Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the bill and I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

The Parliamentary Business Resources Legislation Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024 will progress important reforms to simplify how services to parliamentarians are delivered, including joining up administration, enhancing client experience and streamlining service delivery. These reforms build on significant reforms made in 2017 and 2018 to the administration of parliamentary work expenses.

The Bill will amend the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 and the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Act 2017 to respond to recommendations of the Independent Review into the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 and Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Act 2017, which was conducted by the former Member for Hinkler, the Hon Kelly O'Dwyer, and the former Member for Adelaide, the Hon Kate Ellis in late 2021.

The Review found that the legislative framework is broadly meeting its objectives, but identified areas for improvement and made 30 recommendations, including to reporting and certification processes, improving service delivery and training, changes to the administration of public resources, and supporting a modern, diverse parliament.

The Government announced its in-principle support for all of the recommendations of the Review when the report was tabled in the Parliament on 2 August 2022. Significant work has been progressed to implement these recommendations.

The PBR Act and the IPEA Act set out the framework for the provision and administration of resources for parliamentarians. The PBR Act commenced in 2018 and established a principles-based framework for the provision of public resources to senators and members of Parliament. The IPEA Act commenced in 2017 and established IPEA as an independent statutory authority.

IPEA currently has functions relating to the provision of travel resources to current and former senators and members under the PBR Act and other legislation. This includes the administration of those resources (including processing claims, paying or providing resources and providing personal and general advice). IPEA's transparency and accountability functions include reporting and auditing resources and giving rulings relating to the public resources IPEA administers under the PBR Act.

This Bill directly implements three recommendations of the Review which require amendments to primary legislation and substantially advances the implementation of a further five recommendations aimed at joining up administration, enhancing client experience and streamlining service delivery by transferring the administrative responsibility for certain PBR resources to IPEA.

Since the Review was tabled, the Department of Finance has been working closely with all administering entities to progress the other recommendations of the Review. Implementation is being progressed in a sequenced and considered way, noting the complexities of the parliamentary environment and the interaction with different reviews being simultaneously implemented across the Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplace.

These changes to the parliamentary business resources framework have been developed in the context of the Government's broader reform activities to improve our parliamentary workplaces arising from the Australian Human Rights Commission's Set the Standard Report, including the establishment of the statutory Parliamentary Workplace Support Service and legislative amendments to the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 at the end of last year. An efficient and transparent administration regime that effectively supports parliamentarians to perform their duties in the public interest is an important feature of this system.

The Bill is making three main changes to the legislative framework. Firstly, the Bill will provide for the transfer of the administration of certain PBR resources, including office expenses, from the Department of Finance to IPEA on 1 July 2025, implementing recommendation 23 of the Review.

Secondly, the Bill will implement recommendations 8 and 11 of the Review by extending IPEA's personal advice and rulings functions.

Thirdly, the Bill will provide enhancements to the PBR Act and IPEA Act, to clarify certain provisions that have been identified as requiring amendment over time, and better support longstanding administrative practices under legislation.

Transfer of PBR resources

Parliamentarians and their staff have access to a range of resources, which are provided by multiple entities including the parliamentary departments, portfolio departments, as well as the Department of Finance and IPEA, under the PBR Act and other mechanisms. It is unlikely that there will ever be a single provider to administer of all resources that are necessary and appropriate for parliamentarians to undertake their parliamentary business. However, it is clear from the Review that there is room for improvement.

The transfer and consolidation of the administration of most PBR resources within IPEA will result in IPEA becoming the key administrator and point of contact for advice and support, including in relation to parliamentarians' obligations under the PBR framework. This will simplify how services to parliamentarians and their staff are delivered.

The transfer will implement recommendation 23 of the Review and substantially advance the implementation of several recommendations which focus on aligning the administration of parliamentary business resources. This includes a greater focus on joined-up systems, administration, training, guidance and enhanced information sharing to improve the experience of parliamentarians and their staff (recommendations 13 to 17).

The IPEA Act will be amended to provide that IPEA is responsible, by default, for all PBR administration except for resources that are expressly carved out. While some exclusions will be set out within the amended IPEA Act itself, the IPEA Act will be supported by legislative rules that will exclude other PBR resources from IPEA's administrative responsibilities as agreed by the Government. The legislative rules will provide flexibility to allow for efficient changes to the administration of PBR resources that may be required over time.

The scope of IPEA's existing administrative and service delivery functions will be expanded to include office expenses and other transferred resources. This will build on IPEA's existing high standard of service delivery. However, the Bill will not reduce the types of resources provided to parliamentarians under the PBR Act.

