TheClimate Change Act 2022 passed the parliament on 8 September 2022, having been approved by the House by 86 votes to 50 and the Senate by 37 votes to 30. The legislation codifies a 43 per centemissions reduction target by 2030 (on 2005 levels), requires theClimate Change Authority to provide advice on Australia's progress against those targets, mandates that theMinister for Climate Change reports annually to Parliament on Australia's progress, and forces federal government agencies to adhere to the legislative requirements of the Act.[5][6][7]
TheSocial Security Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 September 2022, having passed the House by 86 votes to 56 and the Senate by 33 votes to 26.[8][9] The legislation repealed the mandatoryCashless Welfare Card, originally introduced as a trial in 2016 for 12,500 people across four trial sites, which quarantined around 80% of a person's income so it could not be spent on alcohol or gambling or withdrawn in cash. As a result of the legislative change, participants could opt out of the scheme, though around 4,300 people in theNorthern Territory andCape York remained on the card prior to the introduction of a compulsory income-management scheme in 2023.[10]
TheAnti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 November 2022. The legislation implemented seven of the recommendations of theKate Jenkins-authored Respect@Work report intosexual harassment. Among other reforms, the laws impose a positive onus on employers to take steps to demonstrate that they're proactively attempting to eliminate sex discrimination "as far as possible". In addition, victimising conduct can be the basis of a civil, not just criminal, complaint, and public sector agencies are newly required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as occurs with private sector agencies.[11]
TheNational Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 passed the parliament on 30 November 2022. The legislation established theNational Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent federal agency equipped with the power to investigate Commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff for corrupt or improper behaviour.[12][13]
TheFair Work Legislation Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 2 December 2022.[14] The legislation passed the House of Representatives by 80 votes to 56[15] and passed the Senate by 35 votes to 31.[16] Theworkplace relations reforms introducemulti-employer bargaining, allow theFair Work Commission to authorise workers with sufficient common interests to bargain together and abolish theAustralian Building and Construction Commission andRegistered Organisations Commission.[17][18] The legislation passed with the support of the Greens and Senator David Pocock, who each won government support for an enforceable right to request unpaid parental leave and measures to prevent a loophole in the better-off-overall test in the legislation, as well as the creation of a statutory advisory committee of experts to provide independent advice concerning "economic inclusion" of lower-income people, welfare recipients and cost-of-living relief.[19]
In January 2023 the government began partnering with states and territories to provide approximately 500,000 fee-freeTAFE places invocational education settings for priority groups, at an overall cost of approximately $1.5 billion over three years. This was supplemented by theFree TAFE Bill which was introduced to the parliament in November 2024 and eventually passed in March 2025,[23][24] which provided permanent and ongoing financial support to the states and territories for the delivery of 100,000 fee-free places per year.[25] The legislation was supported by Labor, the Greens and some crossbenchers, and opposed by the Liberal/National opposition, One Nation and other crossbenchers.[26]
TheSafeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 passed the parliament on 30 March 2023. The legislation passed with the support of the Labor government, theGreens,Jacqui Lambie Network andindependent crossbenchers in both chambers, following intense negotiations between the parties. In effect, 215 of the country's major polluting facilities are required to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, through absolute cuts or by buyingcarbon offsets. While individual companies can buy an unlimited number of offsets, total absolute emissions under the scheme cannot increase and are required to come down over time.[27] The legislation passed the Senate by 32 votes to 26 and the House by 89 votes to 50, with the Liberal/National Coalition, One Nation and United Australia parties opposed to the reforms.[28][29]
