Parliamentary Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 [2017] AUSStaCSBSD 46 (15 February 2017)

• Parliamentary Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill 2017
• Retrospective commencement 32

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Parliamentary Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill 2017

Purpose	This bill seeks to amend the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990 to: • require that if an adjustment to certain travel claims is made or required, a loading of 25 per cent in addition to the full amount of the adjustment will apply; and • restrict the 'additional travel for children' entitlement for senior officers to children under the age of 18 from where it currently stands at under the age of 25. The bill also seeks to amend the Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002 to rename the Act the Parliamentary Retirement Travel Act 2002, and implement reforms to the Life Gold Pass scheme.
Portfolio	Special Minister of State
Introduced	House of Representatives on 9 February 2017

Retrospective commencement ^[32]

1.48 The amendments proposed to be made by Schedule 1 to the bill will apply retrospectively from 14 May 2014.

1.49 These measures rename the Life Gold Pass scheme as the Parliamentary Retirement Travel Entitlement, and also reduce, remove, and reform benefits under the scheme. Those measures that were announced as part of the 2014-15 Budget apply retrospectively from the end of 13 May 2014 (the day of the Budget announcement). The other reforms in the bill commence, or have effect, the day after Royal Assent.

1.50 The statement of compatibility notes that at the time of the announcement, affected people were advised of the impact the proposed reforms would have on their eligibility to access travel from 13 May 2014 and that the measures do not affect the validity of return trips commenced up to the end of 13 May 2014.^[33]

1.51 The committee has a long-standing scrutiny concern that provisions that back-date commencement to the date of the announcement of the bill (i.e. 'legislation by press release') challenges a basic value of the rule of law that, in general, laws should only operate prospectively (not retrospectively).

1.52 However, in this case, the changes affect a limited number of people in relation to a workplace entitlement and all persons affected were advised of the impact of the proposed reform at the time and were able to act accordingly. In such circumstances, the committee leaves to the Senate as a whole the appropriateness of making these changes to parliamentary entitlements retrospective.

The committee draws Senators' attention to the provision, as it may be considered to trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties, in breach of principle 1(a)(i) of the committee's terms of reference.

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[32] Item 2 (commencement provisions for Schedule 1).

[33] Explanatory memorandum, pp 26–27.