This bill is currently before Parliament.
Budget, tax & economy
Licensed online and phone betting providers can fund public campaigns promoting BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers., the national service that lets people block themselves from betting.
Anika Wells (Labor), the communications minister, said only one in four people knew BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. existed. Awareness was one in three among people who had placed a bet in the previous 12 months. The government wants betting companies, rather than taxpayers, to pay for campaigns that make the service better known.
Australia's 2019 law created a levy on licensed interactive wagering providers to fund BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers., which launched on 21 August 2023 as a national service allowing people to exclude themselves from licensed online and phone wagering. A statutory review tabled in February 2026 found awareness remained low, while the existing levy mainly covered ACMAThe Australian Communications and Media Authority, the national communications regulator. costs, so Hon Anika Wells MP introduced this bill on 2 July 2026 to fund Department-led promotion and qualifying BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. operating costs, including limited earlier unrecovered costs, from 1 January 2027.
The evidence pack contains no criticism from an opposition or crossbench speaker. It includes only Anika Wells's second-reading case for the bill, followed by the adjournment of debate.
Hon Anika Wells MP introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Labor.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
36 days
Updated 07 Aug 2026.
Meaning
Licensed online and phone betting providers can fund public campaigns promoting BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers., the national service that lets people block themselves from betting.
Licensed betting providers can be charged for other costs that the department or communications regulator incurs while operating BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers..
Licensed betting providers can be charged for eligible BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. costs from an earlier charging period if those costs were not previously counted.
BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers.'s administrators can count costs using the accounting rules that apply to either the department or the communications regulator.
Licensed betting providers would face the expanded cost rules from 1 January 2027.
Item 2 – At the end of subsection 10(1) This item adds three paragraphs 10(1)(h), (j) and (k) at the end of subsection 10(1) of the Cost Recovery Act. Paragraph 10(1)(h) provides that costs associated with the promotion of the Register may be included. This is intended to capture reasonable expenditure on public information, awareness and communications activities that support the effective operation of BetStop as a harm reduction measure. The inclusion of the Department, alongside ACMA, ensures that the Department may undertake, and recover the costs of, national promotion and communicatioNational Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment explanatory memorandum
Paragraph 10(1)(j) provides that other costs incurred by ACMA or the Department in relation to the operation of the Register may be included. While this provision applies to both ACMA and the Department, it is expected that the Department will incur costs under this paragraph only on a limited and infrequent basis.National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment explanatory memorandum
Paragraph 10(1)(k) provides that costs incurred in a previous levy period that have not already been taken into account may be included. This is intended to address potential timing differences between when expenditure is incurred and when that expenditure is recovered, and ensures that all relevant costs can be appropriately recovered over time. Consistent with the Australian Government Cost Recovery Framework (and related Guidelines), only expenses incurred are able to be recovered. This paragraph is intended to operate on a limited basis. While it allows for retrospective cost recovery wherNational Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment explanatory memorandum
1 Section 6 (definition of cost) Repeal the definition, substitute: (a) in relation to the ACMA, means an amount that, in accordance with accrual‑based accounting principles, is treated as a cost of the ACMA; or (b) in relation to the Department, means an amount that, in accordance with accrual‑based accounting principles, is treated as a cost of the Department.National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment introduced text
2 Commencement (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms. Commencement information Commencement Date/Details 1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. 2. Schedule 1 1 January 2027. 1 January 2027National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment introduced text
Context
Australia's 2019 law created a levy on licensed interactive wagering providers to fund BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers., which launched on 21 August 2023 as a national service allowing people to exclude themselves from licensed online and phone wagering. A statutory review tabled in February 2026 found awareness remained low, while the existing levy mainly covered ACMAThe Australian Communications and Media Authority, the national communications regulator. costs, so Hon Anika Wells MP introduced this bill on 2 July 2026 to fund Department-led promotion and qualifying BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. operating costs, including limited earlier unrecovered costs, from 1 January 2027.
The BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. levy framework is established
The National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Act 2019 created a levy on licensed interactive wagering providers to recover costs associated with establishing and operating BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers..
Australian Taxation Office ↗BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. launches nationally
The Australian Government launched BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers., allowing Australians to self-exclude from all Australian licensed online and phone wagering providers for periods ranging from three months to a lifetime.
National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment explanatory memorandum ↗Statutory review finds BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. awareness is low
The review found that only one in four people knew BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. existed, rising to only one in three among people who had bet in the previous 12 months.
Minister's second reading speech ↗Hon Anika Wells MP introduces the bill
Hon Anika Wells MP introduced the bill to expand the levy beyond ACMAThe Australian Communications and Media Authority, the national communications regulator. costs so it can recover Department promotion and other properly attributable BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. operating costs.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Expanded cost recovery is scheduled to begin
The cost-recovery amendments are scheduled to commence on 1 January 2027, subject to enactment, while the bill's other provisions would commence on Royal AssentThe formal approval that turns a bill passed by Parliament into law..
National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment explanatory memorandum ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Referred to Committee (02/07/2026): Senate and Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; Report due 17/08/2026
Report due 17 Aug 2026
APH bill page notesKey criticism
The evidence pack contains no criticism from an opposition or crossbench speaker. It includes only Anika Wells's second-reading case for the bill, followed by the adjournment of debate.
Wells argued that every Australian should know about BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. and that betting companies should fund this work instead of taxpayers.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Anika Wells supports the bill, saying it will make gambling companies rather than taxpayers fund the full range of work needed to promote and operate BetStopA national service that lets people block themselves from licensed online and phone betting providers. effectively.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“This bill will expand the cost-recovery framework to ensure it covers the full range of activities that ACMA and the department undertake to ensure the effectiveness of the register, including promotion and awareness raising activities.”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.
Senate and Environment and Communications Legislation Committee
Report due 17 Aug 2026
Referred to Committee (2 July 2026): Senate and Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; Report due 17 Aug 2026
APH bill page notes