Defence Amendment (Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal) Bill 2025

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. This means they can now consider it in greater detail.

What does this bill do?

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

• The Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal has operated as an independent statutory body since 2011 (from 2008 to 2011 its predecessor operated as an administrative body).
• The Defence Amendment (Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal) Bill 2025 (the Bill) seeks to amend the Defence Act 1903 to modify review arrangements by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal for defence awards, defence honours and foreign awards.
• The proposed amendments seek to tighten eligibility criteria for applicants and impose time limits for review of decisions by the Tribunal.
• The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (SFADT) Committee conducted an inquiry into the Defence honours and awards system in 2024, where the Department of Defence and the Tribunal were at odds about proposals for legislative change.
• At the time of writing, the Bill has not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committees.