A New Parliament
House of Representatives
Infosheet
MAKING LAWS
No. 7
September 2008
About half of the total sitting time of the House is
can ask the House to make amendments to these
spent considering bills, that is, proposed laws. These
bills.
range from comparatively minor proposals of an
administrative nature to comprehensive initiatives of
major social, economic or industrial significance.
This Infosheet describes how government bills, that is
those proposed by Ministers, are considered and
passed by the House. However, all Members of the
House, as well as Ministers, are entitled to propose
legislation. Procedures for private Members’ bills are,
in the key elements, the same as those for
government bills. Infosheet No. 6 ‘Opportunities for
Private Members’ discusses this topic in more detail
and explains the differences that do exist.
The federal Parliament’s
legislative powers
A new Commonwealth (national) law can only be
made, or an existing one changed or removed, by or
The Governor-General assents to an Act of Parliament
under the authority of the federal Parliament, that is,
by or in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
Preparation of a bill
Under Australia’s Constitution the federal Parliament
A bill, which is a formal document prepared in the
can make laws only on certain matters. These
form of a draft Act, is no more than a proposal for a
include: international and inter State trade; foreign
law or a change to the law. A bill becomes an Act—a
affairs; defence; immigration; taxation; banking;
law—only after it has been passed in identical form by
insurance; marriage and divorce; currency and
both Houses of the Parliament and has been
weights and measures; post and telecommunications;
assented to by the Governor-General.
and invalid and old age pensions. The Australian
States retain legislative powers over many areas such
The original ideas for government legislation come
as local government, roads, hospitals and schools.
from various sources. They may result from party
policy, perhaps announced during an election
In some respects the legislative powers of the two
campaign, from suggestions by Members and
Houses of the federal Parliament—the Senate and
Senators or from interest groups in the community.
the House of Representatives—are not equal. In
Many proposals, especially those of a routine nature
matters relating to the collection or expenditure of
which may be thought of as matters of administrative
public money the Constitution gives a more powerful
necessity, originate in government departments.
role to the House of Representatives—the House of
Government. Bills which authorise the spending of
In whichever way a proposal originates it is
money (appropriation bills) and bills imposing taxation
considered by Cabinet or the Prime Minister and, if
cannot originate in the Senate. The Senate may not
agreed to, the Minister responsible has his or her
amend bills imposing taxation and some kinds of
department arrange preparation of a bill. Bills are
appropriation bill, or amend any bill so as to increase
drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in
any ‘proposed charge or burden on the people’ but it
accordance with detailed instructions issued by
Chamber Research Office
Department of the House of Representatives
www.aph.gov.au/house
departments. Draft bills are usually examined by
The next step usually happens immediately with the
government party committees on which Members of
Minister moving that the Bill ‘be now read a second
Parliament belonging to the governing party or parties
time’. He or she then makes a speech (second
serve. The Parliamentary Business Committee of
reading speech) explaining the purpose, general
Cabinet determines the program of bills to be
principles and effect of the bill.
introduced for each parliamentary sitting period.
At the end of the Minister’s speech, debate on the bill
Passage of a bill through the
is adjourned (deferred) and set down as an item of
House—the normal routine
business for a future sitting. The purpose of this
pause in proceedings is to give Members time to
study the bill and its effects before speaking and
During its consideration by the House a bill passes
voting on it, and to provide the opportunity for public
through successive stages, at which proposals are
discussion and reaction.
made (motions moved) in relation to the bill’s
progress or content, speeches may be made for and
The second reading speech (along with the
against such proposals (debate) and the proposals
explanatory memorandum) plays an important role in
are voted on (decisions of the House).
the legislative process and may be taken into account
Giving notice
by the courts in deciding the meaning or intention of
an Act.
Usually a Minister who wishes to introduce a bill gives
Second reading debate
written notice (advance warning) of his or her
intention to the Clerk of the House, who arranges for
The second reading debate is the discussion of the
the bill to be listed on the Notice Paper (the House’s
motion moved by the Minister. It is normally the most
agenda of business) for the next sitting day. The
substantial debate that takes place on a bill. Its
notice follows a standard format:
purpose is to consider the principles of the bill.
