This bill became law on Nov 22nd, 2023.
Health, care & disability
Australia now has a national register to track work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot dangerous exposures earlier and help prevent more workers getting sick.
Work-related lung diseases, especially silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work., were not being tracked nationally, which left dangerous workplace exposures harder to spot early. The bill creates a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier., requires specialists to report silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. and lets other occupational lung diseases be added so governments and doctors can target prevention.
Before this bill, Australia had no national system for tracking work-related lung disease, leaving information scattered across state registers and making dangerous silica exposure harder to detect early. After silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. cases rose sharply among engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. workers and the National Dust Disease TaskforceThe expert group that recommended creating a national registry after silicosis cases kept rising. recommended a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. in 2019, Parliament passed this bill in November 2023 to require reporting of prescribed occupational lung diseases and give health and safety agencies a national picture for prevention and treatment.
The main criticism was that the bill mostly creates a register and does not by itself stop dangerous dust exposure, expand screening, strengthen enforcement or tackle products like engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. quickly enough. Those concerns came from supporters who still backed the bill as a first step, while one Labor speaker also noted privacy worries had been raised but said many had been addressed.
Ged Kearney MP introduced this bill. It passed on the voices.
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 22 Nov 2023
Final passage
Passed without a counted vote
Members called out ‘aye’ or ‘no’ — no individual votes were recorded.
Passage speed
154 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
Australia now has a national register to track work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot dangerous exposures earlier and help prevent more workers getting sick.
Doctors in prescribed specialties must report the basic details of newly diagnosed prescribed work-related lung diseases, and the Health Minister can add more diseases after consultation, starting with silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work..
Doctors can also add other work-related lung diseases to the register with the patient's consent, and can report without consent where State or Territory law already requires that diagnosis to be notified.
State and Territory health and work safety agencies can receive minimum registry details for people connected to their jurisdiction, helping them target prevention, health services and research.
Registry information is protected by secrecy rules, and protected informationRegistry information that gets special secrecy protection because it can identify a person, workplace or business. covered by those rules is exempt from release under Freedom of Information laws.
The object of this Act is to establish a National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry that will record the incidence of occupational respiratory diseases in Australia and assist in preventing further worker exposure to respiratory disease‑causing agents.National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023 final Act text
Subclause 14(1) specifies that if a prescribed medical practitioner diagnoses an individual with an occupational respiratory disease at or after the commencement of the Act (and at the time of diagnosis the disease is a prescribed occupational respiratory disease), the practitioner must notify the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer of the minimum notification information. The notification must be in the approved form, and be made within the stipulated timeframe prescribed by the rules. The medical practitioners who will fall within the definition of prescribed medical practitioner will be set out in the rules. Initially this will be limited to those practitioners with a medical speciality of respiratory and sleep medicine or occupational and environmental medicine.National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry explanatory memorandum
the medical practitioner may, without obtaining the individual’s consent, notify the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, in an approved form, of the minimum notification information in relation to the individual.National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023 final Act text
(3) The Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, or a contracted service provider, may disclose to a relevant State or Territory authority, for a purpose referred to in paragraph 13(2)(a), (c), (d) or (f), any minimum notification information in relation to an individual that is included in the National Registry and is protected information if the individual:National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023 final Act text
The amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 will ensure that information protected by the secrecy provision in clause 23 of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023 will be exempt from disclosure under section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry explanatory memorandum
Context
Before this bill, Australia had no national system for tracking work-related lung disease, leaving information scattered across state registers and making dangerous silica exposure harder to detect early. After silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. cases rose sharply among engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. workers and the National Dust Disease TaskforceThe expert group that recommended creating a national registry after silicosis cases kept rising. recommended a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. in 2019, Parliament passed this bill in November 2023 to require reporting of prescribed occupational lung diseases and give health and safety agencies a national picture for prevention and treatment.
National Dust Disease TaskforceThe expert group that recommended creating a national registry after silicosis cases kept rising. is established
The taskforceThe expert group that recommended creating a national registry after silicosis cases kept rising. was set up as silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. cases grew and later recommended creating a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. to overcome fragmented tracking across Australia.
