Bill
Territories Legislation Amendment Bill 2020
passed, as at 2020-12-17. Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2020-10-07
- second reading — 2020-10-07
- second reading — 2020-12-08
- second reading — 2020-12-08
- third reading — 2020-12-08
- introduced — 2020-12-09
- second reading — 2020-12-09
- second reading — 2020-12-10
- second reading — 2020-12-10
- third reading — 2020-12-10
- passed — 2020-12-10
- royal assent — 2020-12-17
Divisions
No divisions recorded. Most questions are decided on the voices; this does not establish that a bill was unopposed.
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2020-10-07.
This bill is part of a package that makes changes to laws affecting Australia's external territories, including Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and the Jervis Bay Territory.
The package would bring the legislative frameworks of these territories closer to those of the rest of Australia by amending numerous Commonwealth Acts.
The bill would extend the Bankruptcy Act 1966 to allow the Australian Financial Security Authority to deliver bankruptcy services to Norfolk Island, and a companion bill extends a related charges Act there as well.
- Amends the Norfolk Island Act to let the Australian Government arrange state-type service delivery on the island.
- Extends the Corporations Act and related laws to external territories so all Australian companies face the same rules.
- Lets the Australian Communications and Media Authority issue broadcasting licences in Norfolk Island.
- Clarifies that the Privacy Act applies to bodies established under laws in external territories.
- Updates the definition of 'Commonwealth public official' in the Criminal Code to include people acting under territory laws.
- Treats Norfolk Island as a territory rather than a state for the Copyright Act.
The changes affect people and businesses in Australia's external territories, especially Norfolk Island, as well as Commonwealth agencies such as the Australian Financial Security Authority and the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Sources
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frl act