FOCUp

Bills Watch

What the parliaments are legislating

Every bill FOCUp can read from Australia's parliaments, where it is up to, and the part of the budget it relates to. Straight from the official sources, with a link back to each one. No commentary, no recommendations — make up your own mind.

Party filtering waits on the sources: none of the parliaments FOCUp can read publishes a sponsor's party with their bills, and FOCUp does not guess it from a name. The ACT marks private members' bills, which is what the government filter uses.

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1016 bills · page 15 of 41 · What do Assented, Lapsed and the rest mean?

Parliament of Australia: Bills that have recently become law. Bills still before Federal Parliament are not published in a form FOCUp can read.

What the terms mean

How a bill becomes law, in plain English. Each parliament does it slightly differently; these are the common steps.

Where a bill is up to

Draft (Draft)
Published for comment before it is introduced — often called an exposure draft. It is not yet before parliament.
Introduced (Introduced)
Formally put before parliament, usually with a first reading. Debate has not started yet.
Lower House (Lower House)
Being considered in the lower house: the House of Representatives federally, the Legislative Assembly or House of Assembly in the states. Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory have only this one house.
Upper House (Upper House)
Passed the lower house and now being considered in the upper house: the Senate federally, the Legislative Council in the states that have one.
Committee (Committee)
Sent to a parliamentary committee to examine in detail, often with public submissions or hearings, before parliament votes on it.
Amended (Amended)
Changed during debate. The version that passes may differ from the one introduced.
Passed (Passed)
Agreed to by every house of the parliament. It is waiting for assent before it becomes law.
Assented (Assented)
Signed into law, so it is now an Act. Federally the Governor-General gives assent; in the states, the Governor; in the Northern Territory, the Administrator. The ACT has no assent step: a passed bill becomes law when it is notified (published) on the ACT Legislation Register, which FOCUp also shows as Assented.
Commenced (Commenced)
The Act, or part of it, has taken effect. An Act can be assented to and start later — on a set date or when the government proclaims it.
Failed (Failed)
Voted down (negatived) or otherwise defeated. It did not become law.
Withdrawn (Withdrawn)
Taken back or discharged by whoever introduced it, or removed from parliament’s list. It did not become law.
Lapsed (Lapsed)
Not passed before parliament was prorogued or dissolved, usually for an election. It can be introduced again in the new parliament.
Unknown (Unknown)
The source used wording FOCUp has no rule for yet. The official source linked on the bill’s page has the exact status.

Words you’ll see along the way

Bill
A proposed law. It becomes an Act once it passes and receives assent.
Act
A law. A bill becomes an Act when it has passed parliament and been assented to.
Government bill
Introduced by a minister, on behalf of the government.
Private member’s bill
Introduced by a member of parliament who is not a minister — from the opposition, the crossbench or the government backbench. In the Senate, a private senator’s bill.
First reading
The bill is formally introduced and its title read. There is no debate.
Second reading
The main debate on what the bill is for. It opens with the second reading speech, in which whoever introduced it explains its purpose, and ends with a vote on whether it goes ahead.
Explanatory memorandum
A plain-language document tabled with a bill explaining what each part does. Some parliaments call it an explanatory statement or explanatory notes.
Consideration in detail
Going through the bill clause by clause, when amendments are moved. In upper houses and some parliaments this is done as the Committee of the whole.
Third reading
The final vote in that house. If it passes, the bill goes to the other house, or to assent.
Royal assent
The formal signing that turns a passed bill into an Act, by the Governor-General, a Governor or the NT Administrator.
Sitting day
A day parliament meets. Bills only move on sitting days, which is why a bill can sit at one stage for weeks.