The week in review - on a day of mourning

Under 16, enforcement over the line

The government again used its majority to move the Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) out of the Senate where it had looked to stay stuck, with examination powers for the eSafety Commissioner intact. The House then agreed to minor Senate amendments in two quick divisions: 96 to 36 and then 95 to 37. The Opposition and One Nation voted no both times; Labor, the Greens and the full crossbench voted yes. It now goes for royal assent.

That is the week's biggest legislative outcome - being noticed internationally, but isn't the week's biggest story locally. The by-invitation-only Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program (infrastructure.gov.au) has persisted, alongside Senator McKenzie (Nationals) continuing the Opposition's pressure during the yesterday's Senate take-note debate, where she said one in 1,599 golf clubs around the country received the invitation to bid for funding. Labor's response to that was to remind colleagues it was Senator McKenzie who last caused "pork barrelling" to be in the media's crosshairs when she was Minister for Sport (the $100 million community sport grant program (abc.net.au) made headlines via an Australian National Audit Office report released in January 2020).

Noting today's date in our part of the world, and all chambers rising last night, the House paused yesterday at 2pm for statements on indulgence marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States. The Prime Minister read the names of the ten Australians killed, and has today (pm.gov.au) joined his counterparts globally in marking a day that changed the course of modern history.

Yesterday, and this week in the House

Tehan (Liberal) moved to disallow the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative—Improved Forest Management in Multiple-use Public Native Forests) Methodology Determination 2026 (dcceew.gov.au), made in June, arguing it lets state governments "cash in climate credits" while native hardwood logging jobs disappear; it was voted down 38 to 92.

Yesterday was meant to be the day the Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) finished all its stages; it did not. Gee's (Independent) case that cutting the rebate for over-65s will "swamp state hospitals" was still running when the second-reading debate was interrupted for statements by members.

In addition to the Online Safety amendment bill noted above, three other bills returned from the Senate unamended and are now awaiting royal assent: the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), Wine and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) and Biosecurity Amendment (Improving Operational Efficiency) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au).

The Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) finally reached its third reading and passed, as did the Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) after its report back from the Federation Chamber.

Four more bills got no further than first reading this week: the National Student Ombudsman Levy Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) and its Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency companion, the Knox Class Action (Facilitation) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), and the Customs and Other Legislation Amendment (Illicit Tobacco Enforcement Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au).

Yesterday, and this week in the Senate

Senator Hanson's Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), failed at the second reading 21 to 32. The ayes were One Nation plus the Coalition and the noes were Labor, the Greens and the rest of the crossbench.

The Statute Update Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), introduced to Parliament in June, passed with amendments after the government moved to limit debate on it and now heads back to the House. The Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), introduced to Parliament in May and being waited on by business groups (it seeks to 'amend 26 Acts to simplify and streamline regulatory and administrative processes for businesses and community organisations' on financial information), got through its second reading.

The Senate's own vote on the forestry disallowance, moved by Senator Cadell (Nationals), was also negatived, the mirror of the House outcome above. In its place, the Senate adopted the Selection of Bills Committee's latest report and referred the Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (aph.gov.au), to report by 24 November (during the last sitting week of the year).

Three committee reporting dates flagged this week as extended: the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025 (aph.gov.au) inquiry to 18 November, the Defence estate assets (aph.gov.au) inquiry to 25 February 2027, and the youth justice and incarceration (aph.gov.au) inquiry to exactly 18 September.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights' Report 10 of 2026 (aph.gov.au) was tabled, covering 24 bills introduced between 3 July and 31 August, with substantive comment on three of them plus one legislative instrument:

• the strongest finding in the report is against the Social Security (Administration) Legislation Amendment (Income Management and Enhanced Income Management) Instrument 2026 (legislation.gov.au) which came into effect 16 July 2026, and is being reviewed by the Community Affairs References Committee (aph.gov.au): the Human Rights committee concludes it has "not been demonstrated" that extending compulsory income management pursues a legitimate objective at all, given 83% of the 30,966 compulsory participants are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, only 1% were placed on it via any individual assessment, and no evaluation has been run since January 2024 despite the government still not having responded to the committee's own 2024 inquiry
• the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), before the House, drew a recommendation to tighten privacy safeguards around the new Commissioner's data-collection powers
• on the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), currently before the Senate, the committee is still seeking the Attorney-General's justification for a three-year extension of stop, search and control-order powers and, more pointedly, for extending the maximum control-order duration on 14-to-17-year-olds from three months to twelve
• the Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), also before the Senate, gets a recommended amendment over its identity-verification requirement for migration reviews, where the committee wasn't satisfied the safeguards are adequate given 130,000-plus applications on hand.

That wraps a fast-moving sitting week; both Houses are back Monday.

Until then!

— Mia