This bill is currently before Parliament.
Immigration, border & security
People entering Australia must say whether they received an organ transplant overseas in the previous five years.
Dean Smith (Liberal) said Australia lacks reliable information about overseas organ transplants involving people entering the country. He said the hidden nature of organ traffickingTrading or obtaining human organs through unlawful exploitation. makes its scale difficult to measure. Deakin University estimated a black market of more than 10,000 unethical transplants each year, or more than one every hour. Smith said the information would help Australia track possible trafficking and carry out recommendations from a 2018 parliamentary inquiry.
Before this bill, Australia had no reporting requirement for people arriving after receiving organ transplants overseas, even as evidence showed Australians travelling abroad for donor organs and returning with serious complications, while experts warned that transplant tourism could support illegal organ trading. A 2018 parliamentary report and later public reporting kept the issue in view, and Senator Dean Smith introduced the private bill on 20 August 2026 to collect location data on recent overseas transplants and publish aggregated patterns for monitoring trafficking and human-rights abuses.
The evidence pack contains no speech from an opponent and records no direct criticism of the bill. Dean Smith (Liberal), its sponsor, did acknowledge a privacy concern: collecting useful information must be balanced against a person’s right to keep medical information private.
Senator Dean Smith introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Liberal.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
47 days
Updated 06 Oct 2026.
Meaning
People entering Australia must say whether they received an organ transplant overseas in the previous five years.
Travellers who report a transplant must name the medical facility and give its country, town or city.
Travellers’ personal details will not appear in the annual report. It will show combined totals and locations, but not facility names.
The responsible minister must prepare the annual report within one month of each calendar year ending. Each house of Parliament receives it within 10 sitting days.
People who report an overseas transplant do not commit a new offence or face a new penalty under this bill.
Everyone affected would come under the new rules six months and one day after the bill receives Royal AssentFormal approval that makes a bill law., the formal approval that makes a bill law.
People affected by the rules will have their operation reviewed after three years. The review report must be given to Parliament.
166A Information regarding overseas organ transplants (1) The information that must be provided by a person entering Australia to a clearance authority under paragraph 166(1)(b) includes information in the form of answers to the following questions: (a) “Have you received an organ transplant outside Australia within the last 5 years?”;Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) introduced text
(1) The information that must be provided by a person entering Australia to a clearance authority under paragraph 166(1)(b) includes information in the form of answers to the following questions: (a) “Have you received an organ transplant outside Australia within the last 5 years?”; (b) if the answer to the question in paragraph (a) is affirmative—“For each organ transplant you received outside Australia within the last 5 years, what is the place (the country, and the town or city) of the medical facility at which you received the transplant?”; (c) if the answer to the question in paragraphMigration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) introduced text
(3) The Minister must cause a report on the following to be prepared within one month after the end of each calendar year: (a) the number of affirmative answers during the year to the question mentioned in paragraph (1)(a); (b) information on the places of medical facilities specified in answers during the year to the question mentioned in paragraph (1)(b), including the number of times each place was specified. (4) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 10 sitting days of that House after it is prepared.Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) introduced text
(3) The Minister must cause a report on the following to be prepared within one month after the end of each calendar year: (a) the number of affirmative answers during the year to the question mentioned in paragraph (1)(a); (b) information on the places of medical facilities specified in answers during the year to the question mentioned in paragraph (1)(b), including the number of times each place was specified. (4) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 10 sitting days of that House after it is prepared.Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) introduced text
The Bill promotes protection against exploitation, violence and abuse, including trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal. It supports the objectives of the Palermo Protocol by enabling the collection and analysis of information related to overseas organ transplants involving persons entering Australia. This information will improve the Commonwealth’s understanding of the prevalence, locations and patterns of overseas organ transplantation, and may assist in identifying practices associated with trafficking, coercion, exploitation or other forms of abuse in the procurement of orMigration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) explanatory memorandum
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. The whole of this Act The day after the end of the period of 6 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent. Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) introduced text
4 Review of operation of amendments (1) The Minister must cause an independent review to be conducted of the operation of the amendments made by this Act. (2) The review must commence as soon as practicable after the end of the period of 3 years after the commencement of this Act. (3) The persons who undertake the review must give the Minister a written report of the review within 6 months of the commencement of the review. (4) The Minister must cause a copy of the report of the review to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is givMigration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) introduced text
Context
Before this bill, Australia had no reporting requirement for people arriving after receiving organ transplants overseas, even as evidence showed Australians travelling abroad for donor organs and returning with serious complications, while experts warned that transplant tourism could support illegal organ trading. A 2018 parliamentary report and later public reporting kept the issue in view, and Senator Dean Smith introduced the private bill on 20 August 2026 to collect location data on recent overseas transplants and publish aggregated patterns for monitoring trafficking and human-rights abuses.
Parliamentary report calls for monitoring of overseas transplant practices
The report highlighted the importance of monitoring transplantation practices in other countries as part of Australia's response to organ traffickingTrading or obtaining human organs through unlawful exploitation. and transplant tourism.
Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure) explanatory memorandum ↗Inquiry recommends reporting suspected transplant tourism
The recommendation aimed to alert authorities when patients appeared to have travelled overseas to buy an organ, after some returned with infections and other complications.
ABC News ↗Study finds more Australians seeking transplants overseas
Experts warned that Australians travelling overseas for donor organs could perpetuate the global illegal trade in human body parts.
ABC News ↗International prosecutions highlight organ traffickingTrading or obtaining human organs through unlawful exploitation. as a hidden crime
The discussion examined how governments could respond to commercial organ trading and transplant tourism, which often involve specialised medical networks.
ABC News ↗Senator Dean Smith introduces the bill
The private bill opened debate on requiring incoming passengers to disclose overseas transplants within the previous five years and identify where they occurred so the Commonwealth can collect reliable data.
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
Key criticism
The evidence pack contains no speech from an opponent and records no direct criticism of the bill. Dean Smith (Liberal), its sponsor, did acknowledge a privacy concern: collecting useful information must be balanced against a person’s right to keep medical information private.
Smith argued that asking travellers through the Incoming Passenger CardThe arrival form used when entering Australia., the arrival form completed when entering Australia, was a practical and minimally intrusive response. The explanatory memorandum says public reports would combine the data and would not identify individual travellers.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Smith supports the bill as a practical and minimally intrusive way to help combat organ traffickingTrading or obtaining human organs through unlawful exploitation. by requiring travellers to disclose recent overseas transplants and enabling Parliament to monitor the resulting data.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“This bill is designed to implement practical and least intrusive tools to support global efforts in combatting organ trafficking.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
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.
