Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Law Reform Commission is a creature of statute, established on 1 January 1975 by an act of parliament, having originally been introduced to the parliament by Attorney-General Lionel Murphy in 1973. Murphy said the ALRC would help ensure:

… the system of law under which people live is responsive to the social needs of our time. The rules which govern the relationship of persons with each other and with the Government should reflect current values and philosophies.

The ALRC has published well over 100 reports since its establishment, and many of these are of great public interest. Subjects of recent reports include judicial impartiality, antidiscrimination legislation, corporate criminal responsibility, family law, and incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The current bill contains provisions that arise from the ALRC's interim reports on the financial services legislation. Financial services legislation: interim report A focuses on better aligning definitions across the law with those in the Corporations Law. Financial services legislation: interim report B seeks to redress deficiencies in the organisation of the law. Compared to many other reports of the commission, this work may seem a little dull; regardless, it is necessary. Laws do not work if they are confused, and laws are not easily accessed if they are muddled.

Staff of the commission did not hold back when describing the state of the financial services law in this process. Interim report A starts by using the metaphor of Russian dolls to describe the plethora of definitions currently applying. In relation to interim report B, Dr William Isdale and Christopher Ash described the problem in these terms:

If Australia's corporations and financial services statutes were likened to a house, it would be a large and disordered one. A house in which new annexes have been added with little thought to overall design, and in which objects are scattered and hidden, with little regard to how they may be found in the future. In short, a house that is thoroughly disordered. A house that needs re-design and serious tidying.

Further, they said:

… the law today does not reflect any single design philosophy. It is disorganised, unwieldy, incoherent, and difficult to navigate (let alone comprehend).

They suggested:

… we might embrace a bit more minimalism, relocate some of our clutter, and throw out the broken toys and scattered pizza boxes.

In legislation, as in life, simplicity is a virtue. The need for this bill and others like it is occasioned by years and years of mere adding on without regard for overall structure, meaning and philosophy. The ALRC plan for the financial services law would include the act itself—although leaner—with a scoping order to contain most of the exclusions and exemptions and further thematically arranged rules.

The bill provides that the Acts Interpretation Act will apply to the Corporations Law and the ASIC Act, as it does generally to other acts. This change will remove uncertainty and make it easier for both lawyers and others to deal with, explain and apply the law. It provides for a single consolidated glossary which, surprisingly, does not yet exist in the Corporations Law. This will improve the navigability of the law. There is a wholesale reduction in the number and type of terms that need definition, as well as style changes to make the law more readable. Greater consistency between the Corporations Law and the ASIC Act is provided for.

Each of these changes taken singly might be considered trivial. Taken as a whole, they constitute a real and effective simplification with the potential to save time, trouble and confusion for thousands of Australian individuals and businesses on a daily basis. Time is money. When we succeed in improving our legislative environment, we create value and improve productivity. This detailed legislative grunt work, which is the realm of specialised lawyers and drafters, contributes to improvements for the rest of society across the board. There'll be very little public thanks for the brilliant and fastidious pen-pushers at the ALRC, but I salute you.

The bill before the House also contains amendments to the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991, the Life Insurance Act 1995 and the Insurance Act 1973. These acts enable some instruments due to sunset later this year.

I'm a member of the House economics committee, and I have an ongoing interest in the insurance industry. We recently had the opportunity to hear from APRA both in relation to their annual report and for the purposes of the committee's current inquiry into economic dynamism, competition and business formation. Regulation of the insurance industry is important, and I have particular concerns about the behaviours of some insurers over recent years, the difficulties that some people are now having in obtaining reasonably priced insurance and the tendency of insurers to ignore efforts made by their clients to reduce risk.

I note that recently a significant number of life insurance companies have created a new peak body, the Council of Australian Life Insurers. About 20 life insurance and reinsurance firms established CALI in 2022, departing from the previous representation by the Financial Services Council, so the industry cannot so easily be said to speak with one voice. The government must ensure at all times the way in which it interacts with the insurance industry is predictable and consistent, and the law needs to reflect that.

The bill further moves some ASIC made regulations into the Corporations Act, making the law clearer to those who need to deal with it, and otherwise makes many minor and technical amendments. This is spring cleaning. It is necessary to do this on a regular basis. It is work that only specialists, like those working at the ALRC, and the parliamentary drafters can do, and we need to thank them, fund them and encourage them to do this work. I would like to see more simplification and consistency in the laws we make, and I commend those responsible for this bill at each of its stages of construction.

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