The SPEAKER (14:58): For the information of honourable members, I present a schedule of the status of government responses to committee reports as at 7 December 2017. Copies of the schedule have been made available to honourable members and will be incorporated in Hansard. SPEAKER ' S SCHEDULE OF THE STATUS OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO COMMITTEE REPORTS (as at 7 December 2017) The Speaker's schedule of the status of government responses to committee reports is presented at six monthly intervals, usually in the last sitting weeks of the winter and spring sittings. This schedule presents a list of committee reports that contain recommendations requiring a government response. The last schedule was presented in the House on 22 June 2017. After a government response is received by the committee it is tabled once on the schedule and then it is removed. Government responses to House committee reports are required within a six month period from the presentation of the report in the House (as per the resolution adopted by the House, 29 September 2010). Government responses to Senate committee reports are required within three months of a report being tabled.A All Joint Committees adhere to Senate Standing Orders and therefore government responses are required within three months of tabling a report. This schedule does not list reports that do not require a government response. In the past, the practice was to include all reports tabled in the House in the Speaker's schedule. However, the intent of this schedule is to provide an update to the House on the status of government responses to committee reports. This schedule does not include advisory reports on bills introduced into the House of Representatives unless the reports make recommendations that are wider than the provision of the bill and would therefore be the subject of a government response. The Government's response to bill inquiry reports is apparent in the resumption of consideration of the relevant legislation by the House. Also not included are reports from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, the House of Representatives Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests, and the Publications Committee (other than reports on inquiries). Government responses to reports of the Public Works Committee are usually reflected in motions for the approval of works after the relevant report has been presented and considered. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights' regular scrutiny reports on the human rights compatibility of bills and legislative instruments are not listed, as the timeframe for a response is specified in correspondence to the relevant minister. Reports of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit primarily make administrative recommendations but may make policy recommendations. A government response is required in respect of such policy recommendations made by the committee. Responses to administrative recommendations are made in the form of an Executive Minute provided to, and subsequently tabled by, the committee. Agencies responding to administrative recommendations are required to provide an Executive Minute within six months of the tabling of a report. Executive Minutes are included in this schedule. A This practice has arisen from a Senate resolution of 14 March 1973, in which the Senate declared its opinion that the government should provide a response to committee reports within three months of tabling. Successive governments have affirmed their commitment to providing such responses. The table below provides a summary of received and outstanding government responses spanning the last four parliaments. Table of responses received and outstanding (as of 7 December 2017) Parliament Awaiting response (six month period expired) Awaiting response (six month period not expired) Response received (six month period expired) Response received (six month period not expired) 42nd 4 - - - 43rd 12 - - - 44th 26 - 4 - 45th 11 18 3 5 Description of Report Date Tabled or Published1 Date of Government Response2 Responded in Period Specified3 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (House, Standing) Everybody's Business: Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Stores 16-11-09 No response to date No Sport: More than just a game— Contribution of sport to Indigenous wellbeing and mentoring 24-06-13 07-12-17 No Agriculture and Industry (House, Standing) Smart farming—Inquiry into agricultural innovation 04-05-16 No response to date No Agriculture and Water Resources (House, Standing) Safe keeping: Inquiry into the biosecurity of Australian honey bees 27-03-17 15-08-17 yes Australia Fund Establishment (Joint, Select) Joint Select Committee on the Australia Fund Establishment: Report 2015 25-06-15 No response to date No Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (Joint, Statutory) Integrity of overseas Commonwealth law enforcement operations 24-06-13 No response to date No Inquiry into the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity 5-05-16 No response to date No Broadcasting Legislation (Joint, Select) Three broadcasting reform proposals 24-06-13 No response to date No Communications and the Arts (House, Standing) Environment and Energy (House, Standing) Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and regional Australia 05-05-16 No response to date No Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (Joint, Select) Progress report 27-10-14 08-08-17 No Final report 25-06-15 No response to date No Corporations and Financial Services (Joint, Statutory) Inquiry into proposals to lift the professional, ethical and education standards in the financial services industry 19-12-14 08-08-17 No Inquiry into the impairment of customer loans 04-05-16 No response to date No Report on the 2015-16 Annual Reports of bodies established under the ASIC Act 13-06-17 No response to date Time has not expired Whistleblower Protections: Report on the inquiry into Whistleblower protections in