| Type of parliamentary body |
Multifunctional |
| Nature |
Permanent |
| Related to chambers |
Senate
|
| Date of creation |
1981 |
| Last renewal date |
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| Mandate |
Standing Order 24 provides that at the commencement of each Parliament, a Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills shall be appointed to report, in respect of the clauses of bills introduced into the Senate, and in respect of Acts of the Parliament, whether such bills or Acts, by express words or otherwise: trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties; make rights, liberties or obligations unduly dependent upon insufficiently defined administrative powers; make rights, liberties or obligations unduly dependent upon non-reviewable decisions; inappropriately delegate legislative powers; or insufficiently subject the exercise of legislative power to parliamentary scrutiny. |
| Membership |
Six senators, three nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate and three by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate or by minority groups or independent senators. Members are appointed at the commencement of each Parliament, for the life of the Parliament (usually three years). |
| Working methods |
The Scrutiny of Bills Committee assesses legislative proposals against a set of accountability standards that focus on the effect of proposed legislation on individual rights, liberties and obligations, and on parliamentary propriety.
The committee examines all bills which come before the Parliament and reports to the Senate whether such bills: trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties; make rights, liberties or obligations unduly dependent upon insufficiently defined administrative powers; make rights, liberties or obligations unduly dependent upon non-reviewable decisions; inappropriately delegate legislative powers; or insufficiently subject the exercise of legislative power to parliamentary scrutiny.
The committee regularly publishes two documents: the Alert Digest and the Report. The Digest contains an outline of each of the bills introduced in the previous sitting week, as well as any comments the committee wishes to make in relation to a particular bill. When concerns are raised in a Digest, the committee writes to the minister responsible for the bill, inviting the minister to respond to its concerns.
The committee then produces a Report containing the relevant extract from the Digest, the minister's response and any further comments the committee may wish to make. Reports and Digests are generally presented to the Senate on the Wednesday afternoon of each sitting week. The committee also produces reports on matters specifically referred by the Senate, as well as a report summarising its work during each Parliament. |
| Relations with other parliamentary bodies |
The Committee reports directly to the Senate. |
| Relations with external bodies |
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| Subjects dealt with |
- Higher education legislation amendment bill 2009. This bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to ensure the availability of quality student services at tertiary education institutions.
- Social security and veterans' entitlements amendment bill 2009. Specifically, the bill will provide for the adjusted taxable income test for the seniors health card to include income from a superannuation stream with a taxed source (gross superannuation), and income being salary sacrificed to superannuation. This will ensure that all income received by seniors is treated in a similar way, will align the treatment of income salary sacrificed to superannuation with the age pension, and will ensure that the income test is applied to all cardholders consistently;
- Defence Legislation Bill 2008. This bill amends the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, the Criminal Code Act 1995, the Defence Act 1903 and the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952 to provide for three separate measures.
- Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. This bill amends the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Age Discrimination Act 2004 and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 to: implement recommendations made by the Productivity Commission in 2004; implement a recommendation made by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in 2007 to remove the 'dominant purpose' test from the Age Discrimination Act to prevent discrimination on the basis of a person's age; and improve the general operation of human rights law in Australia.
The bill amends the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 to: introduce an explicit and positive duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disability; make the defence of unjustifiable hardship available in relation to all unlawful discrimination on the ground of disability, except harassment and victimisation; clarify matters to be considered when determining unjustifiable hardship; clarify that the onus of proving unjustifiable hardship falls on the person claiming it; clarify the definition of disability; replace the 'proportionality test' in the definition of indirect discrimination; clarify obligations regarding carers, assistants, assistance animals and disability aids; and shift the onus of proving the reasonableness of a requirement or condition in the context of indirect discrimination from the person with disability to the respondent.
The bill amends the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 to: formally change the name of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to the Australian Human Rights Commission; extend the period within which a person can take a terminated complaint to the Federal or Federal Magistrates Court from 28 days to 60 days; and improve the efficiency of the complaints handling process. |
| CONTACT INFORMATION |
| Main address |
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
Senate - Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600 |
| Phone |
+61 2 6277 30 50 |
| Fax |
+61 2 6277 58 38 |
| E-mail |
scrutiny.sen@aph.gov.au |
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PRESIDING OFFICER(S)
|
| Name |
Mr. ... Coonan |
| Notes |
Chair |
| Name |
Mr. ... Bishop |
| Notes |
Deputy Chair |
|
SECRETARY
|
| Name |
Ms. Julie Dennett |
| Notes |
Secretary |
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