The Australian Government invites submissions on a consultation paper as part of the second stage of public sector whistleblowing reform. The first stage of reforms, which commenced on 1 July 2023, amended the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) (the PID Act) to deliver immediate improvements for public sector whistleblowers and support for disclosures of corrupt conduct to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). These reforms implemented 21 of the 33 recommendations from...
Closes 22 December 2023
All Australian Governments are committed to promoting the dignity, security and autonomy of older Australians. This includes preventing the abuse of older people in all its forms – physical, financial, psychological and sexual abuse, and neglect – and taking positive steps to promote the rights of...
Closed 29 November 2023
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. The OGP agenda extends to a variety of issues. These include:...
Closed 22 November 2023
On 22 September 2023 the Attorney-General announced the Australian Government’s response to the Final Report of the 2015 statutory review of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (the Whittaker Review). The Whittaker Review made 394 recommendations with the overarching objective of simplifying...
Closed 17 November 2023
See what we've consulted on. See all outcomes
Australia’s Open Government Forum is developing Australia’s third National Action Plan (NAP3) in consultation with civil society and government. The NAP3 will outline commitments by the Australian Government to activities that promote transparency, accountability and collaboration between the government, civil society and the business community.
The Open Government Forum (forum) agreed on a co-creation process in June 2023. This process outlined 2 phases of public consultation. We undertook Phase 1 public consultation through an online survey from 21 August 2023 – 17 September 2023.
The forum established 3 working groups to consider, develop and prioritise potential commitments for inclusion in Australia’s third National Action Plan. Phase 1 consultation focused on the co-creation process and the working group themes:
We received 31 responses to this consultation, which included 1 emailed submission. Submissions were received from a range of stakeholders, including businesses, representative bodies, not-for-profit groups, academics and individuals.
The responses included helpful suggestions to support the development of commitments for Australia’s next National Action Plan.
A majority of stakeholders stated that the consultation provided appropriate opportunities to consult and that they supported the 3 themes. We thank everyone who took the time to engage with us and provide their feedback.
Analysis and summary of the responses was provided to all Working Group members and included in the meeting papers for the fourth forum meeting on 5 October 2023. There was clear alignment between most of the responses and the key priority areas that were identified by the Working Groups.
The Working Groups used the consultation responses to inform the development of potential commitments for NAP3. Read the consultation analysis report and further updates on the progress of NAP3 at the Australia’s Open Government Partnership site. The forum will consult on the draft commitments during Phase 2 consultation.
In July 2023, we sought public submissions for a proposal to amend the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 and the Statutory Declarations Regulations 2018 to introduce new ways of executing Commonwealth statutory declarations.
The framework would allow a Commonwealth statutory declaration to be executed in any of the following ways:
We received written submissions from a range of stakeholders, including interest groups, academics and individuals. Stakeholders noted that the proposal would provide options for making statutory declarations that will increase accessibility for all Australians, regardless of their circumstances.
Stakeholders generally noted that electronic execution can save individuals and small businesses time and money, that the temporary measures have worked effectively, and that the COVID temporary measures should be retained. Stakeholders were also strongly of the opinion that the traditional, paper-based method be retained.
The digital option was also well received. Stakeholders noted the reform would have the following benefits:
The digital option was seen to reduce the risk of invalid declarations (e.g. failure to comply with the formalities). The ability to leverage an individual’s established digital identity with appropriate protections would also result in welcome efficiencies and flexibility, saving time and money. Some stakeholders supported the digital option, provided that there were appropriate privacy protections, data security, and fraud detection and prevention measures.
Thank you to all who provided a response.
The input we received made a substantial contribution to the development of the final proposed reform, including a number of safeguards that will address the issues raised by stakeholders.
The Attorney-General introduced the Statutory Declarations Amendment Bill 2023 into the House of Representatives on 7 September 2023. Access the Bill and accompanying Explanatory Memorandum on the Australian Parliament House website.
The Administrative Review Taskforce (Taskforce) conducted public consultation on reform to the administrative review system between April and May 2023. An Issues Paper was published seeking views on the development of a new federal administrative review body. The Issues Paper asked 67 questions on a wide range of matters relating to the design of the new federal administrative review body.
We sought public input through:
During the consultation period, we spoke with:
We received 287 short survey responses and 120 submissions in response to the Issues Paper.
Feedback provided through the public consultation is being used to inform the development of legislation and to plan the implementation of the new federal administrative review body.
The Expert Advisory Group, chaired by former High Court Justice, the Hon. Patrick Keane AC KC, has considered the results of consultation to inform their advice to government on the reform.