Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026

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) (13:03): The advice I have is that there are cases where, through this mandatory notification, people have gone to the cost and effort of obtaining advice when they are not subject to any liabilities arising from the complaint.

If I were a person just trundling along in life and the Human Rights Commission rang me and said, 'By the way, you've been named in this complaint,' I would feel that I would want to go and get some advice. That would be my individual choice because I would be worried about that—the Human Rights Commission reaching out to me to tell me that. You would think, 'I'd better go and get some advice on that,' when what the commission is saying is: 'You're not a formal respondent.

There are no liabilities attached to this. We have to let you know that you have been named as part of a complaint that we're dealing with two other parties on.' I think the idea there is to reduce some of this stress and not put people in a position where they feel they have to go and get formal advice just because they work next to somebody who's going through some issues and taking their employer through the commission.