TheHousing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 passed the parliament on 14 September 2023. The legislation established theHousing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billionsovereign wealth fund-type scheme to enable the construction of 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years. A guaranteed $500 million is to be spent per year from the fund, while a minimum of 1,200 homes are to be built in each state and territory across the period.[32] The legislation's passage was achieved after the government won the support of the Greens, who negotiated an extra $1 billion for public and community housing from the government, though failed to win support for a nationalfreeze or caps on rents.[33] Several months prior to the legislation's passage, the government made a $2 billion separate one-off announcement for social housing through a "social housing accelerator" scheme.[34]
In January 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government had approved changes to theStage 3 income tax cuts, originally passed by theMorrison government during the46th Parliament and set to come into effect on 1 July 2024. Under the new scheme, the flattening of the tax rate for all income between $45,000 and $200,000 to 30% will be overturned through the restoration of the 37% tax rate, income earners above $150,000 will have their tax cuts progressively reduced to as much as half of the original cut, whilst earners up to $150,000 will have a larger cut than proposed under the previous government.[35][36] To this effect, theTreasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 was approved by the parliament on 27 February 2024.[37]
On the final sitting day before the 2024 winter parliamentary break, the Albanese Government experienced its first legislative defeat in the 47th Parliament when a proposedDefence Amendment Bill was voted down in the Senate. The bill aimed to establish a parliamentary committee with broad investigative powers into Defence spending, but was rejected due to opposition from both government and coalition members, who resisted including cross-bench representation. Greens SenatorDavid Shoebridge criticized the persistent issues with Defence procurement, citing significant failures and cost overruns in submarine, frigate, and offshore patrol vessel projects. The bill's defeat left Defence's extensive budget and procurement practices with minimal oversight, highlighting ongoing concerns about accountability and management within the department.[38]
In August 2024, the parliament passed theNational Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Act 2024, which made significant changes to theNational Disability Insurance Scheme, altering the way participants receive plan budgets and giving more powers to the head of the agency in charge of the scheme to prevent top-up payments on a participant’s budget. The reforms curb the growth rate of funding for the scheme, resulting in $14.4 billion in savings over four years, and were achieved after receiving the support of the state and territory governments, who co-govern the scheme in conjunction with the federal government.[39][40] These changes attracted criticism from disability rights advocates and Greens spokespersonJordon Steele-John, who accused Labor of "ripp[ing] the heart out of the NDIS by removing our right to choice and control".[41]
Also in August 2024, the parliament passed theFair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Act 2024, which placed the construction divisions of theConstruction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) intoadministration. Under the legislation, the CFMEU's construction division will be placed into administration for a minimum of three years, after reports of the division being infiltrated by organised criminal enterprises.[42] The legislation was supported by Labor, the Coalition and some crossbenchers, and was opposed by the Greens. It passed the Senate by 47 votes to 10 and passed the House without a division called for on the third reading.[43]
Regulatory changes tovisa fees for international university students were adopted on 1 July 2024, via theMigration Amendment (Visa Application Charges) Regulations 2024. The non-refundable fee for a student visa increased from $710 AUD to $1600 AUD, making Australia's visa fees among the highest in the developed world.[44] The changes were subject to a disallowance motion in the Senate on 14 August, which was defeated 26 votes to 12.[45] Accompanying changes to temporary graduate work visa (subclass 485) applicants reduced the maximum age for applicants from 50 to 35 years of age and reduced the post-study right to stay and find work for nationals of most countries exceptHong Kong andBritish National Overseas passport holders, attracting criticism for unequal treatment and the potential of a disincentive being created for specialistmasters andPhD candidates to study and work in Australia.[46]