Debate may cover, for example, reasons why the bill
I give notice of my intention to present, at the
should be supported or opposed, the necessity for its
next sitting, a Bill for an Act to . . . [remainder of
proposals or alternative means of achieving the same
bill’s long title].
objectives. Although listed on the Notice Paper ‘for
The ‘long title’ is the bill’s full title and sets out in very
the next sitting’, the second reading debate does not
broad terms the purpose or scope of the bill, for
usually commence for several sitting days, and
example ‘A bill for an Act to amend the Trade
sometimes much later. The timing will depend on the
Practices Act 1974 and for related purposes’. Each
Government’s legislative program and is usually
bill also has a short title—in this case Trade Practices
negotiated with the Opposition.
Amendment Bill 2001. Notice is not necessary for bills
When the debate resumes an opposition Member
which appropriate money or bills dealing with taxation.
(usually the ‘shadow minister’) outlines the
Presenting a bill to the House—first
Opposition’s position on the bill. Government and
reading
opposition Members then usually speak in turn. The
total time for the debate is not restricted by the
Bills are introduced when the House is dealing with
standing orders, but in practice the number of
government business (see Infosheet No. 2 ‘A typical
speakers on each side is usually negotiated between
sitting day’ for information on the different types of
the Government and Opposition and any independent
business and the times they are considered). First the
Members.
Clerk announces the next notice from the Notice
At the end of the debate a vote is taken to decide the
Paper, for example, ‘Notice No. 1’ and reads the short
House’s view on the motion moved by the Minister—
title of the bill, then a Minister stands and says ‘I
‘That this bill be now read a second time’. If this is
present the . . . . . . . Bill 2008’, and hands a signed
agreed to the House has agreed to the bill in principle
copy of the bill to the Clerk together with an
and the Clerk stands and reads out the long title of
explanatory memorandum (a document which
the bill to signify the completion of this stage—the
explains the reasons for the bill and outlines its
second reading.
provisions). The Clerk stands and reads out the long
title of the bill. This is known as its first reading.
Consideration in detail
Copies of the bill (and the explanatory memorandum),
which until this time have been treated as confidential,
The purpose of this stage is to consider the text of the
are then given to Members and made available to the
bill in detail, clause by clause, and to enable changes
public on the Parliament’s Internet site
to it to be proposed. Proceedings are less formal than
www.aph.gov.au/legis.htm
they are for the second reading debate and
procedures can be more flexible. For example,
2
Members may speak briefly (5 minutes each) an
Alternative procedures
unlimited number of times on each proposal put
forward.
Bills considered by the Main
Clauses are taken in their numerical order but, if no
Committee
Member objects, a number of clauses may be taken
Following the Minister’s second reading speech in the
together, the question put from the Chair being ‘That
House, a bill may be referred to the Main Committee
the clause (or clauses) be agreed to’. Often Members
for the remainder of the second reading and the
may be happy to consider the bill as a whole and in
consideration in detail stages. The Main Committee is
this case the question is simply ‘That the bill be
a committee established to be an alternative to the
agreed to’.
main Chamber of the House for the consideration of a
The form of an amendment may be by omitting,
restricted range of business. All Members of the
substituting, or adding words. When an amendment
House can take part in the debates in the Committee.
has been moved, the Chair proposes a question to
It meets while the House is sitting, making it possible
the House usually in the form ‘That the amendment
for two streams of legislation to be debated at the
be agreed to’, although sometimes more complicated
same time. Generally speaking, only bills on which
procedures may be necessary. If the House votes to
there is potential for agreement to be reached are
accept an amendment it must then decide on a further
referred to the Main Committee, following consultation
proposal ‘That the clause/clauses/bill as amended be
between the Government and the Opposition.
agreed to’. These procedures ensure that every part
The Main Committee’s
of the bill is considered
procedures are substantially
and agreed to with or
the same as they are in the
without changes.
House. The Committee can
However, Members may
amend the bill just as the
be in agreement that a
House can and the same
particular bill does not
rules of debate apply.
need to be examined in
However, the Main
detail. In this case the
Committee operates by
consideration in detail
agreement—divisions cannot
stage may be by-passed.
take place—and matters on
The Chair ascertains the
which the Committee cannot
wish of the Members in the
agree are referred back to
House and if no-one
the House for decision there.
objects allows the bill to
Before their third reading,
proceed directly to the third reading. Detailed debate
bills which have been considered in the Main
is considered unnecessary for many bills which are
Committee go through an additional stage—the report
supported by all parties or, in a technical or drafting
stage—when the House considers and votes on the
sense, are very limited in scope or when, in the case
bill as reported back to it. Debate is restricted to
of appropriation and taxation bills, private Members
matters the Main Committee could not agree on.
would be prevented from moving certain
amendments.
