this legislation works effectively without it being just one more union slush fund and without it being one more appeasement to the unions. As I said before: everything in balance. Unions are important. They play an important part. I understand that; I get that.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Well, I think you need to treat the job with respect rather than call him by his surname. We will not support the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023 without our amendments. We are not blinded by the fresh lick of paint and the hype around the government's Jobs and Skills Australia legislation. We want this body to work because Australians will pay the price if it doesn't, and it will not work without the amendments that we're proposing.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“We in the coalition support the bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to speak on the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023, the second tranche of legislation related to Jobs and Skills Australia. As a coalition we've been constructive when it comes to Jobs and Skills Australia and supported its establishing legislation. But ongoing support is not guaranteed and, as an opposition, we will not write a blank cheque when it comes to creating taxpayer funded board roles that are set aside for union representatives.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“If we do not gain support for our amendments, we will oppose the bill. These are sensible and minor changes. I would argue they would actually help the Prime Minister fulfil his original vision for this agency. I hope that the government and crossbench senators will support these amendments so that we can land on a better balance in the interests of the whole sector.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to speak about the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. As the honourable member for Sturt has indicated, the coalition is supporting this legislation, and we have put forward some amendments that I also commend to the government to consider. The bill is fairly benign in its content, but it deals with a very important issue, which is Jobs and Skills Australia and how we are going to address the massive skills shortage we have within our country. The bill is a second tranche of legislation related to Jobs and Skills Australia, and it seeks primarily to finalise governance arrangements for the agency, which will still set within the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
1 speaker · 1 support
“The Greens support this bill, but we will be moving amendments to strengthen JSA's functions in relation to outcomes for marginalised groups. Importantly, we also worked with the government to ensure that, in performing its functions, Jobs and Skills Australia consults more broadly, including with bodies representing First Nations people and migrants, because these cohorts deserve a place at the table.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
2 speakers · 2 support
“I rise to speak in support of the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023, which establishes the permanent governance and functions of Jobs and Skills Australia, the JSA.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I would urge the newly rebranded Jobs and Skills Australia board to really ensure that they will not be another governing body that will add layers of bureaucracy stifling the ability to kickstart our economic engine.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading agreed to
Recorded vote: 90 to 53.
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
House · Consideration in detail: amendments considered
Amendment packages agreed
The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Senate · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Senate · Committee of the whole: amendments considered
Amendment packages agreed
The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Recorded vote: 36 to 24.
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
House · Consideration of Senate message
House agreed to Senate amendments
The House dealt with Senate amendments or requests so both chambers could settle the bill in the same form.
Parliament · Finally passed both Houses
Passed both houses
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Assent · Assent
Assent
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into law when the Governor-General approves it., turning the bill into an Act.
Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (24/04/2023)
Referred to committee
Referred to Committee (23 Mar 2023): Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Committee report (24 Apr 2023)
APH bill page notes
