Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026
Ms BELYEA (Dunkley) (19:12): I first want to acknowledge and thank the many people across my community who have advocated so very strongly for gambling reform. Your determination and persistence has inspired me to keep pushing for meaningful action. I acknowledge the very real impact gambling harm has on individuals, families and communities across Dunkley and Australia, as well as the responsibility of government to respond.
Success in gambling reform should ultimately be measured by its impact on people's lives, not by headlines, not by political victories and not by who receives credit for a particular reform. It should be measured by fewer Australians experiencing gambling harm and fewer families enduring financial stress and relationship breakdown, where gambling is less prominent and less normalised.
Gambling is a public health issue underpinned by addiction, and it should be debated as one. This debate is about Australians whose lives have been affected by gambling addiction and the individuals and families who carry the consequences alongside them. Throughout my time in parliament and during more than 30 years in the community sector before entering this place, I have learned that every statistic represents a human story.
Behind the figures are real people trying to navigate difficult circumstances and often rebuild their lives. I met partners in Dunkley who discovered debts they never knew existed, people who spent years trying to repair relationships damaged by addiction and secrecy, those impacted by the shame and social isolation that accompanies gambling addiction, and, at its worse, I heard stories of the loss of life.
Those conversations stay with me. They reinforce a simple truth: policy decisions have real consequences for people's lives. Good policy can reduce harm, strengthen protections and create opportunities for people to recover and move forward.
The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, along with the National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026, delivers a package of reforms designed to reduce gambling harm and strengthen protections for Australians. It also recognises the need to protect our precious children and young people from an environment in which gambling advertising has become normalised.
Over the past decade, gambling promotions have become deeply embedded in many aspects of sport and entertainment. Advertisements appear across television broadcasts, radio, social media platforms, streaming services, websites and podcasts. For many young Australians, gambling advertising has become a routine part of watching sport.
That level of exposure matters. Sport occupies a special place in Australian life. It brings communities together.
It teaches teamwork, resilience and participation. It creates connection across generations and communities. Young people and children should be able to engage with sport and not be constantly exposed to messages encouraging them to place a wager and know the odds.
Before entering parliament, I spent three decades working alongside people experiencing disadvantage, trauma and addiction. One lesson remained constant throughout that work: prevention is always preferable to crisis intervention. The earlier we act the greater our opportunity to prevent serious harm from occurring.
That principle underpins effective public health policy. It is why education matters and is why sensible regulation matters. On its own, no single measure will eliminate gambling harm.
It's an issue that involves organisations, government and people—people and organisations and government who have the power of choice and the freedom to make decisions about what they choose to do with their time and money and power. However, that shouldn't be an excuse for inaction. Meaningful reform often incurs incrementally.
Progress is rarely achieved through one decision alone. Instead, it is built through a series of reforms that collectively delivers better outcomes over time. This legislation and further amendments are an important step on the reform journey.
This bill reduces the volume of gambling advertising and restricts when and where those advertisements can appear. It limits gambling advertising during live sport broadcasts and at specified times and it places new restrictions on the use of celebrities, athletes, influencers in wagering promotions. It reduces advertising during key periods when children are likely to be listening to radio broadcasts on the way to and from school.
This legislation also removes gambling advertising from stadiums and sporting uniforms and provides Australians with greater control over their exposure to gambling advertising online. There is more we can do, and I'm hopeful the harms associated with inducements will also be addressed. This will help more families and reduce overall harm in the community.
Consistent with addressing inducements, we will continue to work on strengthening measures that protect children from pervasive gambling advertising. This bill, as it stands, extends beyond advertising reform. BetStop was introduced in 2023 and is Australia's national self-exclusion register.
BetStop has already provided thousands of Australians with a practical mechanism to exclude themselves from online wagering services. This bill will further strengthen this very important initiative. It will also strengthen action against illegal offshore gambling operators.
These operators function outside Australia's regulatory framework and often operate beyond the consumer protections Australians rightfully expect. The legislation further addresses emerging gambling products, such as online keno products. The bill also addresses foreign matched lottery products and sham promotional lottery arrangements, closing loopholes and strengthening consumer protections where regulation has not always kept pace with technology.