Hansard ↗Hundreds of silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. cases are identified
A parliamentary speech recorded that 579 cases had been identified by 2022, underscoring that the known toll was already substantial and likely incomplete.
Hansard ↗Government introduces the national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. bill
The government introduced the bill, saying it would implement the taskforceThe expert group that recommended creating a national registry after silicosis cases kept rising. recommendation in response to the increase in silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. among Australian workers.
Hansard ↗Parliament passes the bill
Both houses agreed on the same text, clearing the way for a national reporting scheme for occupational respiratory diseases.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Royal Assent creates the Act
Royal Assent turned the bill into law and completed the creation of the national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. framework.
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
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Referred to Committee (03/08/2023): Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (30/08/2023)
Referred to committee
APH bill page notesThe bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
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 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 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 bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.
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 accepted Senate changes reflected in the final bill were: The introduced and as-passed bill texts differ in 1 observed text block. Observed text changed from "(b) the number of notifications of each non‑prescribed occupational respiratory diseaseA lung disease that the law specifically names for mandatory reporting to the registry. made under Division 3 of Part 2…" to "(b) the number of notifications of each non‑prescribed occupational respiratory diseaseA lung disease that the law specifically names for mandatory reporting to the registry. made under Division 3 of Part 2…".
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
The Governor-General gave Royal Assent, turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main criticism was that the bill mostly creates a register and does not by itself stop dangerous dust exposure, expand screening, strengthen enforcement or tackle products like engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. quickly enough. Those concerns came from supporters who still backed the bill as a first step, while one Labor speaker also noted privacy worries had been raised but said many had been addressed.
No party represented in the debate opposed the bill, and criticism was limited and mostly about scope and safeguards.
Registry seen as too limited on its own
Several MPs argued the bill is useful but too narrow if it is not followed by stronger prevention, screening, enforcement and wider action on silica and engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure.. The worry was that better data alone would not stop more workers getting sick.
Pressure to broaden the bill's reach
The Senate agreed to an amendment urging the government to consider banning engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. imports and use, and to consult on expanding the registry's prescribed diseases. This reflected concern that the bill's initial design might not move broadly or quickly enough against known sources of harm.
Privacy and information-handling concerns
Some concern was raised about how personal health information would be collected and shared through the registry. The concern did not develop into broader opposition, with speakers saying the bill's privacy protections had addressed much of it.
Further sources
Votes
The bill passed both chambers on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage.
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.
Senate 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.
Amendments grouped by chamber. These cards include amendment outcomes recorded without a counted division.
House
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.
Senate
The Senate agreed on voices to add aggregate statistics on diagnosed people's occupation, main job task, industry and state of residence when they were exposed to respiratory disease-causing agents.
Carried on voices
The chamber decided this amendment without a counted division, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes.
The Senate agreed on voices to a second-reading change that urged the government to consider banning engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. imports and use, and to consult on expanding the registry's prescribed diseases.
Carried on voices
The chamber decided this amendment without a counted division, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Ged Kearney supports the bill and says it will help protect workers by creating a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. to track occupational respiratory disease, especially silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work..
Read in Hansard ↗Jenny Ware supports the bill and says it is essential to help prevent occupational respiratory disease, especially silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. in the engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. and construction sectors.
Read in Hansard ↗Ryan supports the bill and says it will help identify and prevent occupational respiratory disease, including silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work..