On 7 November 2024, Albanese announced rules to ban children under 16 from accessingsocial media. Under the legislation, "age-restricted social media platforms" includeTikTok,Facebook,Snapchat,Instagram,X andReddit. Under 16's would be able to viewYouTube in a logged-out state. The legislation, introduced two weeks after Albanese's announcement, places the onus on the platforms to create systems and processes to ensure under-16's are not creating accounts, and adopts a "reasonable steps" test for this purpose, though does not specify exactly how the platforms must comply with the obligation. Platforms would face fines of up to $50 million where there were "systematic" issues of multiple users being able to circumvent the age verification protocols.[47] TheOnline Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 passed the House by 102 votes to 13, winning support of Labor, the Coalition and four independents, and was opposed by the Greens and eight other crossbenchers.[48] The bill passed the Senate by 34 votes to 19, being opposed by the Greens, six other crossbenchers, and two Coalition senators (Matt Canavan andAlex Antic) whocrossed the floor.[49]
Further housing-related bills were before the parliament throughout 2024, namely the government's "Help to Buy" and "Build to Rent" bills. The bills allow up to 40,000 first home buyers to co-purchase homes with the government and offer a tax incentive for apartment complexes designed for renters. The legislation was opposed by the Coalition, and so for much of the year Labor and the Greens negotiated the bill's passage. The Greens initially refused to offer support the bills unless they were accompanied by the winding down ofnegative gearing on properties,rent caps and additional guaranteed funding forsocial housing, though in November 2024 the party announced they would back the bills unaltered, with party spokespersonMax Chandler-Mather saying "at the end of the day, if the government doesn't care about [renters] then it's up to them, but you can't accuse us of not trying".[50]
TheUniversities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024 passed the parliament on 26 November 2024. The legislation reversed the large indexation increases that applied toHECS-HELP fees over the previous two years (2023 and 2024) as a result of high inflation. Indexation rates will now be pegged to whichever of theWage Price Index orConsumer Price Index is lower.[51] In addition the bill established the Commonwealth Prac Placement, proving grants for students undertaking mandatory placements in teaching, nursing and midwifery, and social work courses.[52] The legislation passed amidst Labor announcing it would cut the student debts of all Australians by 20% if the party won the2025 election.[53] The Greens attempted to include these changes as amendments to the Universities Accord Bill, though these were voted down by Labor and the Coalition.[51]
TheElectoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2025 passed the parliament on 13 February 2025. The legislation made the most significant reforms to electoral funding laws in decades. The public disclosure threshold for individual donations was lowered from $16,000 to $5,000, whilst real-time disclosure of donations was enabled for the first time. Political parties are limited to spending $90 million during campaigns, whilst independent MPs and candidates can spend up to $800,000 in their electorates. Public funding per vote increases from $3.50 a vote to $5 for candidates who earn above 4% of the vote in an electorate. Following extensive negotiation, the legislation was supported by the Labor government and Liberal/National opposition, however almost all minor parties and independent MPs on the crossbench vociferously opposed the reforms, arguing they favoured the major parties and disadvantaged non-major party affiliated individuals from running for and winning seats.[54]
TheTreasury Laws Amendment Bill 2025 passed the parliament on 26 March 2025. The legislation gave effect to the government's lead policy of the 2025federal budget, namely to reduce the income tax rate from 16% to 14% for the lowest income tax bracket (for income between $18,201 and $45,000) over the following two years.[55][56] The cuts were opposed by the Liberal/National opposition, who labelled them an "election bribe" and "cruel hoax".[57] The legislation was fast-tracked by the government and passed the parliament in one sitting day, attracting the support of the Greens and most other crossbenchers in both the House (91 votes in favor to 52 against) and Senate (38 votes to 26).[58][59]
TheEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Reconsiderations) Bill 2025 passed the parliament on 26 March 2025. The legislation sought to protect theTasmaniansalmon farming industry by ending a formal reconsideration by the environment minister into whether an expansion of fish farming inMacquarie Harbour in 2012 was properly approved.[60] The legislation came amidst increased public awareness into the endangeredMaugean skate population in the harbour and a bacterial outbreak and mass die-off event of salmon in Tasmania's south-east.[61] The government argued the legislation would protect local jobs in salmon farming but opponents argued it risked stymying groups from challenging other non-salmon related environmental approvals and would contribute to environmental degradation in the region.[62] The legislation passed the House of Representatives by 111 votes to 14 and passed the Senate by 30 votes to 14, being supported by the government and opposition and opposed by the Greens and most crossbenchers in both chambers.[63][64]