IPEA's responsibilities for reporting, compliance and audit for all work expenses will extensively align with existing practice. Currently, IPEA's personal advice function in relation to travel expenses and allowances are afforded exemption under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and safe-harbour from liability for a debt or penalty loading under the PBR Act. These important protections encourage parliamentarians' use of IPEA's advice function prior to claiming or using public resources, promoting the careful and appropriate use of public resources. The Bill will extend these protections to also cover the PBR resources which IPEA will administer following the transfer of functions.

Implementing Recommendations 8 and 11 of the Review

The Bill will implement recommendations 8 and 11 of the Review. IPEA will have the authority to provide personal advice about staff use of travel resources to their employing parliamentarian. It will also allow IPEA to provide, with the parliamentarian's agreement, personal advice about a parliamentarian's use of resources it administers to that parliamentarian's staff. This will facilitate more effective and efficient communication between IPEA and a parliamentarian's office.

The Bill will implement Review recommendation 11 by allowing IPEA to make a ruling in relation to public resources it provided under the PBR Act when a former member was a member. Currently, the PBR Act does not allow IPEA to make a ruling for, or provide safe-harbour protections to, former parliamentarians. The Bill will allow IPEA to make a ruling in response to a request by a former member. This will provide assurance to current parliamentarians that if IPEA is found to have provided incorrect personal advice, the safe harbour protections that apply while a member, continue to apply after they cease to be a member. Under the amendments, IPEA will have the authority to make a ruling at the request of a former parliamentarian, but not at IPEA's own initiative.

Other changes

The Bill will make a number of other amendments to the PBR Act and IPEA Act. These enhancements do not represent major policy changes, rather they aim to address gaps that have emerged, clarify or better align provisions to original policy intent, and better support longstanding administrative practices.

These measures include clarifying the delegation powers for Presiding Officers and IPEA's reporting function to align with administrative practices. Amendments to the PBR Act will ensure that the Prime Minister's power to determine resources relating to a former Prime Minister aligns with existing decisions of executive government which preceded the PBR Act.

Fortnightly remuneration

The Bill will modernise the payment frequency for parliamentarians' remuneration. The Remuneration Tribunal will continue to determine and report on the annual salary amounts for parliamentarians and other remuneration elements. The Bill will facilitate remuneration being payable on a fortnightly (rather than monthly) basis. The commencement of this measure will be subject to the readiness of IT system updates required to enable this change. Consequential amendments to the relevant superannuation legislation will also be made to reflect this change to fortnightly payments.

Estate allowance

Since 1980, ten members of Parliament have died while in office. Sadly, five of these, former Senators Alex Gallacher, Kimberley Kitching, Jim Molan and Linda White, and the former Member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy, have passed away in the last three years. These recent events have highlighted that allowances relating to a person ceasing to be a parliamentarian under the PBR Act are not payable to persons who pass away while a parliamentarian. This impacts the grieving partner and dependents of each of our former colleagues, as the provision of PBR resources stop with immediate effect upon a person leaving parliament.

The Bill seeks to recognise and redress this inequity by allowing the Remuneration Tribunal to determine allowances which would be payable to the estate of a person who dies while a parliamentarian. The Remuneration Tribunal would have the discretion to consider such factors as it considers relevant when determining what, if any, amount of estate allowance is appropriate.

Territory Senators' Remuneration

The Bill will address an issue impacting retiring Territory Senators' remuneration which was inadvertently introduced with the PBR Act. The amendment will provide that a retiring Territory Senator is remunerated and able to claim PBR Act resources for the duration of their term when the Senate is not dissolved. The amendment will maintain the consistent and equal treatment of all retiring parliamentarians in the circumstances of a double dissolution election, whose remuneration ceases on the day of the double dissolution.

Review timeframe

The Bill will extend the frequency at which the independent statutory review of the PBR Act must occur from every three years to every five years since the Review was tabled. This will allow sufficient time for the proper implementation of review recommendations, and a sensible period in which any new arrangements can be reasonably reviewed. This does not prevent examination of the Act, nor amendment, at other times.

Technical Amendments

The Bill will make a technical amendment to the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (NACC Act) to clarify that the standing appropriation under subsection 280(3) of the NACC Act extends to all payments that may be made to, or for the benefit of, current and former parliamentarians under the arrangements prescribed by Part 5 of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Regulations 2023 (NACC Regulations). This would ensure consistent funding of the legal financial assistance scheme for current and former parliamentarians under the NACC Act.