Throughout this process, I have appreciated the constructive engagement of many people and organisations from Dunkley and further afield—researchers, service providers, advocates, community organisations, parliamentarians and people with lived experience. They have all contributed to this very important discussion. Many Australians have shared deeply personal stories about the impact of gambling harm on their lives and on the lives of their loved ones.
That takes courage. I want to particularly acknowledge Caroline and Stephen, who were prepared to share their experiences directly with me. As a government backbencher, I have worked alongside colleagues who share a commitment to reducing gambling harm and improving protections for the communities we represent.
I want to particularly acknowledge the members for Boothby, Macarthur, Bennelong, Macnamara, Macquarie, Reid and Spence for their advocacy and commitment throughout this process. The legislation before us and the amendments that are currently being negotiated are stronger because my community advocates and my colleagues have listened to evidence, engaged constructively and advocated for better reforms.
Recommendation 24 in the Murphy report outlined a phased approach to reform, and that process is already underway. In 2023, BetStop was established, and it was a significant reform in its own right. At the close of 2024, seven additional measures were introduced to address gambling harm.
In April this year, the Prime Minister announced a suite of 11 additional measures—measures we are debating tonight—and there is hopefully more to come. For those who have worked, like me, in government, community and the public health sector, we know that public health policy evolves over time due to advocacy and negotiation, and that is where we are right now in this process.
As with any public health reform, these measures will be implemented, monitored and evaluated. Outcomes will be reviewed and further improvements considered. That is how effective policy operates.
It adapts, learns and continuously improves over time. Today, however, is a day to recognise progress. It is a day to acknowledge those who advocated for change and the contribution of people with lived experiences.
This hasn't been an easy debate for me and my community. This issue is not simply steeped in the tangible challenges gambling harm presents but in grief. Throughout this debate, I have often reflected on my predecessor and friend, the late Peta Murphy.
Peta was a passionate and determined advocate for Australians experiencing gambling harm. She understood both the scale of the problem and the very real human impact that sits behind it, but, first and foremost, Peta was a passionate and determined advocate for her beloved community of Dunkley. Before becoming the member for Dunkley, I came to Peta for advice on a career change.
She was a friend and someone I could count on to be frank and honest with me. One of the things Peta told me was to back myself. I have used that advice since my election in 2024, creating opportunities and initiatives that engage and support my community of Dunkley in whatever way that they needed, and raising the concerns of our community consistently and persistently, including in caucus this week.
I have had discussions with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Communications about the need for stronger protections on gambling on a number of occasions, advocating for further restrictions on inducements and tighter rules on gambling advertising. As Peta's friend and successor, I have been engaged in this issue deeply, often asking her what she would do right now and hoping for some divine intervention or message on what she would do next.
Throughout this debate, I have also spoken to Rod, her husband. In April this year, Rod wrote and shared on social media, 'Let's not let the pursuit of perfection stand in the way of reforms that will deliver real protection now.' I believe Peta would have recognised these reforms for what they are: an important next step—not the end of the conversation but a significant and meaningful step forward that will make a difference in people's lives and the community.
That is worth supporting. Peta's legacy has been widely cited across the media and in this chamber by people who have worked with her on a number of issues. As a friend of Peta, I cannot be in this chamber and let her legacy be defined by just one issue.
She was more than that. She was a fierce advocate for breast cancer patients. She helped establish a national metastatic breast cancer register.
She stood up for women fleeing domestic and family violence, helping stop a coalition proposal forcing women escaping violence to draw on their superannuation. She co-founded the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health, helping lay the foundations for many of the women's health advancements we have seen made by this government, not to mention that she was a lifelong champion of squash.
That is the legacy I want this parliament to remember of Peta. When I was elected as a member of Dunkley, I made a commitment to represent the views of this community in parliament, and, on gambling reform, I have. The Albanese government has taken seriously its responsibility to protect children and young people in particular from gambling harm.
These reforms will create stronger safeguards for future generations, and they will reduce gambling harm. But I have another important message: we need to keep listening. We need to keep evaluating.
There is a lesson the gambling industry needs to take from this. It is that they need to grow a conscience. Their standards and values have been shown to be more than questionable.
Luke Bateman's story highlighted the lack of ethics and integrity that is the foundation of the gambling industry. To the leaders of these organisations, I invite you to wake up and check your values, because Australians are watching. I commend the bill to the House.