This bill became law on Dec 1st, 2025.
Climate, energy & environment
The bill amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australia's main national environment law. This bill makes major changes to it. 1999 to create legally enforceable National Environmental StandardsLegally enforceable standards intended to set clearer environmental rules for decisions under the EPBC Act. that guide approvals and other environmental decisions.
The bill was introduced to overhaul the EPBC ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australia's main national environment law. This bill makes major changes to it. after the Samuel Review found Australia's national environment law was not delivering clear standards, strong protection or efficient project approvals. The government presented it as a way to protect nationally important nature, restore damaged environments, create clearer approval rules for business, and support major projects such as housing, renewable energy and critical minerals without leaving the old approval system in place.
The bill sits in a long-running attempt to repair Australia's national environment law. The Samuel Review supplied the official reform blueprint, business and environment groups then argued over whether the package would speed development or still leave loopholes, and the bill ultimately passed after Senate negotiations between Labor and the Greens produced substantial amendments.
The main criticism was not that national environment law should stay unchanged. Critics disagreed over what the bill would do in practice: business and Coalition speakers warned it could make approvals slower and more uncertain, while Greens and several independents argued the bill still left loopholes, weak climate safeguards and too much ministerial discretion.
Hon Tony Burke MP introduced this bill. It passed on the voices.
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 01 Dec 2025
Final passage
Passed without a counted vote
Members called out ‘aye’ or ‘no’ — no individual votes were recorded.
Passage speed
32 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
The bill amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australia's main national environment law. This bill makes major changes to it. 1999 to create legally enforceable National Environmental StandardsLegally enforceable standards intended to set clearer environmental rules for decisions under the EPBC Act. that guide approvals and other environmental decisions.
Projects with unacceptable impactsA level of serious environmental harm that cannot be approved simply by paying for or providing offsets. on nationally protected matters cannot be approved unless the impacts are avoided or reduced below the unacceptable-impact threshold.
Remaining significant harm to nationally protected matters must be compensated to a net gainA requirement that compensation for remaining significant environmental harm leaves the affected protected matter better off than before., either through proponent-delivered offsets or a restoration contribution paid to the Commonwealth.
Bioregional plans can map development zones, conservation zones and restoration measures so some planned priority actions can proceed by registration while higher-value conservation areas receive stronger protection.
The bill replaces several assessment pathways with a streamlined assessment pathway and updates bilateral-accreditation rules so accredited state and territory processes must meet national environmental protections.
The final Act also strengthens compliance tools, including higher penalties, environment protection orders and wider audit powers for serious environmental risk and breaches.
During Senate passage, agreed government and Greens amendments tightened unacceptable-impact rules, added safeguards on clearing vegetation, limited some fossil-fuel fast-track pathways and changed commencement for some provisions.
The Reform Bill would amend the EPBC Act to provide a framework for the Minister to make, vary and revoke national environmental standards, and to apply such standards to decision-making under the Act, across the various approval decision pathways.Environment Protection Reform explanatory memorandum
Unacceptable impacts will not be able to be compensated for through offsets. These impacts will need to be avoided or mitigated below the unacceptable criteria before the project can be approved.Environment Protection Reform explanatory memorandum
Proponents will be able to discharge their compensation liability by delivering their own environmental offset... or by paying a restoration contribution charge to the Commonwealth.Environment Protection Reform explanatory memorandum
Bioregional plans will allow a region to be mapped to include both development zones and conservation zones... Actions covered by the bioregional plan will be able to be taken in a development zone without requiring further approvals, other than a requirement to register the action with the Minister.Environment Protection Reform explanatory memorandum
removing 3 existing assessment pathways, and replacing them with a single new streamlined assessment pathway... State and Territory processes... will only be accredited if they meet national environmental protections including consistency with national environmental standards.Environment Protection Reform explanatory memorandum
Strengthening compliance and enforcement powers would provide NEPA with a more modern suite of regulatory tools, including tougher penalties... including new powers to issue environment protection orders; expanding existing audit powers.Environment Protection Reform explanatory memorandum
Committee of the Whole debate Amendment details: 84 Government and 91 Australian Greens agreed to... Schedule 1A—Amendments relating to continuation of a use of land, sea or seabed.Parliamentary timeline and proposed amendments
Context
The bill sits in a long-running attempt to repair Australia's national environment law. The Samuel Review supplied the official reform blueprint, business and environment groups then argued over whether the package would speed development or still leave loopholes, and the bill ultimately passed after Senate negotiations between Labor and the Greens produced substantial amendments.
