Portfolio — 24 March 2026

The Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth, Senator Walsh, handled procedural business in the Senate on 24 March, scheduling three private senators' bills for debate later in the week and defending the government's position on a wage theft motion [TA-260324-senate-dd516f85acd4:s177]. On the scheduling front, Senator Walsh moved that the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2020 be considered on Wednesday 25 March, with the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025 and the Housing Investment Probity Bill 2024 slated for Thursday 26 March [TA-260324-senate-dd516f85acd4:s177].

Those bills span defence and housing policy, indicating the Senate's cross-portfolio workload for the remainder of the sitting week.

On the wage theft motion, the government's position was that an independent review of the relevant provisions is already in progress, making the motion premature [TA-260324-senate-dd516f85acd4:s182]. The review was initiated on 15 December 2025 and must report to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations on or before 15 June 2026. Former fair work commissioner Ms Susan Booth is conducting the review, which focuses on the operation of the amendments introduced by the Closing Loopholes acts, specifically the wage theft protections in Part 14 [TA-260324-senate-dd516f85acd4:s182].

Senator Walsh's role here was as a government representative on the floor, presenting the rationale for opposition to the motion rather than acting in a direct portfolio capacity on employment matters.