Summary

Edit

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the main idea of the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read it for a second time. They will now consider the bill in greater detail.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest (which is a document prepared by the parliamentary library):

  • The purpose of the Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 is to amend the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (AHRC Act) to insert a cost protection provision to apply to all unlawful discrimination proceedings commenced in the federal courts.

  • The 2020 Respect@Work Report prepared by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) recommended the insertion of a ‘hard costs neutrality model’ into the AHRC Act where costs can only be ordered against a party as a result of their own actions, to provide certainty for applicants.

  • The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 (Respect at Work Bill 2022) originally included provisions to provide that each party will bear their own costs, with discretion given to the courts to depart from this position (the ‘soft costs neutrality model’). These provisions reflected the position put forward by the AHRC in its 2021 Free and Equal Position Paper.

  • During consideration of the Respect at Work Bill 2022, some stakeholders advocated that the Government adopt an ‘equal access model’ which would prevent a court from ordering an applicant to pay the respondent’s costs except where the applicant had acted vexatiously or unreasonably.

  • As a result of these concerns, the Government moved amendments to remove the cost provisions from the Respect at Work Bill 2022 and requested the Attorney-General’s Department undertake consultations on which costs model to adopt. Stakeholder submissions received by the Government were mixed, with the AHRC preferring the soft costs neutrality model, while the Law Council of Australia was unable to arrive at a clear position. Other stakeholders, such as the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group and Australian Council of Trade Unions, supported an equal access model.

  • The Bill proposes adopting the requirements of the equal access model but adding the ability to award costs against an applicant in circumstances where the respondent has been successful on all grounds, the respondent does not have a significant power advantage over the applicant and the respondent does not have significant financial or other resources, relative to the applicant. Whether these circumstances apply will be left to the courts to determine.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (91% turnout) 10 Yes 0 No
Penny Allman-Payne Queensland Yes
Dorinda Cox WA Yes
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Steph Hodgins-May Victoria Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Barbara Pocock SA Yes
David Shoebridge NSW Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Jordon Steele-John WA Absent
Australian Labor Party (80% turnout) 20 Yes 0 No
Tim Ayres NSW Yes
Anthony Chisholm Queensland Yes
Raff Ciccone Victoria Yes
Lisa Darmanin Victoria Yes
Don Farrell SA Yes
Katy Gallagher ACT Yes
Varun Ghosh WA Yes
Nita Green Queensland Yes
Karen Grogan SA Yes
Jenny McAllister NSW Yes
Malarndirri McCarthy NT Yes
Deborah O'Neill NSW Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Louise Pratt WA Yes
Tony Sheldon NSW Yes
Marielle Smith SA Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Jana Stewart Victoria Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Jess Walsh Victoria Yes
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Fatima Payman WA Absent
Murray Watt Queensland Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price NT Country Liberal Party No
Andrew McLachlan SA Deputy President No
David Pocock ACT Independent Yes
Lidia Thorpe Victoria Independent Yes
David Van Victoria Independent Absent
Jacqui Lambie Network (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Yes
Tammy Tyrrell Tasmania Yes
Liberal National Party (50% turnout) 0 Yes 1 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland No
James McGrath Queensland Absent
Liberal Party (87% turnout) 0 Yes 20 No
Alex Antic SA No
Wendy Askew Tasmania No
Andrew Bragg NSW No
Slade Brockman WA No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Claire Chandler Tasmania No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania No
Sarah Henderson Victoria No
Hollie Hughes NSW No
Jane Hume Victoria No
Maria Kovacic NSW No
Kerrynne Liddle SA No
Matt O'Sullivan WA No
Gerard Rennick Queensland No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Paul Scarr Queensland No
Dave Sharma NSW No
Dean Smith WA No
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
James Paterson Victoria Absent
National Party (75% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Ross Cadell NSW No
Perin Davey NSW No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Susan McDonald Queensland Absent
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Pauline Hanson Queensland No
Malcolm Roberts Queensland No
Sue Lines WA President Yes
Ralph Babet Victoria United Australia Party No
Totals (84% turnout) 35 Yes – 29 No