Sponsor speech Supports
Mark Dreyfus
Dreyfus supports the bill, saying it will strengthen protections for Commonwealth frontline workers by increasing penalties for harming or threatening them and creating safer workplaces.
Read in Hansard ↗Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers)
Current status
This bill became law on Jul 9th, 2024.
Policy area
Law, justice & rights
What does this bill do?
Federal workers whose main job is dealing directly with the public, including by phone or online, now count as Commonwealth frontline workers for these stronger criminal protections.
Why was it introduced?
A May 2023 assault with a bladed weapon at a Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. centre exposed the higher safety risks faced by Commonwealth staff who deal directly with the public. The bill lets those frontline workers get the same stronger Criminal CodeThe federal criminal law that contains the offences and penalties this bill changes. protections and higher penalties already used for judges and Commonwealth law enforcement officers.
Broader context
Before 2024, the Criminal CodeThe federal criminal law that contains the offences and penalties this bill changes. already imposed higher penalties for attacks on Commonwealth judicial and law enforcement officers, but not on the many public-facing Commonwealth staff who regularly dealt with the public and faced rising aggression, including 9,000 reported incidents against Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. workers in 2022-23. After a staff member was stabbed with a bladed weapon at a Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. centre in May 2023, the government commissioned the Ashton reviewThe security review that followed the 2023 stabbing incident and recommended a new national penalty for attacking frontline workers. and then passed this bill in July 2024 to extend those stronger protections and deterrent penalties to Commonwealth frontline workers.
Key criticism
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far, with the main possible reservation being that it relies on tougher penalties rather than showing they will prevent abuse before it happens. In the parliamentary debate provided, no party represented in the debate opposed the bill and support appeared bipartisan rather than conditional.
Who supported it?
Mark Dreyfus MP introduced this bill. It passed on the voices.
Introduced in House 27 Mar 2024
Passed House 16 May 2024
Passed Senate 04 July 2024
Became law 09 July 2024
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 09 July 2024
Final passage
Passed without a counted vote
Members called out ‘aye’ or ‘no’ — no individual votes were recorded.
Passage speed
104 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
What does this bill do?
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Federal workers whose main job is dealing directly with the public, including by phone or online, now count as Commonwealth frontline workers for these stronger criminal protections.
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People who cause harm to Commonwealth frontline workers can now face the higher Criminal CodeThe federal criminal law that contains the offences and penalties this bill changes. penalty that already applies for attacks on judges and Commonwealth law enforcement officers.
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People who threaten serious harm to Commonwealth frontline workers can now face a higher maximum penalty, rising from 7 years to 9 years in prison.
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The government can add more categories of public-facing Commonwealth workers to these stronger protections through regulationsLower-level legal rules the government can use here to add more worker categories to the protection scheme. if their roles fit the frontline description.
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The stronger penalties apply only to conduct that happens after this law started, not to earlier conduct.
Show source excerpts
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(2) A Commonwealth frontline worker is a person:
Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Act 2024 final Act text -
This item omits “or a Commonwealth law enforcement officer” and substitutes “, a Commonwealth law enforcement officer or a Commonwealth frontline worker”. The effect of this amendment is to increase the maximum penalty for causing harm to a Commonwealth frontline worker from 10 years’ imprisonment to 13 years’ imprisonment.
Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) explanatory memorandum -
This item omits “or a Commonwealth law enforcement officer” and substitutes “, a Commonwealth law enforcement officer or a Commonwealth frontline worker”. The effect of this amendment is to increase the maximum penalty for threatening to cause serious harm to a Commonwealth frontline worker from 7 years’ imprisonment to 9 years’ imprisonment.
Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) explanatory memorandum -
(3) Without limiting paragraph (2)(b), the regulations may prescribe one or more categories of persons who, for the purposes of that paragraph, are taken to perform work requiring the persons to deal directly with the public, or a class of the public, as a primary function of their role.
Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Act 2024 final Act text -
The amendments of the Criminal Code made by this Schedule apply in relation to any conduct engaged in after the commencement of this Schedule.
Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Act 2024 final Act text
Context
Broader context for this bill
Before 2024, the Criminal CodeThe federal criminal law that contains the offences and penalties this bill changes. already imposed higher penalties for attacks on Commonwealth judicial and law enforcement officers, but not on the many public-facing Commonwealth staff who regularly dealt with the public and faced rising aggression, including 9,000 reported incidents against Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. workers in 2022-23. After a staff member was stabbed with a bladed weapon at a Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. centre in May 2023, the government commissioned the Ashton reviewThe security review that followed the 2023 stabbing incident and recommended a new national penalty for attacking frontline workers. and then passed this bill in July 2024 to extend those stronger protections and deterrent penalties to Commonwealth frontline workers.
- 2022-23
Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. records 9,000 acts of aggression against frontline staff
Hansard recorded that 9,000 acts of aggression were reported against Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. frontline workers during the 2022-23 financial year as staff handled millions of public visits.
Hansard ↗ - May 2023
Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. worker is stabbed with a bladed weapon at Airport West
The assault on staff member Joeanne Cassar at the Airport West service centre exposed the risks faced by Commonwealth staff dealing directly with the public.
Hansard ↗ - 2023
Ashton reviewThe security review that followed the 2023 stabbing incident and recommended a new national penalty for attacking frontline workers. recommends a new penalty for assaulting Commonwealth frontline workers
The Services Australia Security Risk Management ReviewThe security review that followed the 2023 stabbing incident and recommended a new national penalty for attacking frontline workers., commissioned after the stabbing, made 44 recommendations including recommendation 18 to consider a national penalty provision for assaulting Commonwealth frontline workers.
Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) explanatory memorandum ↗ - 27 Mar 2024
Government introduces the bill to extend stronger Criminal CodeThe federal criminal law that contains the offences and penalties this bill changes. protections
The Attorney-GeneralThe federal minister who introduced the bill and sponsored it in Parliament. introduced the bill to put Commonwealth frontline workers on the same footing as judges and Commonwealth law enforcement officers for higher penalties covering harm and threats of serious harm.
Hansard ↗ - 04 July 2024
Parliament passes the bill
Both houses agreed to the same bill, completing its passage and clearing the way for the stronger protections to become law.
Parliamentary timeline ↗ - 09 July 2024
Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament. makes the new protections law
Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament. turned the bill into an ActThe status label showing the bill has become law rather than still being only a proposal. so the higher penalties would apply to future conduct against Commonwealth frontline workers.
Parliamentary timeline ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 27 Mar 2024
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 27 Mar 2024
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Second reading debate 15 May 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Sent to Federation Chamber for debate 15 May 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Referred to Federation Chamber
Federation Chamber debate 15 May 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Second reading debate
House second reading agreed 15 May 2024
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
Returned from Federation Chamber 16 May 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Reported from Federation Chamber
House third reading agreed 16 May 2024
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (20/06/2024) review 16 May 2024
Referred to Committee (16/05/2024): Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (20/06/2024)
Referred to committee
APH bill page notesIntroduced 24 June 2024
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 24 June 2024
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Senate second reading agreed 04 July 2024
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
Senate third reading agreed 04 July 2024
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Passed both houses 04 July 2024
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
Assent 09 July 2024
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament., turning the bill into an ActThe status label showing the bill has become law rather than still being only a proposal..
Key criticism
The main case against this bill
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far, with the main possible reservation being that it relies on tougher penalties rather than showing they will prevent abuse before it happens. In the parliamentary debate provided, no party represented in the debate opposed the bill and support appeared bipartisan rather than conditional.
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far.
Votes
Recorded votes
How the bill itself passed
The bill passed both chambers on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage.
Passed House passed the bill
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
House passed the bill
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 Senate passed the bill
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
Senate passed the bill
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.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Lead supporting voice Supports
Jason Wood
Wood supports the bill and says it will better protect Commonwealth frontline workers after a rising pattern of abuse and attacks.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Supports
Carol Brown
Carol Brown supports the bill and says it will better protect Commonwealth frontline workers by increasing penalties for violence and threats against them.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Supports
Bill Shorten
Shorten supports the bill and says it is needed to protect Commonwealth frontline workers by lifting penalties for serious harm and threats.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Labor
3 speakers · 4 contributions · 3 support
Labor
3 speakers · 4 contributions · 3 support
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Carol Brown ★ Carol Brown supports the bill and says it will better protect Commonwealth frontline workers by increasing penalties for violence and threats against them.