Read in Hansard ↗Smith supports the bill, saying the registry is a key recommendation that will help track occupational respiratory disease, guide prevention, and protect workers from silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. and similar hazards.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
22 speakers · 24 contributions · 22 support
“The establishment of the registry will complement actions across all state and territory governments to reduce exposures in the workplace and demonstrates the Albanese government's commitment to keeping workers safe. We cannot cure silicosis, but we can prevent it. I commend this work from the assistant minister and the union movement, and I commend this bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill is the first step to preventing this reality, and I commended bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023 delivers on the recommendation of the National Dust Disease Taskforce to establish a National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry. This follows an increase in silicosis, particularly amongst stonemasons working on engineered benchtops and the like.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Today I proudly rise in support of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023. It is a big step in providing support for those affected by the terrible scourge of silicosis and related diseases.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to make a few contributions towards the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill and urge the House to support it.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The establishment of the national registry will complement actions across all Australian governments to reduce exposures in the workplace and demonstrates the government's commitment to keeping workers safe. That, ultimately, is our goal here. It is really important for those of us who care about our workers. I don't think there would be a single person in this place who would not want to know that, as someone in their community went to work, their work was not leading to them being exposed to something that could be life-threatening to them down the track, so I look forward to the support of this bill by everybody in this place. It is a commitment by the Albanese government that the rights of workers and the safety of workers be at the forefront of our minds. As someone who has run a small business for 25 years and worked with many, many businesses throughout that period, I know how important our workers are, and I know that employers want to make sure they're providing a safe workplace. I hope that this bill will assist in that process by expanding the information we have.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I think there's much more to be done in the occupational health and safety space and I am very proud to be part of a government that believes in protecting all workers. I think this this legislation is way overdue. I hope it's the first part of what will be a more comprehensive program of protecting workers—particularly workers who are at risk of dust diseases—so that we can make sure, even if they work in these industries, that they are able to live long and productive lives. I thank the minister and the assistance minister and I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I am very pleased therefore to stand in this House and speak in support of the introduction of a new national occupational respiratory disease registry.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“As a government we must ensure we have structures that look after workers, and this bill marks a significant step forward in safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our workers and strengthening our commitment to tackling occupational diseases in Australia.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“That's why today, I stand in support of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Ged Kearney on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Ged Kearney supports the bill and says it will help protect workers by creating a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. to track occupational respiratory disease, especially silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work.. She presents it as part of the government's wider push to improve workplace safety and reduce preventable exposure.
“This bill demonstrates the government's commitment to understanding and improving the occupational respiratory health of workers. I commend the bill to the House.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Kearney supports the bill, saying the registry will help detect emerging respiratory risks, improve research and guide prevention efforts to better protect workers from silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work..
“I thank all the members for their contributions to debate on these bills. The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry will aid the detection of new and emerging threats to workers respiratory health, inform incidence trends, help inform actions to be taken to reduce further worker exposure, support research into occupational respiratory diseases and assist in targeting and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions and prevention strategies. The national registry will achieve this by capturing and sharing data, where appropriate, on the incidence of occupational respiratory diseases and their respiratory disease causing agents; the last and main exposures to agents that can cause respiratory disease, including the place of business, industry, occupation and job task; and respiratory health data. The creation of the national registry will better protect workers from silicosis and complement a wide range of other actions being taken by the government.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
“The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill is an important step in protecting Australian workers from silicosis and providing a framework for protection from similar diseases in future. It's about ensuring that Australians can return home safely from work every single day without risking their health now or in the future. I commend this bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The bill outlines a minimum notification information approach limited to that necessary to meet the objectives of the national registry, while providing opportunity for physicians to notify further information with the patient's consent. I repeat: the patient would give that extra consent. We can't simply sit and do nothing as people keep suffering. Worse, there still may be workers out there being exposed to the dangers of silica dust, which could develop into severe respiratory problems and even an early death. This change is overdue, and the Albanese government is stepping up and doing something to protect Australian workers in their workplaces. I commend the legislation to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“That's why I rise here today in support of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill, which delivers on the recommendations of the National Dust Disease Taskforce.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This Bill establishes the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry to capture information on respiratory diseases believed to have been occupationally caused or exacerbated. The National Registry will also capture associated respiratory disease causing agents that led to the disease.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The establishment of the national registry will complement actions across all Australian governments to reduce these exposures in the workplace and demonstrates our government's commitment to keeping workers safe, because we are committed to keeping workers safe, as I'm sure all members of this parliament are. We need to do this, and we need to do more. We need to do this for Joanna. We need to do it for Kevin. We need to do it for Craig. We need to do it for their families, and we need to do it for so many more like them that are suffering and to make sure that we can reduce, limit and cease more people and their families suffering in the future.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill, the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill, stands as a testament to this commitment. This bill comes as a result of the recommendations of the National Dust Disease Taskforce and is aimed at establishing the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry. The alarming increase in silicosis cases among stonemasons working on engineered stone benchtops has spurred us into action. The national registry proposed by this bill will serve as a repository of information related to respiratory diseases believed to be caused or exacerbated by occupational conditions. This information will be pivotal in understanding the true extent of these diseases in Australia, guiding us toward effective preventative actions.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Peter Khalil on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Khalil supports the bill as part of the government's response to the high and preventable rates of silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. and other occupational respiratory diseases. He argues workers should not be exposed to these risks and that the bill addresses a serious workplace safety problem.