(Infosheet No. 16 ‘The Main Committee’ gives more
details about the Main Committee.)
Third reading
Cognate debate—bills debated
This is the final stage in consideration of a bill and is
together
usually a formality. Although the standing orders
(written rules) provide for the third reading to take
When there are two or more related bills before the
place on another sitting after the consideration in
House, if no Member objects, a ‘cognate’ second
detail has been completed, in practice the House
reading debate may take place, during which the bills
allows the Minister to move the motion ‘That this bill
are debated together. On the conclusion of the debate
be read a third time’ immediately. Debate at this stage
separate questions are put as required on each of the
is relatively rare and is restricted to the contents of the
bills and they pass through other stages separately.
bill, that is, the matters contained in the clauses and
schedules of the bill. When the motion has been
agreed to, the Clerk again reads out the long title of
the bill. This signifies that the bill has finally passed
the House.
3
Imposing a time limit on debate—
Proceedings after leaving the
the guillotine
House
If for some reason the Government wishes to hasten
Transmission to Senate
a bill’s progress, a Minister can declare it an ‘urgent
bill’. The question ‘That the bill be considered an
After a bill has passed the House the Clerk signs a
urgent bill’ is then put by the Chair and must be
certificate attached to the bill stating:
decided without debate. When a declaration of
urgency has been agreed to by the House, the
THIS Bill originated in the House of
Minister proceeds to move a motion specifying the
Representatives; and, having this day passed, is
times to be allotted for the various remaining stages
now ready for presentation to the Senate for its
of the bill. If these details are agreed to, when the
concurrence.
time fixed for a stage has been reached, the debate is
If the bill has been amended by the House it is
interrupted immediately and the questions necessary
reprinted before it is sent to the Senate. When the bill
to dispose of that stage are put. This procedure is
is ready, the Speaker signs a document, known as a
known as “the guillotine”. In recent years the
‘message’, addressed to the President of the Senate
Government has imposed a time limit on debate on a
which reads:
bill without first declaring it urgent. The de facto
“guillotine” has the advantage of achieving the result
The House of Representatives transmits to the
required while avoiding one of the motions (and
Senate a Bill for an Act . . . [remainder of long
potential divisions). The change of procedure has
title of bill], in which it desires the concurrence of
resulted in a significant drop in the number of bills
the Senate.
subject to a formal guillotine.
The message and bill are then delivered to the
Reference to a committee
Senate by the Serjeant-at-Arms.
Senate proceedings
It is possible for a bill to be referred for an advisory
report to a committee which specialises in the subject
The bill again goes through three readings in the
area of the bill. The committee can hear witnesses
Senate. When the bill has passed the Senate, the
and gather evidence relating to the bill and can
Senate then returns the bill to the House, either with
recommend action to the House, although it cannot
or without amendments. The Senate may also
amend the bill itself.
request that the House make an amendment in cases
Special types of bill
where the Senate is prevented by the Constitution
from making an amendment itself. Senate
Additional or slightly different procedures apply to
amendments and requests are considered by the
financial legislation—appropriation and supply bills
House, and may be accepted or disagreed to.
and taxation bills (see Infosheet No. 10 ‘The Budget
Disagreement between the two
and Financial Legislation’), and to proposals to make
changes to the Constitution—constitution alteration
Houses
bills (see Infosheet No. 13 ‘The Constitution’).
Where there are disagreements, messages may pass
Bills introduced from the Senate
between the two Houses to seek to reach agreement
as to the bill’s final form.
The great majority of government bills are initiated in
the House of Representatives, because of the
If the two Houses cannot agree, a bill may be ‘laid
constitutional restrictions on the nature of bills which
aside’ (not further pursued). In circumstances
can originate in the Senate and because of the fact
provided for by the Constitution an unresolved
that most Ministers are Members of the House.
disagreement may lead to the dissolution of both
Houses by the Governor-General and elections for
When a Senate bill has passed all stages in the
each House (see Infosheet No. 18 ‘Double
Senate, it is transmitted to the House under cover of a
dissolution’).
formal message and introduced to the House by the
Speaker reading the terms of the message to the
Assent
House. Subsequent proceedings follow the same
When a bill has finally passed both Houses in
processes as House bills.
identical form and been checked and certified
accordingly by the Clerk of the House, it is presented
to the Governor-General for assent. The words of
assent used by the Governor-General are:
4
In the name of Her Majesty, I assent to this Act.
