Commonwealth Parole Board Bill 2025

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the amendments made to the bill in the Senate. Since this means the bill in its final form has now been agreed to in both the Senate and the House, it can now become law.

What do these amendments do?

According to the supplementary explanatory memorandum (which is a document prepared by the Government, who introduced the bill and amendments):

The purpose of these amendments ... is to ensure the Commonwealth Parole Board can continue to discharge its functions in circumstances where it is not appropriate that the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Board participate in making a decision or either is not available.

[They] remove the ability of the Chair of the Commonwealth Parole Board (the Board) to request the Secretary of the Department to participate as a member of the Board in a meeting of the Board, or in making a decision without a meeting. It removes the ability for the Secretary to delegate this function to senior executive officers in the Department.

The amendments instead allow the Chair to request a sessional member to participate in a meeting or in making a decision of the Board in the capacity of the Chair or the Deputy Chair in specified circumstances.

What does the bill do?

The bill was introduced alongside the Commonwealth Parole Board Bill 2025. According to the bills digest, which is a nonpartisan document prepared by the parliamentary library:

The Commonwealth Parole Board Bill 2025 and the Commonwealth Parole Board (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025 establish an independent Commonwealth Parole Board that will make parole decisions for federal offenders. The Parole Board will:

• be constituted by a Chair, Deputy Chair and at least 3 sessional members, who will have expertise in relevant parole-related matters
• have the power to make, amend, revoke or rescind parole for federal offenders
• be authorised to request relevant information from relevant persons (as prescribed by the rules) and, where relevant, disclose information to relevant persons including law enforcement officials
• have discretion in exercising its functions and powers.