“Tragically, these are preventable conditions and often preventable deaths. Everyone has the right to feel safe and protected at work. This government is adamant and passionate about making sure that is the case.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Khalil strongly supports the bill, saying it will create a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. to improve data collection, early detection and prevention of occupational respiratory disease, especially silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work.. He presents it as part of the government's broader effort to protect workers from preventable workplace harm.
“The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023 delivers on recommendations made by the National Dust Disease Taskforce. The taskforce had recommended the establishment of a national occupational respiratory disease registry.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
“I can't overemphasise the importance of prevention. The hierarchy of controls for work health and safety should be standard operating procedure in at-risk work places. Unions and advocates are calling for a ban on engineered stone. I agree. It is a vanity item that has good alternatives. There really is little justification for its use given the prognosis of silicosis, its irreversibility and its very limited therapeutic options. The minister has tasked Safe Work Australia with developing further advice on the ban of engineered stone products—we await their guidance. I thank unions, work health and safety experts, and families, carers and friends of affected people past and still here for their years of advocacy. We have heard your concerns.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The bill before the parliament is part of that response. The establishment of the national registry will complement and support the further action being undertaken by this government and governments across the country to reduce exposure and associated risks in the workplace. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The creation of the national registry will better protect workers from silicosis and complement a wide range of other actions being taken by the government. A review of the operation of the registry will be undertaken within 12 months of its operation, including an evaluation of the privacy implications of the scheme in practice. I thank all senators for their participation in the debate, and I commend the bills to the Senate. I also table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum relating to the bills. The addendum responds to matters raised by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This bill is about establishing a registry that will act across the country on work sites as an awareness campaign. It raises the issue. It gives it a national profile. We're legislating this because we want to stop the practices that are seeing silicosis increase in numbers. We know that, for instance, engineered stone is a cause. So this registry will help assist GPs and the medical industry. Bringing in the register will also mean that we can measure what we care about, and that is workers' health, so that we can put further preventative measures in place through legislation if required.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
4 speakers · 4 support
“It is therefore more than appropriate—it is essential—that in this place we do all that we can to address these unknown risks and look at future protection of workers within these sectors. The establishment of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry, which is the subject of these bills, will build on the task force's early work and will assist with the prevention of these chronic and dreadful diseases into the future. For all those reasons I commend these bills to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The coalition will support this package of legislation, because it builds on important work that the coalition commenced in government to address the worrying issue of occupational dust diseases in Australia and respond to the growing incidence of silicosis. The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023 will create a legislative framework to establish and manage the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry, which will collect data on the incidence of respiratory diseases that are thought to be occupationally caused or exacerbated. The national registry will capture key details, including the industry, occupation, main job task and place of business where the exposures are believed to have occurred. The registry will collate respiratory health data to assist in the detection of new and emerging threats to workers' respiratory health and inform incidence trends. The registry will also disclose information on occupational respiratory diseases in Australia to state and territory authorities, reflecting their ongoing role and responsibilities in understanding and responding to occupational respiratory diseases in their jurisdictions.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The national occupational respiratory disease register will play a critical role in addressing the growing instance of silicosis and other occupational respiratory dust diseases in Australia. Once again, the coalition will support this package of bills which builds on our work to address the increased incidence of silicosis and other occupational respiratory dust diseases in Australia.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“Why is the bill important? It's a good guide to how we should go about health care right across Australia. Importantly for the nation, while the state agencies are responsible for the delivery of the health service, the direction given by government and the opportunity to work together as a nation on a particular problem, such as silicosis, is given to us here. Here we are in the parliament actually doing something exactly about that situation. I commend the bill to the House, and I look forward to its passing.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
2 speakers · 2 support