Samuel Review sets the reform blueprint
The minister's second reading speech said Professor Graeme Samuel handed down the independent EPBC ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australia's main national environment law. This bill makes major changes to it. review five years before introduction, finding that national environment law needed fundamental reform.
Minister's second reading speech ↗Environment approvals become a productivity issue
AFR reporting captured public pressure to fix environmental approvals, including Ken Henry's argument that reform was tied to productivity as well as nature protection.
Australian Financial Review ↗Government introduces the reform bill
The House introduced the Environment Protection Reform Bill as the main EPBC ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australia's main national environment law. This bill makes major changes to it. amendment bill in the government's broader environment reform package.
Parliamentary timeline ↗House debate splits over speed and strength
Government speakers argued the bill would repair broken laws, Coalition speakers warned it would add delay and cost, and several crossbench and Greens speakers said stronger safeguards were still needed.
House Hansard ↗House passes the bill with a crossbench amendment
The House agreed to the bill after second reading, consideration in detail and third reading, with the APH record noting one crossbench amendment was agreed.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Senate deal adds Labor and Greens amendments
The Senate agreed to 84 government amendments and 91 Australian Greens amendments, after Greens senators said negotiations had secured changes on native forests, land clearing, water and fossil-fuel fast-track pathways.
Senate Hansard and parliamentary timeline ↗Royal AssentThe formal approval that turns a bill passed by parliament into an Act. turns the bill into law
The bill received Royal AssentThe formal approval that turns a bill passed by parliament into an Act. as the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 after both houses passed it in the same form.
Parliamentary timeline and final law metadata ↗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.
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 House considered the bill in detail and agreed to one crossbench amendment.
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 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 Senate considered amendments in committee of the whole and agreed to packages from the government and the Australian Greens.
Committee of the Whole debate
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
The House considered the Senate message and agreed to the Senate amendments, allowing the bill to proceed to final passage.
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 formal approval that turns a bill passed by parliament into an Act., turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main criticism was not that national environment law should stay unchanged. Critics disagreed over what the bill would do in practice: business and Coalition speakers warned it could make approvals slower and more uncertain, while Greens and several independents argued the bill still left loopholes, weak climate safeguards and too much ministerial discretion.
Criticism came from both sides: some feared more delay and cost, while others feared the bill still would not stop serious environmental harm.
Approval delays and investment risk
Business groups and Coalition speakers warned the bill could add bureaucracy, uncertainty and duplication, making major projects harder to approve rather than solving delays under the existing EPBC ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australia's main national environment law. This bill makes major changes to it..
Rushed scrutiny of a large rewrite
Opposition speakers said parliament was being asked to pass a very large and complex package too quickly, with too little time to test its effects on industry, states and communities.
Loopholes and broad discretion
Independents and Greens criticised offsets, national interest powers, exemptions and ministerial discretion, arguing the bill needed tighter rules to stop damaging projects from proceeding through exceptions.
No full climate trigger
Environmental critics said the bill still did not let national environment law fully address climate harm from new fossil-fuel projects, even after negotiated amendments improved parts of the package.
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. Where APH reports aggregate counts, the package card summarizes the matching public amendment sheets by source theme.
House
Allegra Spender's amendment would require assessment-pathway changes to take effect gradually over three years.
Allegra Spender's amendment would require assessment-pathway changes to take effect gradually over three years.
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.
Senate
Government amendments tightened the unacceptable-impact criteria, set clearer rules for environment protection orders, and allowed extra time before some decisions that an action is not a controlled action lapse.
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.
Australian Greens amendments restricted fossil-fuel fast-track pathways, strengthened National Environmental Standards and review rules, narrowed approval bilateral agreements and exclusion determinations, and added stronger rules for vegetation clearing, water-trigger accreditation and restoration charges.
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.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Burke urges the House to pass the bill, saying Australia’s environment laws are broken and this reform package will strengthen environmental protection, speed and improve project approvals, and increase accountability.
