Statute Update Bill 2026

Senator GREEN (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Tourism, Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Assistant Minister for Northern Australia) (15:05): I'm going to speak to the Statute Update Bill as it is proposed by the government, and then, given that we will have very limited time or no time in committee, I'll seek to address some of the amendments as best as I can in the limited opportunity.

Firstly, the Statute Update Bill is the Albanese Labor government's recognition of the importance of maintaining the statute book so that it is clear, accurate and accessible. Clear, readable and factual legislation is fundamental to the operation of our systems and our laws. These laws as they have been previously known have been progressed through the parliament since at least 1934.

The bills have always sought to remove obsolete, spent provisions, correct drafting errors and otherwise improve the readability of the Commonwealth statute book. Indeed, governments of both political persuasions have in the last 10 years progressed comparable bills that achieve this important public priority. Bills were progressed in 2016 and 2017 by Attorney-General Brandis, in 2018 and 2020 by Attorney-General Porter and, most recently, in 2023 by Attorney-General Dreyfus.

The bill before the Senate today is very much in the same tradition as these previous iterations. The Statute Update Bill, as it stands, makes minor and technical amendments across the Commonwealth statute book to enhance clarity, facilitate interpretation and support the effective administration of legislation. The process for identifying, complying with and drafting these amendments is expertly led by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, or OPC.

The Attorney-General and their department play a coordination role in progressing this work. The bill amends 42 Commonwealth acts and repeals 106 obsolete acts. These amendments would improve the quality of legislation and ensure that it can be easily understood.

The laws should be accessible and readable to all. That's why this bill is proposed. It's a very good public outcome.

The level of specificity that makes rights, obligations and limitations imposed through Commonwealth acts should be easily understood. Critically—and critically to the amendments that have been proposed—this bill makes amendments that are only of a technical nature. That is why the bill has been proposed.

And it gives some context around the amendments that we are considering today. First of all, I will deal with the amendments moved by senators from the opposition and One Nation. The government will not be supporting these amendments.

Regarding the opposition's amendments, there is very limited time for us to discuss this issue. In this short amount of time I have, I want to recognise that the government is concerned that the amendments as proposed would have unintended consequences for the compensation and care provided to veterans and families by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The department is already undertaking consultation with veterans, families of veterans, allied health providers, peak bodies, ex-service organisations and other stakeholders.

The intent of those consultations, which are currently underway, is to ensure that the changes to the system do not result in a gap in services for veterans who have a clinical need to access allied health services. The date for the implementation of these reforms is still 10 months away. Allowing time to ensure that we get it right is important for the scrutiny of this Senate.

People can register for the consultations and review the discussion paper, and it will be open until 30 October 2026. This bill, in the government's view, is not the appropriate mechanism to make these amendments, which pre-empt these consultations with the veteran community. I will say, while I have the opportunity, that the government takes all the recommendations of the royal commission incredibly seriously.

Indeed, it is our government that has sought to address the backlog. The backlog would never have been reduced under those opposite, because, unfortunately, when those opposite—including you, Senator Cash—stood around the cabinet table you were not able to provide the record amounts of funding that we have provided to reform the veterans system once and for all.

In fact, it was your former minister, former minister Gee, who referred to your approach in the veterans system as a 'national disgrace', so appalled that he resigned from his position. Our government is very proud of the work that we are doing to implement the royal commission recommendations, and we will work in consultation with the sector and with veterans to get this right when it comes to allied health.

In conclusion, the government thanks senators for the consideration of this bill— (Time expired)