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.

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.

From 1 August to 5 September 2024, we sought public feedback on the Exposure Draft of the Family Law Regulations 2024 (exposure draft Regulations). This consultation was part of the work to review and remake the Family Law Regulations 1984 (1984 Regulations), which sunset on 1 April 2025. The exposure draft consultation process was a key opportunity to identify and address any sector concerns, and to ensure that the new Regulations are fit for purpose.

The 1984 Regulations support the operation of the Family Law Act 1975 by prescribing matters of practice and procedure. The exposure draft Regulations covered the same topics and remained substantively the same. However, changes were made to modernise, clarify and update provisions.

We sought feedback from interested stakeholder on all parts of the exposure draft Regulation. We highlighted in the consultation paper the areas of the exposure draft Regulations that had the most significant changes. These included:

• arbitration provisions in Part 3
• parentage testing provisions in Part 7
• international conventions, international agreements and international enforcement in Part 10.

We received 6 submissions through this formal consultation process. These were made by, or on behalf of, family law practitioners, arbitrators and mediators, professional and peak bodies, and the general public.

We also conducted targeted consultations, including with the family law courts, all states and territories, and relevant Commonwealth agencies. This ensured all references to legislation, practice and procedure were correct and updated where necessary. Targeted consultation helped us to identify and address any technical or policy issues to ensure the Regulations were fit for purpose.

Feedback was generally supportive of the exposure draft Regulations. It covered various topics including:

•  arbitration
• parentage testing
• prescribed state and territory laws
•  overseas maintenance orders.

Submissions also included helpful, technical suggestions to support improvements to the exposure draft Regulations.

We have published submissions from authors who gave their permission.

Following the public consultation process on the exposure draft Regulations, we made amendments to reflect feedback received from stakeholders. We also made necessary technical amendments to the Regulations to reflect feedback from stakeholders. This included updating the numbering of provisions and reorganising groups of provisions to make clearer how they fit together.

The Federal Executive Council made the Family Law Regulations 2024 on 5 December 2024 and they will commence on 1 April 2025. To access them visit the Federal Register of Legislation. 

We thank everyone who took time to engage with us by providing their feedback.