Consultation hub

Between 13 November 2024 and 15 January 2025 we held a public consultation on the government’s use of automated decision-making (ADM). We published a consultation paper seeking views on what protections are needed for the safe and responsible use of ADM by government entities. 

We sought public input through:

• a short survey
• a consultation paper
• roundtables and bilateral meetings with selected individuals and organisations. 

During the consultation period we spoke with 46 stakeholders with wide-ranging interests in the reform. This included:

• disability representatives and advocacy groups
• social security representatives and advocacy groups
• migration representatives 
• legal organisations, including Legal Aid Commissions and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services
• peak business organisations
• employee organisations
• government 
• academics.

We received 20 short survey responses and over 40 submissions in response to the consultation paper.

We will use the feedback provided through the public consultation to inform the implementation of recommendation 17.1 of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme. This recommendation called for the government to consider reforms to introduce a consistent framework for using ADM to deliver government services.

Thank you to everyone involved in the consultation process for your time and engagement and for sharing your views, information and ideas.

From September to October 2024, we consulted with the public on potential options for enacting legislation aligned with the Model Law of Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) in Australia, to help inform future advice to the Australian Government.

The MLETR is an instrument developed by the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). It confirms the legal validity of electronic versions of ‘transferable records’ (electronic transferable records, or ETRs) that meet core functionality standards.

Stakeholders have previously told government that legally recognising ETRs is a necessary step towards enabling trade document digitisation in Australia. ‘Transferable records’ are key trade documents, including bills of lading and bills of exchange, which generally must be physically possessed in paper form.

What did the consultation process reveal?

We received 26 submissions, representing a range of stakeholder groups across industry, technology, government, and academia.

Submissions covered several key themes, such as:

• the value of unlocking ‘paperless trade’ in Australia
• how MLETR-aligned legislation is an essential foundation for paperless trade
• the importance of consistency for MLETR-aligned legislation
• important interactions between the MLETR and existing Australian law
• government’s role in encouraging industry confidence and certainty in ETRs.

We have published the non-confidential submissions on our Consultation hub. Read submissions to the MLETR consultation.

We continue to analyse stakeholder responses to build a list of potential options for implementing the MLETR in Australia, which we will present to government in 2025.

Subject to government approval, we will undertake further work to progress legislative reform, and develop guidance materials to help support industry engagement with the legislation.

This work will likely involve further consultation, on more targeted questions relating to the approved implementation option.

The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments to tackle the issue of forced marriage through a coordinated national approach.

On 5 July 2024, the Standing Council of Attorneys-General (SCAG) agreed to conduct public consultation to inform the development of enhanced civil protections and remedies for people in or at risk of forced marriage.

Led by the Australian Government in partnership with all state and territory governments, consultations commenced on 29 July 2024 and concluded on 23 September 2024.

Public consultation focused on 3 key areas:

• building a shared understanding of forced marriage as a form of family and domestic violence
• enhancing education and awareness raising
• strengthening forced marriage civil protections and remedies.

We travelled to every state and territory and held targeted consultation meetings with over 240 people from more than 130 organisations. We also received 44 written responses.

We heard from a range of stakeholders including:

• people with lived experience of forced marriage
• people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• people with disability
• family and domestic violence service providers
• legal organisations
• academics
• faith leaders
• courts
• government
• civil society organisations.

We will continue to consider all submissions and responses received as part of the consultation. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of participants to the consultation processes.

For more information on the outcomes, read the Forced marriage public consultation overview.

Feedback received during the public consultation will inform future work to strengthen Australia’s response to forced marriage.