Read in Hansard ↗Bell says the coalition will not support the bill because it is worse than the current laws and would hurt jobs, productivity and investment instead of delivering balanced environmental reform.
Read in Hansard ↗Waters says the Greens support the bill because their negotiations won real improvements, including stronger protections for native forests and land clearing, keeping the water trigger in federal hands, and stopping coal and gas from being fast tracked.
Read in Hansard ↗Chaney says parliament should pass these environmental reforms, but only after significant amendments to fix serious flaws, especially around offsets and the national interest loophole.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
12 speakers · 13 contributions · 12 support
“The truth is our environment laws are broken.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I acknowledge the presence in the chamber of Australia's Minister for the Environment, Senator Murray Watt. His work has made sure that we now have before us a package of bills that will finally deliver the reforms to our environment laws that Australians have long demanded.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise in strong support of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and the six associated bills. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix laws that are failing the environment, our economy and our communities. These bills are about balance and progress—protecting the natural heritage that defines us as Australians while enabling the clean energy industries, homes and infrastructure our nation desperately needs. The truth is simple: the environment and the economy are not at odds. If we get this right, they grow together—cleaner energy, stronger regions, more jobs and a healthier planet.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I will be voting for this bill, because we desperately need reform. Our current environmental laws are just broken. Faults were identified in these laws shortly after they came into force in 1999, when the former member for Bennelong was Prime Minister of this country.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“This is a Labor government acting with purpose. We're delivering stronger safeguards for nature, we're delivering faster and fairer decisions for communities, and we're delivering the accountability and transparency that rebuild trust. Our environment can't wait, and neither can our children's' future. That's why I'm proud to stand here today on behalf of the people of Maribyrnong to back in this reform—to back progress over protest, action over rhetoric and hope over cynicism. Labor is once again leading the nation, protecting what we love, building what we need and delivering for the generations to come. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The steps proposed in these bills are huge. The steps proposed in these bills are important. The steps proposed in this bill will go a long way to making a difference in protecting our environment now and into the future. We need to pass them now. We need to start that work right away. We cannot wait any longer. As I said earlier, there's always more to do, but those who wait for the final step, before we even start, end up taking no steps at all. We've seen this before and we are committed to not letting that happen again, because every day we delay is a day our environment is degrading.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I'm so pleased that we've introduced this EPBC bill. This is really important legislation. This is legislation that my electorate—and in fact all of Australia—has been waiting for for too long. It responds fully to the recommendations of the Samuel review. It's legislation that the environment needs and that business, industry and developers need; it's legislation that this country needs. I commend the bill to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I stand in ardent support of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025. This is a landmark reform. It's generational, a word we throw around too often, but it is truly generational in every sense of the word—not only for current generations but for future generations. Many of us came into this parliament, leaving behind jobs that were far easier, to be good ancestors. This is a true moment of being the good ancestors that we wish to be, that we aspire to be.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“To the Greens: please do not let perfection get in the way of progress. Nothing has happened for the environment for some time. The EPBC Act is over 20 years old. We need to get on with this job. These reforms are pragmatic. They are strong. They are balanced. They deliver for the environment, they deliver for the economy, they deliver for community groups such as the ones I belong to in Bullwinkel and they deliver for the boardrooms in the city. Every day we delay is a day our environment is degrading further. I commend these bills to the House.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Kate Thwaites on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Thwaites supports the bill and wants parliament to pass it, arguing it will modernise environmental law with a strong independent EPA, clearer standards and faster approvals that better protect nature and restore public trust. She says the current system is outdated and failing both the environment and business, and presents the bill as a long overdue reform based on the Samuel review.
“This approach balances protection and progress. It supports environmental certainty and investment and business confidence at the same time. Strong and clear boundaries, formal rules and no room for ambiguity: our environment deserves nothing less. We have too many precious places and too many precious species still being lost in this country. It's on all of us in here to make sure that we do all that we can to end that loss. That means working together to pass these laws.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Kate Thwaites backs the bill and says it is a long overdue, landmark overhaul of environmental law that Labor is bringing back to better protect nature while giving business more certainty. She argues the reforms are urgently needed after years of environmental neglect and presses the opposition and Greens to help pass them.