By January 2024, there had been 118 instances of MPs being ejected from the House of Representatives duringQuestion Time, with 93% of these ejections involving male MPs. Notable frequent offenders include Coalition spokespersonMichael Sukkar and LiberalbackbencherTony Pasin. TheAlbanese government, despite its commitment to improving parliamentary conduct, delayed the establishment of an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) to address such issues until at least October 2024, as stated by Public Service MinisterKaty Gallagher.[65][66]
The 47th Parliament of Australia has a historically high representation of women; women make up 38% of the House of Representatives and 57% of the Senate, the highest on record for both chambers.[69] In terms of representation, Indigenous members will account for 9.6 per cent of the 76 Senate seats, and 1.9 per cent of 151 House of Representatives seats.[70]
Despite these advancements, Parliament does not fully mirror the Australian population. Women, who hold a slight majority in the general population, are still underrepresented in Parliament. The average age of MPs is higher than the national median of 38. Representation of culturally diverse backgrounds is also limited, with only 6.6% of MPs having non-European ancestry compared to 23% of the general population, and 4.4% of MPs having Asian heritage versus 18% of Australians. Indigenous representation has increased, with eight Indigenous senators and three Indigenous MPs, totaling 4.8% of the Parliament, which is higher than the Indigenous population percentage of 3.3%. Despite these advances, Australia's parliamentary representation continues to lag behind countries such as Canada and New Zealand in terms of gender and cultural diversity.[71][72][73]
The Liberal Party's representation of women has declined, with only 9 seats compared to 13 in the previous parliament. In contrast, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet is the most diverse in Australian history, featuring 10 women out of 23 cabinet ministers, with several holding prominent positions such as Penny Wong in foreign affairs and Linda Burney as the first female Indigenous cabinet minister.[74][75][76]
40 of the 76 seats in the upper house were contested in theelection in May 2022. The class of senators elected in 2022 are denoted with an asterisk (*).
This table lists members of the House who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
^Bill Shorten, the Labor MP forMaribyrnong, resigned from his seat on 20 January 2025, leaving Labor with 77 seats for the remaining two months of the 47th parliament.
^Andrew Gee, MP forCalare, resigned from the National Party on 23 December 2022 and began sitting as an independent.
^Ian Goodenough, Liberal MP forMoore, had his party membership lapse on 12 January 2025. Consequently he sat as an independent MP for the remainder of his term.
^Keith Pitt, Liberal National MP forHinkler, resigned on 19 January 2025. No by-election was held as the resignation occurred sufficiently close enough to thefederal election.
^Bill Shorten, Labor MP forMaribyrnong, resigned on 20 January 2025. No by-election was held as the resignation occurred sufficiently close enough to thefederal election.
^abJim Molan, Liberal senator for Victoria, died in office on 16 January 2023. His successor,Maria Kovacic, was appointed as his replacement on 31 May 2023.
^Lidia Thorpe, senator for Victoria, resigned from the Greens on 6 February 2023 to sit as an independent.
^David Van, senator for Victoria, resigned from the Liberal Party on 17 June 2023 to sit as an independent.
^abMarise Payne, Liberal senator for New South Wales, resigned on 30 September 2023. Her successor,Dave Sharma, was appointed as her replacement on 30 November 2023.
^abPat Dodson, Labor senator for Western Australia, resigned on 26 January 2024. His successor,Varun Ghosh, was appointed as his replacement on 1 February 2024.
^abLinda White, Labor senator for Victoria, died in office on 29 February 2024. Her successor,Lisa Darmanin, was appointed as her replacement on 29 May 2024.
^Tammy Tyrrell, senator for Tasmania, resigned from the Jacqui Lambie Network on 28 March 2024 to sit as an independent.
^abJanet Rice, Greens senator for Victoria, resigned on 19 April 2024. Her successor,Steph Hodgins-May, was appointed as her replacement on 1 May 2024.
^abFatima Payman, senator for Western Australia, resigned from Labor on 4 July 2024 to sit as an independent. Payman created a new party,Australia's Voice, which was registered on 17 December 2024.
^abGerard Rennick, senator for Queensland, resigned from the Liberal Party on 25 August 2024 to sit as an independent. Rennick created a new party, thePeople First Party, which was registered on 5 December 2024.
^abSimon Birmingham, Liberal senator for South Australia, resigned on 28 January 2025. His successor,Leah Blyth, was appointed as his replacement on 6 February 2025.
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