“The Greens are supportive of the establishment of a national dust disease registry to 'better protect and support workers and to recognise the incidence and severity of dust disease'. I want to note on the record the recommendations provided by Australia's leading public health organisations as to further amendments which could be made to improve this registry, specifically: that all occupational respiratory diseases found in the Safe Work Australia List of Deemed Diseases in Australia be prescribed and require notification to the registry upon diagnosis; that the annual public reports from the Commonwealth CMO be broadened to include occupation, main job task, industry and state; that, as a matter of priority, the registry be expanded to include, among other things, asbestosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mesothelioma, work related asthma and occupational lung infections; that the addition of multiple exposures in 'additional notification information' should be included in the 'minimum notification information'; and, finally, to remove the restriction, subject to worker consent and ethical approval, on researchers' access to information contained in section 2 of the bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The Greens won't oppose this bill. We will support the bill. I commend the work of my colleague Senator Steele-John for making the bill a little bit better. But the CFMEU has said loud and clear that, if the federal government doesn't move and put the ban on by the middle of next year, it will move and put a national ban on using this deadly product.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
3 speakers · 4 contributions · 3 support
“So although I'm very happy to support this bill, and I support the government's efforts in increasing and improving support for patients affected by occupational respiratory diseases, I also ask this government to show the vision that it needs to show to approach data collection within the Medicare system in a more holistic fashion, to look at better collating and assessing the manifold data that our medical professionals collect, to put together the many hundreds of individual disease registries that medical professionals in this country have already established, and to give us a vision for how health care and medical research—and the nexus between the two of those—can be improved in the future. I commend this bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I want these bills to pass. I want my amendment to pass as well. If the government decide to not pass this bill because of this amendment, it will be because they prefer that neither passes. That is a decision for them to make. I cannot control how the Labor Party feels about this issue. I can only control how I feel about it. I feel like my amendment is worth passing. It's worth passing right now. I feel like the bill it seeks to amend is also worth passing. This is not an attempt to block or delay this bill from becoming law. If my amendment fails, I will support the bill. If my amendment succeeds, I will support the bill. So this bill is guaranteed to pass. The only way it could not is if my amendment were successful and the government decided they would rather do nothing than do more. I hope my amendment is successful. I hope the government decides to do more. I hope they take this opportunity to do it now.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Rebekha Sharkie on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Sharkie supports the bill, saying a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. will improve early detection, monitoring and research on silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. and help protect workers from dangerous workplaces. She backs the reporting burden as a small inconvenience compared with the benefit and commends the government for creating the registry.
“That's why I believe it is so important for us to be at the forefront of this. We need to raise awareness of this new emerging trend in silicosis, which is very much affecting young tradies. We need to enable collection of data on the disease and on those impacted, and we need to facilitate research to fight this and make sure we do this effectively. I do not want to see history repeating itself. Those women who are in their 60s and 70s, who were alone at that lunch, had been, I'm sure, hoping they would get to enjoy a retirement with their husband—that they would perhaps be one of those lucky couples, those grey nomads hitching the caravan to the back of the car and travelling around Australia together and enjoying those retirement years. But that was taken away from them. It was taken away from their husbands and it was taken away from these women. We cannot repeat that. I commend this bill and I commend the government for their actions on this registry.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Sharkie supports the bill and says a national registryThe new national database that collects information about certain work-related lung diseases so governments and doctors can spot risks earlier. is needed because silicosisThe first disease covered by the registry; it is a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust at work. cases are rising, the scale of exposure is still uncertain, and Australia cannot afford to wait while workers keep getting sick. She points to engineered stoneA benchtop material mentioned in the debate because cutting it can create high silica dust exposure. and the taskforceThe expert group that recommended creating a national registry after silicosis cases kept rising. recommendation as reasons to act now.
“We can't just wait for this to happen. Setting up a registry was recommended by the National Dust Disease Taskforce, which was set up when evidence started to emerge of increasing new and accelerated silicosis cases among workers with engineered stone. Unlike many historical forms of silicosis, screening programs in Australia—”Read this contribution 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 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
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 · 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 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 debate
Committee of the Whole debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate · Amendments considered
Amendment packages agreed
The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.
House · Consideration of Senate message
Consideration of Senate message
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 Assent, turning the bill into an Act.
Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (30/08/2023)
Referred to committee
Referred to Committee (3 Aug 2023): Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (30 Aug 2023)
APH bill page notes