“This is a landmark piece of legislation that represents the most significant overhaul of Australia's environmental laws in a generation. It is overdue. After our environment was neglected, ignored and left to degrade by those opposite, this is work that Labor attempted in our last term but that we could not get opposition or Greens support for in the Senate. We are now meeting the commitment we made—I certainly made this commitment to many of my constituents prior to the last election—to bring back to the parliament new laws to protect the environment. Our Labor government understands how critical these laws are, for our environment and the precious places and species we must protect and for the certainty needed by business and those looking to make necessary developments.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
“To those opposite, the Liberal and National parties, who are so furious and outraged by the decision that we will make in this parliament today, I say: you are to blame for your own irrelevance on this issue because you have taken away any scrap of credibility with the Australian public that you had. You have shown that you deny the science. You have certainly shown very little, if any, interest in actually protecting our environment. You stand in the way of our new housing projects. You stand in the way of our attempts to build the houses that we need. You stand in the way of our renewable energy rollout. You stand in the way of our Future Made in Australia agenda. And so I repeat: you are to blame for your own irrelevance on this issue. But today we will get the job done and we will pass long-overdue reforms, the first major overhaul of our environmental laws in more than 20 years, to protect our unique environment—what makes our country great. This is a balanced package that balances environmental protection and economic opportunity. It sets up our nation for the future.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The Albanese government is once again delivering on our commitments to the Australian people. By the end of this week, landmark environmental reforms will pass the parliament. For the first time, Australia will have a national environment protection agency. For the first time, Australia will have national environmental standards. We will deliver higher penalties for the most serious breaches of environmental law. We'll ensure that the rules for regional forest agreements comply with the same standards and rules for other industries, and we'll require proponents of large emitting projects to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and their emission reduction plans.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
5 speakers · 4 oppose · 1 mixed
“The coalition remains committed to achieving a balanced outcome for jobs, for productivity and for the environment. This legislation put forward is worse than the current outdated laws—imagine, those laws that were introduced under Robert Hill in 2001! These laws that the Labor Party are putting forward could be worse. Labor has given us no choice but not to support this bill. It does not deliver a balanced outcome to protect the environment, to improve productivity and to provide certainty for job-creating industries. The coalition cannot support this bill and the related bills in the form that they are currently in. I look forward to hearing all of the contributions of members across the House, particularly on the coalition side, when they outline the holes that are in this bill and put the spotlight on Labor for their failures.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“We tried to make these bills much better than they were. We've expressed our concerns. We've operated in good faith with the government, but, instead, it was easier and quicker for the government to do a dodgy deal with the Greens, whatever the price. As I say, it's not just that people will now have higher power bills as a result. The people who work in institutions that rely on gas or other resources that will be harder to get out of the ground because of these laws—their jobs will now be more uncertain. Investors will now decide: Australia has suddenly become a bit harder to do business in; we'll do business somewhere else. Again, more jobs gone. Then there are the people of the forestry sector. Because of Labor selling out to the Greens today, to chalk up a win to get a bill through this parliament before the end of the year so they can all go out on a high—until they have to look forestry workers in the eye—the people of the forestry sector are the ones who have been sold out today. It is a sad day.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“We all face choices. The choice before the parliament right now is: Do we pass this legislation, or do we review it and improve it? Do we make sure that we get the balance right? Do we make sure that we create the legislation this country so desperately needs, so that environmental regulation can steward the environment, and empower the economy and propel it forward to the future? Or do we continue to accept the arrogance and indulgence of this government and vote for legislation, ram it through, without any concern for the consequences of its impact—which could very much lead to disastrous consequences for the people of Australia?”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The minister is looking to do a deal with either the coalition or the Greens in relation to these bills by calling back the bills from the Senate inquiry process to pass the legislation by the end of this year. They want this through the parliament by the end of this year. In their current form, the bills do not provide an improvement for business, and the coalition cannot support them as is. The Business Council of Australia, as the key public commentator to date, has been clear. And they've said that, without significant changes to this bill, we risk embedding a system that's even slower, more complex and lacking in the clarity and certainty needed for investment. So third-party stakeholders are saying that these bills are problematic. They're saying that these bills will create a whole new heap of bureaucracy which is even worse than what we've currently got.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“It is absolutely appalling. It is appalling for the Premier of Western Australia to call on this government and this parliament to pass these laws when we couldn't possibly even have a test of what 'unacceptable impacts' is going to mean. We couldn't possibly know what this is actually going to do, because we have not had the time to review this legislation and test with industry what is required. It is unacceptable that this is happening right here, right now. Every single person in this place, particularly on that side and particularly my Western Australian colleagues, should hang their heads in shame. (Time expired)”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
