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FACT SHEET
Parliamentary (Disclosure of Interests) Amendment Bill 2017
The Parliamentary (Disclosure of Interests) Amendment Bill 2017 amends the Parliamentary
(Disclosure of Interests) Act 1996 to make a number of amendments to enhance the clarity of its
requirements and provide for the disclosure of more information to the public.
The Act was originally developed to protect the public interest and to enhance public
confidence by requiring Members of Parliament to disclose their personal interests.
The Act has been in force for over 20 years and needs to be modernised to reflect
contemporary community expectations of increased openness and transparency.
The Bill makes six significant changes to the Act, as well as a series of minor amendments.
Significant amendments
1. Spouses – The Bill extends the disclosure requirements to a spouse of a Member. This is
consistent with recommendations made by key stakeholders and the majority of Australian
Parliaments. The existing definition of spouse, which captures de facto relationships through
reference to the Relationships Act 2003, is retained.
2. Gift – The definition of ‘gift’ is significantly broadened to include all items of personal property
and real property, as well as financial and other benefits. There is a new exception for gifts and
contributions to travel that are given in a personal capacity, not in relation to the duties of the
Member.
3. Online publication – The Bill requires the Registers to be published online. Currently, the
Registers are only available for inspection by appointment with the relevant Clerk, between the
hours of 10am and 4pm on weekdays. This essentially limits access to people located in Hobart
and available in business hours. Placing registers online will ensure that the information is readily
accessible to the public. This is consistent with the majority of Australian Parliaments.
4. Address – Due to privacy concerns arising from the move to online publication of the
Registers, the full residential address of a Member and their spouse will not be required. The
suburb/locality of residence will be required instead.
5. Contempt of Parliament – The Bill significantly broadens the range of interests to be disclosed
by Members, particularly interests held by spouses. If a Member is genuinely unable to obtain
information or is genuinely unaware of information that must be disclosed under this Act they
will not be held in contempt. In addition, the amendments clarify that a Member cannot be held
in contempt on the basis of changed circumstances if their return was completed in good faith
and was correct at the time it was made.
6. Deletion – The Bill includes a power for the Clerks to delete information from a Member’s
return if they believe its online publication would unreasonably compromise the privacy or
safety of a person.
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Minor amendments
The Bill also makes a series of minor amendments to enhance the clarity of the requirements
and support Members to complete their returns appropriately.
The disclosure requirements for a primary return (section 6) and annual return (section 7) have
been consolidated and streamlined where possible.
Requirements in relation to the Primary Return Form and the Annual Return Form and
availability of the Registers are to be moved into regulations, allowing changes to be made
without legislative amendment. With the proposed move to online publication, the regulations
will set out requirements in relation to the integrity and security of the information provided by
Members.
The Bill also provides for the indexation of certain thresholds in the Act to ensure they do not
become impractically low over time.
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