the corporate, public and not-for-profit sectors 13-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired Economics (House, Standing) Review of the Four Major Banks (second report) 21-04-17 No response to date No Report on the inquiry into tax deductibility 15-06-17 No response to date Time has not expired Education and Employment (House, Standing) TAFE: an Australian asset—Report of the inquiry into TAFE and its operation 24-11-14 No response to date No Innovation and Creativity 19-06-17 No response to date Time has not expired Electoral Matters (Joint, Standing) Second interim report on the inquiry into the conduct of the 2013 federal election: An assessment of electronic voting options 20-11-14 No response to date No The 2013 Federal Election: Report on the conduct of the 2013 election and matters related thereto 15-04-15 No response to date No The 2016 Federal Election: interim report on the authorisation of voter communication 09-12-16 No response to date No Second interim report on the inquiry into the conduct of the 2016 federal election: Foreign donations 10-03-17 No response to date No Third interim report on the inquiry into the conduct of the 2016 federal election: AEC modernisation 21-06-17 No response to date Time has not expired Environment (House, Standing) Streamlining environmental legislation: Inquiry into streamlining environmental regulation, 'green tape', and one stop shops 23-02-15 No response to date No Inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations 04-05-16 No response to date No Environment and Energy (House, Standing) Living with fruit bats: Inquiry into flying-fox management in the eastern states 27-02-17 No response to date No Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (Joint, Standing) Australia's trade and investment relationships with countries of the Middle East 04-05-16 No response to date No Modern slavery and global supply chains – interim report 17-08-17 No response to date Time has not expired Government Procurement (Joint, Select) Buying into our future: Review of amendments to the Commonwealth procurement rules 29-06-17 14-11-17 Yes Health, Aged Care and Sport (House, Standing) Still waiting to be heard… Inquiry into the Hearing Health and Wellbeing of Australia 13-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired Health (House, Standing) Inquiry into Chronic Disease Prevention and Management in Primary Health Care 05-05-16 No response to date No Health and Ageing (House, Standing) Lost in the labyrinth: Report on the inquiry into registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors 19-03-12 No response to date No Diseases have no borders: Report on the inquiry into health issues across international borders 20-03-13 No response to date No Bridging the dental gap: Report on the inquiry into adult dental services 17-06-13 No response to date No Thinking ahead: Report on the inquiry into dementia—early diagnosis and intervention 24-06-13 5-12-17 No Human Rights (Joint, Statutory) Eleventh Report of 2013: Review of Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012 and related legislation 26-06-13 No response to date No 2016 Review of Stronger Futures measures (Final Report) 16-03-16 No response to date No Freedom of speech in Australia: Inquiry into the operation of Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) and related procedures under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) 28-02-17 No response to date No Indigenous Affairs (House, Standing) Interim report: First steps for improving educational opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students 04-05-16 No response to date No Infrastructure and Communications (House, Standing) At what cost? IT pricing and the Australia tax 29-07-13 No response to date4 No Industry, Innovation, Science & Resources (House, Standing) Social issues relating to land-based automated vehicles in Australia 11-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired Infrastructure, Transport and Cities (House, Standing) Smart ICT: Report on the inquiry into the role of smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure 15-03-16 No response to date No Harnessing Value, Delivering Infrastructure 06-12-16 No response to date No Intelligence and Security (Joint, Statutory) Review of Administration and Expenditure: No. 14 (2014-2015) – Australian Intelligence Agencies 01-03-17 16-08-17 yes Law Enforcement (Joint, Statutory) Inquiry into financial related crime 07-09-15 No response to date No Examination of the Australian Federal Police Annual Report 2014-15 25-05-17 16-10-17 Yes Migration (Joint, Standing) Immigration detention in Australia: A new beginning: Criteria for release from immigration detention—First report of the inquiry into immigration detention in Australia 01-12-08 No response to date No Immigration detention in Australia: Community-based alternatives to detention—Second report of the inquiry into immigration detention in Australia 25-05-09 No response to date No Immigration detention in Australia: Facilities, services and transparency—Third report of the inquiry into immigration detention in Australia 18-08-09 No response to date No Inquiry into migration and multiculturalism in Australia 18-03-13 05-12-17 No National Broadband Network (Joint, Standing) The rollout of the National Broadband Network 29-09-17 (tabled out of session) No response to date No National Capital and External Territories (Joint, Standing) Etched in stone? Inquiry into the administration of the National Memorials Ordinance 1928 23-11-11 No response to date No The strategic importance of Australia's Indian Ocean Territories 11-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired National Disability Insurance Scheme (Joint, Standing) Accommodation for people with disabilities and the NDIS 05-05-16 31-10-17 No Provision of hearing services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme 14-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired General issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS 07-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired The provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition 15-08-17 No response to date No Northern Australia (Joint, Select) Pivot North: Inquiry into the development of Northern Australia, Final report 04-09-14 Interim response 04-12-145 Final response 04-12-17 No Procedure (House, Standing) Role of the Federation Chamber: Celebrating 20 years of operation 22-06-15 No response to date No Consideration in detail of the main appropriation bill 29-02-16 No response to date No Maintenance of the standing orders 02-05-16 No response to date No Division required? Electronic voting in the House of Representatives 02-05-16 No response to date No Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) Report 460: Public Sector Governance – Inquiry based on Auditor-General's report 29 (2015-16) 16-02-17 No response to date No Report 461: Commonwealth Risk Management – Inquiry based on Auditor-General's report 18 (2015-16) 10-05-17 No response to date No Report 462: Commonwealth Infrastructure Spending – Inquiry based on Auditor-General's reports 14 (2015-16) and 38 (2016-17) 21-06-17 No response to date Time has not expired (Partial response received) 6 Report 463: Commonwealth Financial Statements 05-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired (Partial response received)7 Report 464: Commonwealth Grants Administration 05-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired Report 465: Commonwealth Procurement 14-09-17 No response to date Time has not expired Report 467: Cybersecurity Compliance 25-10-17 No response to date Time has not expired Report 468: Defence Major Projects Report (2015-16) 26-10-17 No response to date Time has not expired Social Policy and Legal Affairs (House, Standing) FASD: The Hidden Harm—Inquiry into the prevention, diagnosis and management of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders 29-11-12 No response to date8 No Surrogacy Matters: Inquiry into the regulatory and legislative aspects of international and domestic surrogacy 04-05-16 No response to date No Tax and Revenue (House, Standing) 2015 Annual Report of the ATO (First Report) 05-05-16 25-10-17 No 2015-16 Annual Report of the Australian Taxation Office 30-03-17 25-10-17 No External Scrutiny of the Australian Taxation Office 05-05-16 No response to date Partial response received9 Trade and Investment Growth (Joint, Select) Inquiry into Australia's Future Research and Innovation 03-05-16 No response to date No Leveraging our advantages: The trade relationship between Australia and Indonesia 19-05-17 No response to date No Report on the Inquiry into Business Utilisation of Australia's Free Trade Agreements 15-10-15 No response to date No Treaties (Joint, Standing) Report 165: Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement 30-11-16 08-08-17 No Report 167: Extradition China Nuclear cooperation - Ukraine 16-12-17 01-03-17 01-06-17 Yes Yes Report 169: Future Submarine Program - France; Classified Information Exchange - France 13-04-17 14-11-17 No Report 171: International Trade in Endangered Species - Amendments; Women in Combat Duties - Reservation Withdrawal; Generation IV Nuclear Energy - Accession 19-06-17 No response to date Time has not expired Notes 1 The date of tabling is the date the report was presented to the House of Representatives or to the Speaker, whichever is earlier. In the case of joint committees, the date shown is the date of first presentation to either the House or the Senate or to the President or Speaker (if presented earlier out of session). Reports published when the House (or Houses) are not sitting are tabled at a later date. 2 If the source for the government response date is not the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives or the Journals of the Senate, the source is shown in an endnote. 3 For reports up to the end of 42nd Parliament, the time specified is three months from the date of tabling. The Government has undertaken to respond to committee reports within a six month period—see House of Representatives Standing Orders, resolution of the House of Representatives of 29 September 2010. This resolution also puts in place additional steps for reports not responded to within that six month period. The period from when the 44th Parliament was prorogued on 9 May 2016 to the commencement of the 45th Parliament on 30 August 2016 is not included in the response period. 4 On 22 June 2015, during debate on the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015, the Senate noted that the Government has not responded to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications reports on its inquiry into information technology pricing. The committee still awaits a response to this report. 5 On 4 December 2014 the Government provided an interim response to the report, advising that the committee's report is informing the Government's White Paper, which is being prepared. The White Paper will set out a clear and well defined policy platform for unlocking the full potential of the north, including actions through to 2030. The Government indicated that it will respond to the committee's specific recommendations through the White Paper. On 18 June 2015 the Government released the White Paper on Developing Northern Australia: Our North, Our Future. The committee has now received a final response to this report. 6 Executive Minute to Recommendation 7 from The Treasury received on 7 November 2017. 7 Executive Minute to Recommendation 1 from the Department of Education and Training received on 9 October 2017. 8 On 14 July 2014 the Government advised the committee that on 25 June 2014 it announced funding for the National FASD Action Plan, and that the plan would form the basis of the formal response to the inquiry. The committee still awaits a response to recommendations of the report. 9 The Committee has received a response from the Australian National Audit Office and is still awaiting a coordinated Government Response.