Conclusion

In summary, this Bill will update, realign and reform the provision of parliamentary business resources to facilitate a more efficient, seamless, client-focused delivery of services to parliamentarians and their staff, as well as addressing key recommendations of the Review which require legislative amendments to the PBR Act or the IPEA Act.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Parliamentary Business Resources Legislation Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024. Following the moving and passage of government amendments, the opposition will be supporting this bill, noting that the Special Minister of State has provided undertakings to the opposition on the intention of several measures in the bill and provided briefings on their operation, which we sincerely thank him for.

The bill represents significant changes to the framework for parliamentary business resources. The bill would amend the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017, the PBR Act and the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Act 2017, the IPEA Act, to respond to a number of recommendations of the independent review into the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 and the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Act 2017, which is referred to in my comments as 'the review' and was conducted in late 2021.

The bill contains schedules that implement recommendations 8, 11 and 23 of the review. Recommendation 8 stated:

The Government consider amending the IPEA Act to expressly facilitate IPEA providing personal advice about staff use of travel resources to their employing parliamentarian and advice about parliamentarians' use of travel resources to their staff.

This change will allow for better access and practise of the correct use of expenses—something that we all agree on—in particular, giving clarity under the legislation as to who can receive this advice. Recommendation 11 stated:

The Government should consider amending the PBR Act to clarify that a former parliamentarian can apply for a ruling and IPEA can make such a ruling.

Again, these changes will ensure that, as the scheme is now seeing parliamentarians leave the parliament who were using resources under the PBR framework, those former parliamentarians can still access some of the benefits of IPEA's ability to make rulings after they have ceased being parliamentarians. It is an important change that will provide these individuals clarity, if required. Recommendation 23 stated:

The Government should consider moving the office expenses administration function to IPEA.

This recommendation is a significant change. It represents the movement of a significant management of the resources for parliamentarians from the Department of Finance to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority and will mean that, for the first time since the creation of the modern resources framework, the department will no longer manage the majority of the day-to-day resourcing for parliamentarians and their offices. Such a significant change will require an appropriate amount of education and management, to ensure staff and offices adjust to this change as smoothly as possible.

The original bill proposed that this change would occur from 1 July this year, as the department advised that the most appropriate time to make the change is at the end of a financial year. The bill will also make minor and technical amendments to the conditions of our workplace, resolve administrative issues, make technical amendments and provide some measures that will modernise the systems that support parliamentarians in their work. Noting the significance of some of these changes and the short time originally proposed in the bill to introduce them, the government has indicated that some of these changes will take effect from 1 July 2025. This will allow for appropriate consultation and preparation to be undertaken to ensure officers and staff adjust to the new model of resource management. We sincerely thank the minister, his office and everyone involved in relation to these initiatives for their work—for continuing to work collaboratively on this bill and for continuing the longstanding bipartisanship on these matters.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak very briefly on the Parliamentary Business Resources Legislation Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024. This is largely a machinery-of-government bill to change some expense reporting responsibilities from Finance to IPEA. IPEA is an independent body, and, therefore, we think those are good, positive changes and we support them.

I'm also really pleased to see that the government fixed in the House provisions that would have kept the usage of special-purpose aircraft shrouded in secrecy. I'm very pleased to see the government has fixed that and that they will now restore a measure of transparency in relation to that SPA usage, as is appropriate.

We do still have concerns about the Prime Minister's boys' club—let's be honest; it is mostly a boys' club—in that this bill would codify what has not been longstanding practice: for current prime ministers to determine the ongoing perks of previous prime ministers. We think that is deeply inappropriate and we think that it is far more appropriate that that decision sit with the Remuneration Tribunal. They are the independent body that we think should make that sort of decision. I have circulated a second reading amendment to give effect to that suggestion. Sadly, I'm not anticipating support for that, but it's important that we go on the record. I move:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate notes that the Remuneration Tribunal, as an independent body, is better placed to determine the entitlements for former Prime Ministers than the Prime Minister of the day".

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank colleagues for their contribution to the debate. The Parliamentary Business Resources Legislation Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024 will directly impact three recommendations of the Independent Review on the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 and the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Act 2017 and support the implementation of a further five recommendations. This bill will realign and reform the provision of parliamentary business resources to better facilitate an efficient, seamless, client focused delivery of services to parliamentarians and their stuff. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to speak for one minute in relation to Senator Waters' amendment.

Leave granted.

The coalition will not be supporting this second reading amendment to ensure the passage of the bill, noting that the amendment, in our view, has no material effect.

Question negatived.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—can I ask that the Greens' position supporting the amendment be noted.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.