Consultation hub

Our consultation hub helps you to find, share and take part in consultations that interest you. We welcome your views.

Visit our archived consultations to see the outcomes of consultations held before October 2021 on the Attorney-General's Department website.

Open consultations

Closed consultations

  • Open Government Partnership

    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. Why we are consulting The Australian Government has...

    Closed 17 September 2023

  • Guidelines for appointments to the Australian Human Rights Commission

    In March 2022, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) Sub-Committee on Accreditation (the sub-committee) deferred the re-accreditation of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) as an ‘A’ status National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) for 18 months on the basis...

    Closed 22 August 2023

  • Updates to the Guidelines for NGOs: Working with trafficked people

    Please read the following information carefully before starting the survey. The Guidelines for NGOs: Working with trafficked people (NGO Guidelines) were developed by members of the National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery to help non-government organisations working with people...

    Closed 20 August 2023

We asked, you said, we did

See what we've consulted on. See all outcomes

We asked

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:

  • traditional paper-based execution (requiring wet-ink signatures and in-person witnessing)
  • e-execution (allowing electronic signatures and witnessing via audio-visual link)
  • digital execution (end-to-end online execution, with digital identity providers to verify identity and satisfy witnessing requirements).

You said

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:

    • convenience and efficiency savings
    • the potential to save individuals and small businesses both time and money
    • accessibility gains, particularly for those in the community with restricted mobility, sensory or anxiety concerns, or individuals in remote areas or with limited access to witnesses
    • increased accessibility corresponds to increased access to justice where the statutory declaration is being used within legal system frameworks in particular.

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.

We did

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. 

We asked

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:

  • short survey
  • Issues Paper 
  • meetings with selected individuals and organisations, including AAT staff and members 
  • user experience sessions. 

You said

During the consultation period, we spoke with:

  • 147 stakeholders with wide-ranging interest in the reform, including:
  • people with experience as applicants in the AAT 
  • migration and refugee representatives and advocacy groups
  • disability representatives and advocacy groups
  • social security representatives and advocacy groups
  • veteran support
  • legal organisations, including Legal Aid Commissions and Community Legal Centres
  • academics
  • government
  • State and Territory civil and administrative tribunals
  • Over 400 AAT staff
  • Over 160 AAT members.

We received 287 short survey responses and 120 submissions in response to the Issues Paper.

We did

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.

We asked

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:

  • short survey
  • Issues Paper 
  • meetings with selected individuals and organisations, including AAT staff and members 
  • user experience sessions. 

You said

During the consultation period, we spoke with:

  • 147 stakeholders with wide-ranging interest in the reform, including:
  • people with experience as applicants in the AAT 
  • migration and refugee representatives and advocacy groups
  • disability representatives and advocacy groups
  • social security representatives and advocacy groups
  • veteran support
  • legal organisations, including Legal Aid Commissions and Community Legal Centres
  • academics
  • government
  • State and Territory civil and administrative tribunals.
  • Over 400 AAT staff
  • Over 160 AAT members

We received 287 short survey responses and 120 submissions in response to the Issues Paper.

We did

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.