“This Bill is an important step towards creating safer Commonwealth workplaces.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Bill Shorten ★ 2 contributions Shorten supports the bill and says it is needed to protect Commonwealth frontline workers by lifting penalties for serious harm and threats.
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Bill Shorten on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Shorten supports the bill and says it is needed to protect Commonwealth frontline workers by lifting penalties for serious harm and threats. He argues the law should treat Medicare, Centrelink and other public-facing staff the same as other protected Commonwealth officers because they face real violence and aggression at work.
“The Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Bill, which the Attorney-General introduced into parliament in March, promotes the right to safe and healthy working conditions and enhancing protections against violence and abuse for frontline staff. Specifically, the bill will increase the maximum penalties in the Criminal Code for causing harm or threatening to cause serious harm to a Commonwealth frontline officer.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗Second reading speech
Shorten supports the bill and says the government has agreed to all the measures because frontline Services AustraliaThe federal agency whose service centres and staff are central to the examples used in the bill and debate. staff are facing frequent aggression and the new penalties send a clear message to the courts. He says the changes cannot guarantee absolute safety, but they are the best advice-based response available.
“What is also pleasing is my colleagues in the government have agreed to all of these measures to implement the changes, and we have actually got on and done it. The clear message to the courts made by the Parliament's intent with the increased penalties—it's an excellent point made by the member for La Trobe. I would reiterate: it is a clear message to the courts.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗ -
Mark Dreyfus ★ Dreyfus supports the bill, saying it will strengthen protections for Commonwealth frontline workers by increasing penalties for harming or threatening them and creating safer workplaces.
“I acknowledge the strong support of the Minister for Government Services for the measures in this bill and I commend the bill to the House.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Coalition
2 speakers · 2 support
Coalition
2 speakers · 2 support
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Jason Wood ★ Wood supports the bill and says it will better protect Commonwealth frontline workers after a rising pattern of abuse and attacks.
“In all, I welcome this legislation, and I'm hoping that, when it comes to those working in these fields, they feel a bit more comfort and support from the government and the wider Australian community. For those who think it's okay to threaten and harm and attack, I'm hoping the courts dish out just punishments to them.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Paul Fletcher Paul Fletcher says the coalition will support the bill because Commonwealth frontline workers deserve the same workplace protection as other officials, including police officers and judges.
“The coalition strongly believes that every Australian has a right to be safe in his or her workplace, regardless of his or her field of work or the work they are doing. As with similar legislation which has sensibly sought to keep Australians safe, the coalition will support this bill.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Act title
- Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Act 2024
- Act number
- Act No. 64, 2024
- Became law
- 09 July 2024
- Takes effect
- The whole of this Act 10 July 2024
- Registered
- 10 July 2024
- Administered by
- Attorney-General's Department
- Final law metadata was collected from the APH progress table; commencement rows were parsed from the bill text.
- Status
- Act -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- House of Representatives
- 27 Mar 2024
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.
- 27 Mar 2024
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.
- 15 May 2024
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 15 May 2024
House · Referred to Federation Chamber
Referred to Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 15 May 2024
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 15 May 2024
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.
- 16 May 2024
House · Reported from Federation Chamber
Reported from Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 16 May 2024
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
- 24 June 2024
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.
- 24 June 2024
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.
- 04 July 2024
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.
- 04 July 2024
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
- 04 July 2024
Parliament · Finally passed both Houses
Passed both houses
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
- 09 July 2024
Assent · Assent
Assent
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final step that turns a passed bill into an Act of Parliament., turning the bill into an ActThe status label showing the bill has become law rather than still being only a proposal..
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (20/06/2024)
Referred to committee
Referred to Committee (16 May 2024): Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (20 June 2024)
APH bill page notes