On 5 December 2019, the Senate referred the National Integrity (Parliamentary Standards) Bill 2019 for inquiry and report by 16 April 2020. On 23 March 2020 the Senate extended the committee’s reporting date to 12 August 2020.
The closing date for submissions is 7 February 2020.
The bill:
- provides for statutory codes of conduct for the members of each house of parliament and their staff;
- creates a statutory basis for parliamentarians’ registers of interests;
- establishes a Parliamentary Integrity Advisor to provide independent, confidential advice and guidance to parliamentarians and their staff in relation to the applicable codes of conduct; and
- establishes a Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to assist in the assessment, investigation and resolution of alleged breaches of the applicable codes of conduct.