NOTICES

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (11:17): I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move: That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to various bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings.

I also table statements of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during the sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The statement s read as follows — STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2026 SPRING SITTINGS NATIONAL STUDENT OMBUDSMAN LEVY BILL TERTIARY EDUCATION QUALITY AND STANDARDS AGENCY AMEDMENT (NATIONAL STUDENT OMBUDSMAN LEVY) BILL Purpose of the Bills The National Student Ombudsman Complaints Levy Bill (the Bill), together with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (National Student Ombudsman Levy) Bill (together, the Bills) will impose a levy on higher education providers to recover the operational costs of the National Student Ombudsman (NSO).

Reasons for Urgency Passage of the Bills in the 2026 Spring sittings is required to ensure sustainable long-term funding arrangements for the NSO by enabling cost recovery to commence from 1 January 2027. Early passage of the Bills will also provide certainty for the higher education sector, which will be most impacted by the levy. If passage of the Bill is delayed, there will be a financial impact on the NSO until cost recovery is established.

The NSO was originally funded for only two years (from 2024-25), with ongoing funding provisioned in the contingency reserve subject to consideration of cost recovery from the higher education sector. (Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education) _____ STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2026 SPRING SITTINGS PASSENGER MOVEMENT CHARGE AMENDMENT BILL Purpose of the Bill The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Passenger Movement Charge Act 1978 to increase the passenger movement charge from $70 to $80 from 1 January 2027 and establish transitional arrangements for implementation of the increase.

These transitional arrangements also support the realignment of the amount charged to the date of actual departure of the relevant passengers, rather than the ticket sale date. Reasons for Urgency The 'Uplift of the Passenger Movement Charge' measure announced in the 2026-27 Budget would increase the Passenger Movement Charge by AU$10 from $70 to $80 per eligible passenger from 1 January 2027, supported by an 18-month transition arrangement for carriers from 1 January 2027 where tickets have already been sold before Royal Assent.

Legislative amendment of the Passenger Movement Charge Act 1978 is required to enable the price increase and transitional arrangements to take effect in line with the implementation plan communicated to industry. (Circulated by authority of the Minister for Home Affairs) _____ STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2026 SPRING SITTINGS WAGE JUSTICE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE WORKERS (SPECIAL ACCOUNT) (EXTENDING SUPPORT AND STRENGTHENING SAFETY) BILL Purpose of the Bill The purpose of the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety)Bill 2026 (the Bill) is to enable the special account established by the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Act 2024 to be used to fund the Worker Retention Payment (WRP) grants for the extension period of 1 December 2026 to 30 June 2028 (extension period).

The WRP extension period was announced by the Prime Minister on 17 June 2026. The WRP supports a remuneration increase for workers in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector and reduces fee growth for families through its fee growth cap. The Bill is required to appropriate funding for the extension period and to extend the sunset clause.

Reasons for Urgency Passage by the end of the 2026 Spring sittings is required to enable WRP funding to be committed under the special account for the extension period. Currently, this cannot be done via the special account as there are no other opportunities to appropriate funding for the program until the 2026-27 MYEFO Appropriation Bills receive Royal Assent in 2027.

Funding must be committed before the current program end date of 30 November 2026. This will enable grant agreements to be executed before then, ensuring ECEC workers do not receive a break in their pay increase and protecting families from higher fees. As such, if the Bill is not passed in the Spring sitting the effect would be increased risk that WRP payments must be made in arrears, resulting in workers experience a temporary loss of income heading into the Christmas period services experience increased, albeit temporary, financial pressures.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education) _____ STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2026 SPRING SITTINGS KNOX CLASS ACTION (FACILITATION) BILL Purpose of the Bill Knox settlement payments are compensation for harms that were the result of the Robodebt scheme. The Bill will exempt settlement payments received by members of the Knox v Commonwealth (VID982/2024) Robodebt class action from the application of the compensation provisions and the income test under the Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

The Bill will also amend the National Disability Insurance Act 2013 to exempt Knox v Commonwealth settlement payments from recoveries and reductions to the funding of reasonable and necessary supports in participants' plans under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Reasons for Urgency The court-appointed Scheme Administrator is expected to commence making settlement payments to eligible individuals as soon as late October 2026.

Cabinet decided to exempt these payments to avoid adverse outcomes for people who are being compensated for having debts wrongfully raised against them. It will also prevent people who are no longer receiving income support having to re-engage with the systems that caused the harm. Passage of the bill in the 2026 Spring sittings is required to enact income testing and Commonwealth statutory recovery scheme exemptions before settlement payments are made.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Social Services)