The 43rd Parliament was prorogued at 5.29pm on Monday 5.8.2013 and the House of Representatives was dissolved at 5.30pm on the same day. A general election for the House of Representatives and half of the Senate will be held on 7 September 2013.
All Bills that had not passed both Houses of Parliament have now lapsed. These include:
- Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 4) Bill 2013 – contains amendments concerning refunding (or not refunding) overpaid GST (proposed Div 142), and amendments concerning the R&D tax incentive. The Bill was still before the House when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013.
- Tax Laws Amendment (Special Conditions for Not-for-profit Concessions) Bill 2012 – was still before the House of Reps when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013. Among other things, the Bill contains amendments to re-state the “in Australia” special conditions for income tax exempt entities, ensuring that they generally must operate principally in Australia and pursue their purposes principally in Australia, and for the broad benefit of the Australian community (with some exceptions).
- Corporations Amendment (Simple Corporate Bonds and Other Measures) Bill 2013 was passed by the House of Reps on 28 May 2013 without amendment and was before the Senate when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013. Among other things, the Bill proposed to give effect to the Government’s proposal to restrict the use of the terms “financial planner” and “financial adviser” to support the FoFA reforms.
- Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Reducing Illegal Early Release and Other Measures) Bill 2012 and Income Tax Rates Amendment (Unlawful Payments from Regulated Superannuation Funds) Bill 2012 – seek to implement the following Stronger Super measures for the self-managed super fund sector: (i) administrative penalties for SMSF trustees; (ii) promoter penalties for illegal early release schemes; (iii) taxation of unlawful superannuation payments; (iv) roll-overs to SMSFs – AML/CTF obligations. The Bills were still before the House when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013.
- Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 – the Bill passed the House of Reps without amendment on 22 August 2012 and was still before the Senate when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013. Among other things, it proposes to amend the ITAA 1997 to exempt from income tax, reimbursements made under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, including payments under the new Veterans’ Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Scheme.
- Export Market Development Grants Amendment Bill 2013 – proposes to align the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme rules to the revised level of scheme funding. The Bill had been passed by the House of Reps without amendment and was before the Senate when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013.
- Crimes Legislation Amendment (Organised Crime and Other Measures) Bill 2012 – Among other things, the Bill proposes to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to improve the investigation and litigation of unexplained wealth matters and to improve the Commonwealth’s ability to confiscate unexplained wealth. The Bill had been passed by the House of Reps without amendment and was still before the Senate when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013.
- Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2013 proposes to introduce mandatory data breach notification provisions for agencies and organisations that are regulated by the Privacy Act 1988. The Bill was amended in the House of Reps (61 Government amendments) and was before the Senate when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013.
- Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Bill 2013 – seeks to provide for a framework of standard regulatory powers exercised by agencies across the Commonwealth. The Bill was amended in the House of Reps (61 Government amendments) and was before the Senate when Parliament adjourned on 28 June 2013.
The Government is now in what is known as “caretaker mode”. During the caretaker period, successive governments have followed a series of practices, known as the “caretaker conventions”, which aim to ensure that their actions do not bind an incoming government and limit its freedom of action.
Prorogation is regarded as terminating the sittings of the Senate, but as the Senate was not dissolved along with the House of Representatives, its committees (not joint committees) may continue to meet, conduct hearings and present reports if they choose to do so. However, note that business before the Senate will lapse immediately before the commencement of the next Parliament.
The Senate has a continuing, rotating membership with elections being held for half the 72 state senators every 3 years. State senators are elected for 6-year terms, while the 4 territory senators serve the same term as members of the House of Representatives. Note that the upcoming election will be for territory senators and those senators whose terms expire on 30 June 2014. Territory senators will commence their term from the first day of the new Parliament. State senators who are elected on 7 September will not take their seats in the Senate until 1 July 2014.
[LTN 150, 6/8/13]