4 speakers · 3 support · 1 oppose
“We didn't get everything we wanted in these negotiations, but new protections for native forests, protections for land everywhere and in particular in Great Barrier Reef catchments, stopping coal and gas being fast tracked within 30 days like the original bill proposed and retaining the water trigger in federal hands so that we can protect water from rapacious coal and gas corporations are a significant step forward for nature.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The government of the day had to pick a side. We had to fight hard to make sure we were in the right lane. I say to Labor that what has happened in this process is proof that if you want genuine environmental outcomes, outcomes for our climate, outcomes that are good for the community and not good just for the corporations, there is only one party in this place that can be trusted, and that's the Greens. That's why we have done this deal today. We have stood for outcomes for our environment and our communities, and we will keep doing that.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“The sad reality is that these new laws are actually worse. These proposed laws are worse. They've been, seemingly, drafted with only big business in mind rather than designed to actually stop environmental destruction. Previous versions of environmental laws from the last term of parliament were quashed after lobbying from the logging sector and the mining sector and their chief political mouthpiece, Western Australian Labor premier Roger Cook. One of the very first things that the new minister for the environment and water did this term was fly to Perth to consult with the mining sector again—the first consultations—with, apparently, his No. 1 priority being to speed up approvals for big business. That priority could not be clearer in the legislation that's been presented to parliament.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise in support of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and related bills. They are stronger than what Labor first put on the table, stronger because the Greens, backed by communities right across this country, who've been working for decades, joined and led this campaign. They're stronger because experts and advocates across the country refused to let them be written by big coal and gas, logging operations and lobbyists. But let's be absolutely clear: while we have secured important improvements for nature, this package of bills still fails. It fails to properly protect our climate.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
3 speakers · 1 oppose · 2 mixed
“Perhaps most importantly, I implore the government to act in good faith to improve this legislation and get it passed. These bills require significant amendments. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the environmental laws that protect our environment and support our businesses. Let's get it right. I'll be working constructively with the government and others in the House and the Senate to come up with a package that can satisfy the twin imperatives of more certainty and timeliness for business and a better environment for our children and grandchildren.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“I rise to speak on the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025. There is broad agreement that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, or EPBC Act, has utterly failed to protect our environment for the past 25 years. We now have 19 ecosystems on the brink of collapse, and we are a global deforestation hotspot, along with Bolivia and Brazil. I want to begin by saying, sadly, that I cannot support the environmental reforms in these bills in their current form, because, quite simply, they do not guarantee protection for our nature.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
“In closing, I really believe this legislation represents the biggest change to our national environment laws in 25 years. It presents an enormous opportunity. It is extremely complex. Let's make no mistake. I welcome the Senate inquiry into this suite of bills to provide fulsome scrutiny of legislation. It's a vital opportunity for stakeholders and communities to contribute their views. I acknowledge that reforming the EPBC Act is a large and challenging task. I don't underestimate that. There are truly some positives in this legislation. But I believe more needs to be done to ensure that it is fit for purpose to protect our environment into the future, so I call on the government to back my amendments. They are in good faith and address issues that disproportionately impact rural communities, issues that people in my electorate of Indi care so deeply about. Our environmental laws are currently failing the environment. We can't afford to wait another 25 years, but we also can't afford not to get it right this time.”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 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 · Consideration in detail: amendments considered
Crossbench amendment agreed
The House considered the bill in detail and agreed to one crossbench amendment.
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: amendments considered
Government and Greens amendments agreed
The Senate considered amendments in committee of the whole and agreed to packages from the government and the Australian Greens.
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
House · Consideration of Senate message
House agrees to Senate amendments
The House considered the Senate message and agreed to the Senate amendments, allowing the bill to proceed to final passage.
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 formal approval that turns a bill passed by parliament into an Act., turning the bill into an Act.
