Portfolio — 1 April 2026

The Attorney-General, Ms Rowland, delivered a high-volume day of legislative activity on 1 April, advancing two interconnected copyright reforms through media release, moving the most substantial overhaul of Commonwealth secrecy law in decades through the House, announcing a whole-of-government automated decision-making framework in question time, and leading the House in paying tribute to former Chief Justice Sir Anthony Mason.

The headline legislative event was the second reading of the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026, which will repeal or remove criminal liability from more than 300 secrecy provisions across the Commonwealth statute book — a reduction of more than one-third of all provisions attracting criminal sanction [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s014].

The bill draws on findings from the 2023 Review of Secrecy Provisions and recommendations from the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. The Attorney-General noted that while the 2023 review identified 168 provisions no longer warranting criminal liability, extensive consultation across more than 13 departments and agencies produced a bill addressing nearly double that number, including through the repeal of section 122.4 of the Criminal Code, which currently criminalises breaches of non-disclosure duties across the entire statute book.

Rather than replacing it with a broad general secrecy offence, the bill substitutes a narrowly targeted Criminal Code offence directed at Commonwealth officers or connected persons who improperly communicate or use Commonwealth information for personal benefit or to cause detriment. Two provisions with direct implications for press freedom are prominent: the bill nearly halves prison penalties for secrecy offences applying to non-officials including journalists, raises the threshold for criminal culpability, and — critically — legislates a requirement that the Attorney-General personally consent before any journalist can be prosecuted for a secrecy offence, layering that safeguard over the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions' existing public interest test [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s014].

A companion bill, the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Sunsetting Provision) Bill 2026, extends the sunset date of section 122.4 until 29 December 2026 [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s015]. The Attorney-General framed this as a practical bridging measure: section 122.4 cannot be allowed to lapse before the Repealing Offences Bill — which formally removes it — has cleared parliament [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s015].

The two bills are therefore sequenced instruments, and tracking one requires tracking the other.

In question time, the Attorney-General announced the government is developing a whole-of-government framework for automated decision-making (ADM), explicitly connecting the initiative to implementing Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme recommendations [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s167]. The framework is designed to embed human oversight, improve accuracy and consistency of administrative decisions, and require transparency about when and how automation is deployed in frontline services [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s167].

The ADM framework announcement sits coherently alongside the secrecy reform package: both reflect a portfolio approach that foregrounds accountability, proportionality, and public trust in government institutions.

On the comms side, a ministerial media release confirmed the passage of legislation establishing Australia's first orphan works scheme under copyright law, permitting cultural and educational institutions to provide expanded access to creative, historical and educational works where copyright owners cannot be identified or located [TA-260401-attorn-12fc79c87240].

The scheme preserves rights-assertion pathways for copyright owners who later emerge and clarifies that educators may use copyrighted material across physical, online and hybrid classroom settings, with parents and community members eligible to assist. This copyright reform — a discrete but significant change to cultural access law — passed on the same day the Attorney-General moved the secrecy bills in the House, underlining the breadth of the portfolio's legislative throughput on the day.

The Attorney-General also moved the formal motion of condolence for Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE GBM KC, former Chief Justice of the High Court, who died on 17 March [TA-260401-attorn-92f87f9251de]. In the House, the Attorney-General detailed Sir Anthony's eight years as Chief Justice from 1987, citing the Mabo and Queensland (No. 2) decision recognising native title, the Cole and Whitfield decision on section 92 of the Constitution, and the court's first recognition of an implied freedom of political communication [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s001].

The House agreed to permit additional tributes in the Federation Chamber [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s003].