Senator the Hon Don Farrell

The Albanese Labor Government has released the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Review of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (Cth). 
 
This is the first substantial review of the MoP(S) Act to take place since the Act’s establishment almost forty years ago. 
 
This Review was commissioned by the former Government in response to recommendation 18 of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces, Set the Standard. 
 
The Review was informed by the voices and views of current and former staff, parliamentarians, representative unions and other stakeholders. The Albanese Government thanks those who provided their contributions to this important piece of work. 
 
The Government believes that all political staff, like all Australians, deserve a safe and respectful workplace, supported by an employment framework that is modern and fit for purpose. This Review is another important building block that will further drive systemic change within parliamentary workplaces to achieve this goal. 
 
We have agreed, in principle, to all recommendations of the Review and will work with the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce and across the Parliament to drive the necessary reforms to ensure our employment framework and workplaces embody the high standards expected by staff and the Australian community. 
 
Implementation of these recommendations will be progressed alongside implementation of remaining Set the Standard Recommendations, including the development of the Office of Parliamentarian Staffing and Culture and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. Codes of Conduct are currently under consideration by the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, due to report to Parliament on 1 December 2022. 
 
The Government acknowledges the work of officials from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in undertaking a thorough analysis of the MoP(S) employment landscape, and MoP(S) Act staff who have contributed to this, and the many concurrent review processes. 

The Review is available at https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/review-members-parliament-staff-mops-act-1984.

If you require additional support as a result of the Review’s contents or reporting, contact details for the PWSS can be found here.