The term ‘reading’ for a stage in a bill’s progress
dates back to the time when most people, including
At this point the bill becomes an Act of Parliament and
Members of Parliament, could not read and printed
part of the law of the land, although the validity of the
copies were not available. In those days a bill had to
Act may be tested in court subsequently.
be read out in full by the Clerk of the House on
several occasions so that Members would know what
When a law comes into effect
it was about. While we now have only 3 readings, up
to 8 have been recorded in the House of Commons.
Acts do not necessarily come into operation
immediately on assent, although this is common. An
For more information
Act may specify a particular date for commencement,
perhaps retrospective, or the day of a stipulated
House of Representatives Practice, 5th edn.
event, or a date to be decided later by the
Department of the House of Representatives,
Government and announced (‘proclaimed’) by the
Canberra, 2005 pp 335–429.
Governor-General. If no commencement date is
specified in an Act, it comes into effect on the 28th day
House of Representatives Standing Committee on
after it receives assent.
Procedure. About time: Bills, questions and working
hours. Report of the inquiry into reform of the House
Some statistics
of Representatives. AGPS, Canberra, 1993.
(Parliamentary Paper 194 of 1993) pp 4–18.
Over the last ten years (1998 to 2007) an average of
166 bills became Acts each year, ranging from 135 in
House of Representatives Standing Committee on
1998 to 201 in 1999. These figures compare with an
Procedure. Time for review: Bills, questions and
average of 185 bills per year introduced into the
working hours. Report of the review of procedural
House of Representatives during the same period,
changes operating since 21 February 1994. AGPS,
ranging from 168 in 2007 to 254 in 2002.
Canberra, 1995. (Parliamentary Paper 108 of 1995)
pp 3–19.
Delegated legislation
Legislation Handbook, Department of the Prime
The Parliament may delegate some of its legislative
Minister and Cabinet, Canberra, 2000
powers to the Executive Government, which may
www.dpmc.gov.au/guidelines/docs/legislation_handbo
make regulations, statutory rules, by-laws, orders,
ok.rtf
ordinances, instruments or determinations according
For copies of bills, explanatory memoranda and
to the powers bestowed by an authorising Act of
second reading speeches: www.aph.gov.au/bills
Parliament. Laws made in this way are known as
delegated or subordinate legislation. Delegated
For information on the progress of bills through the
legislation must be authorised by an Act, must be
House: House of Representatives Daily Bills List,
presented to both Houses of the Parliament and can
published daily during sittings and available from
be disallowed (vetoed) by a motion agreed to by
www.aph.gov.au/bills
either House. In some cases Acts provide that
For a list of bills introduced and debated: Last week in
specific pieces of delegated legislation made under
the House, published weekly during sittings and
their authority must be approved by both Houses
available from About the House online at
before coming into effect. All delegated legislation is
www.aph.gov.au/house/house_news
closely scrutinised by the Senate Standing Committee
on Regulations and Ordinances.
Debates on bills can be found in Hansard available
from www.aph.gov.au/hansard
Historical note
The legislative processes followed in the
Commonwealth Parliament (and in the Australian
States) are derived from British practice dating back
several centuries. The word ‘bill’ originally meant the
same as ‘petition’ and was in effect a request from the
Parliament to the King to take certain action or to
state that the law was as the Parliament thought it
should be. These bills became statutes if and when
the King agreed to them.
5
The legislative process
Bills (proposed laws) may be introduced first in either the House of Representatives or the Senate but
must be considered by each House in turn.
Draft
bill
↓
House of
Representatives
Main Committee
Bill presented
(Second debating
OR
↓
Chamber)
First reading
Second reading
←
↓
(in principle debate)
↓
Second reading
→
Possible reference
to
(in principle debate)
←
Consideration in
House of
↓
detail
Representatives
(amendments may
Standing
→
Consideration in detail
be made)
Committee
(amendments may be
made)
↓
Third reading
↓
↑
(amendments must be
agreed to by both Houses)
Senate
Similar process to the
→
Senate committee
House of
may consider bill
←
Representatives
↓
Governor-General
Assent
↓
Law
