Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is appropriate that this debate should follow a debate recognising Australia's service men and women, because, when we speak about deaths overseas, we think about the many Australians who went overseas to serve their country and did not come home. We think too about the tragedy of September 11—the 15th anniversary was acknowledged yesterday—including Australians who were killed there, and events such as the Bali bombings. We think too about individual cases of deaths overseas. Talk of deaths overseas immediately brings to my mind Alex Hodgins, the son of Tony and Judy, who died in Mexico in 2010 and whose funeral packed one of our largest Canberra churches to overflowing.

The opposition supports the passage of the Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016, which makes amendments to the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984. The act itself provides that the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall appoint a registrar of deaths abroad. This registrar is responsible for the registration of deaths of Australian citizens, residents and other prescribed persons who die abroad on board Australian aircraft or ships or in other prescribed circumstances.

Before I turn to the detail of the amendments made by this bill, let me note that the opposition recognises the importance of the registration of deaths abroad regime. We know that the death of a loved one is a sad and distressing event in anyone's life. One of the main requirements for family members dealing with a bereavement is to obtain an appropriate certificate. Death certificates are important documents for a range of legal and administrative requirements that must be attended to following the death of a loved one.

Naturally, when an Australian dies overseas the stresses and difficulties for family members can be magnified. That is why it is important that the state and territory systems for the registrations of deaths are supplemented by the Commonwealth Registration of Deaths Abroad Act. When a death occurs abroad there can sometimes be problems in registering the death under the normal state or territory arrangements for a range of reasons. The Registration of Deaths Abroad Act ensures alternative arrangements are available where such problems arise and that is why it is important that we have this system for registering deaths that occur abroad.

We need to ensure that the system is operating efficiently and effectively because it helps people at a difficult time in their lives. The bill now before the chamber will assist in that regard by making a number of amendments to the principal act. The bill's main purpose is to correct an anomaly which has arisen under the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act. The amendments will validate the earlier appointment of the ACT registrar-general as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad and validate any registrations of deaths made under the existing act. In addition, the bill makes a number of other amendments to simplify and clarify the processes and requirements for registering deaths abroad. These amendments provide the Minister for Foreign Affairs with the flexibility to appoint any state or territory registrar of deaths as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad. They allow the Registrar of Deaths Abroad to register deaths that could have been registered under state or territory law where the relevant state or territory has provided notice that it will not register the death. And it will remove references to registering officers from the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act to ensure that only the Registrar of Deaths Abroad can register deaths under the act.

The opposition notes that the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that it has no financial implications for the Commonwealth or for the community. The explanatory memorandum also contains the relevant statement of compatibility with human rights which notes that the bill does not give rise to any relevant human rights concerns.

As I noted, the opposition is pleased to support this bill. We also point out that the bill was introduced to the last parliament in March this year and could have been passed much earlier had the Prime Minister not chosen to prorogue parliament for the purposes of an early election. This was one of several pieces of legislation where passage has been delayed as a result of this year's double dissolution election.

The anomalies in the registration of deaths abroad system, which this bill addresses, could and should have been resolved months ago in the last parliament. So we are pleased to support the bill, for the second time. But we do place on record today that the delay in securing passage of this bill is regrettable, is a direct consequence of the government's failure to manage its legislative program in the last parliament and the Prime Minister's decision to go to an early election. I commend the bill to the chamber.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise this morning to speak on the Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016. Firstly, it is interesting to look at the great increase in the number of Australians travelling overseas. If we look at 1976, the first year the Australia Bureau of Statistics took records on this, less than one million Australians took overseas trips. So for every 14 Australians there was one trip. Fast forward to last year and that number has a zero on it. Last year, Australians took 9.7 million short-term trips overseas. That is a tenfold increase with our population. A citizen of our country is more than five times more likely to travel overseas today than they were back in 1976. The member for Canberra, who previously spoke, often likes to rise in this parliament and talk about the growing inequality across our nation, but I put it to you that the rich and famous have always had the opportunity to travel and today we have five times as many Australians with the opportunity to travel overseas. The ability to travel overseas is one of the great opportunities in our lives. Experiencing different cultures and seeing the wonderful sites of the world is available to a greater percentage of the Australian population than ever before. This completely debunks the idea of a growing inequality. When it comes to overseas travel, there is a growing equality for more and more Australians.

If we look back to 2005-06, we had 4.8 million Australians travelling overseas—in that last decade there was a 100 per cent increase. What is also good is that we are seeing more young people travelling—we are seeing some of the biggest increases in that age groups. There are also more elderly people travelling overseas, which brings us to the point of this bill. There are so many Australians taking the opportunity to travel overseas, because our country has become more wealthy, more prosperous and has given our citizens more opportunities to travel, that unfortunately we are seeing more deaths overseas. In fact, in 2014-15, there were 1,282 Australians who died overseas, most—648—were due to natural causes but there are an increasing number who die due to accidents—168—murder 64, and natural disasters. The most deaths overseas are recorded in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

That gets to the purpose of this bill. The amendments correct an anomaly in the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984 which has left some applicants in a procedural limbo, unable to register the deaths of family members overseas. The nature of the anomaly is as follows. The ACT Registrar-General was originally appointed as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad under the act. However, the act requires that the Registrar of Deaths Abroad be engaged under the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1999. Since 1994, the ACT Registrar-General has been employed under the relevant ACT legislation, not the Public Service Act. When this anomaly was discovered in 2015, the ACT Registrar-General ceased exercising his functions under the act. This anomaly is corrected by this bill.

Travelling overseas is truly one of the great things any Australian citizen can do. This bill reminds us that it is sometimes risky, that it is sometimes dangerous. The safety and security that we sometimes take for granted are not available in many other countries around the world, so we take this opportunity to remind the more than nine million Australians that make overseas trips to take care and to look after themselves. With that, I commend this bill to the House.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a lapsed bill without amendment from the previous parliament. The Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016 will amend the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984—the RDA Act. The main purpose of the amendments is to allow the RDA Act to correct an anomaly in current registrations of deaths abroad which has left some applicants in procedural limbo, unable to register the overseas deaths of family members. These amendments will provide clear authority for the Registrar of Deaths Abroad to exercise its discretion where a state or territory has provided notice that it will not register a death. Often this occurs because the deceased was not domiciled in the state or territory at the time of death.

This is an important measure which will once again allow the families of those who have died overseas to register the deaths of their loved ones. These amendments also provide the Minister for Foreign Affairs with continued authority to appoint any state or territory registrar, including the ACT Registrar-General, as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad. Overall, this bill seeks to simplify the process for registering overseas deaths, and I therefore commend this bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted for the third reading to be moved immediately?

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, leave is not granted. I haven't been warned about it. We haven't received any notice.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Presumably, we've just asked.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think we're in a new world, to be honest with you.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is obviously very straightforward that, when the second reading is moved, we move straight on to the third reading for a bill that has the support of both the government and the opposition. But, given that leave is not granted, I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

Question agreed to; debate adjourned.