Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [no 2], Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No 1) Bill 2023 [no 2] [2023] AUSStaCSBSD 139 (9 August 2023)

• Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2]
• Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 [No. 2]56
• Significant matters in delegated legislation Exemption from disallowance Section 96 grants to the states57

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Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2]
Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 [No. 2]^[56]

Purpose	The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2] seeks to establish the Housing Australia Future Fund to create a funding source to support and increase social and affordable housing, as well as other acute housing needs. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 [No. 2] seeks to amend the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation Act 2018 to improve the affordability and accessibility of housing for Australians.
Portfolio	Finance
Introduced	2 August 2023

Significant matters in delegated legislation
Exemption from disallowance
Section 96 grants to the states^[57]

1.77 The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No.2] and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 [No. 2] are identical to the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 (HAFF Bill) and Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 (Treasury Laws Housing Bill) which were introduced on 9 February 2023 in the House of Representatives and are currently before the Senate.

1.78 The committee sought further advice from the Minister for Finance (the minister) in relation to both of these bills in Scrutiny Digest 2 of 2023 in relation to the following issues:

• exempting ministerial determinations which specify amounts to be credited into the Housing Australia Future Fund Special Account from disallowance, particularly when this allows the crediting of a potentially significant amount of public money;

• the provision of a grant of financial assistance to a state or territory in relation to acute housing needs, social housing or affordable housing, and whether there is appropriate parliamentary scrutiny and oversight;

• exempting Housing Australia Future Fund Investment Mandates from disallowance; and

• the tabling in Parliament of any submission made by the Future Fund Board on a draft direction within a specified period of time.^[58]

1.79 The minister responded to the committee's comments in a letter dated 20 March 2023.^[59] In Scrutiny Digest 4 of 2023, the committee expressed its concerns relating to the lack of adequate justification for the exemptions from disallowance, and the lack of requirement for written agreements with the states to be tabled in the Parliament along with no explicit requirements in the bill to set out what the terms and conditions of a grant may be. Nevertheless, the committee concluded its examination of the bills.^[60]

1.80 The reintroduction of these bills represented an important opportunity for the minister to closely engage with the concerns the committee had raised previously, and the committee is disappointed this does not appear to have occurred. The committee therefore reiterates its scrutiny concerns outlined in previous Scrutiny Digests.

1.81 The committee draws its scrutiny concerns to the attention of senators and, reiterating its previously expressed concerns, leaves to the Senate as a whole the appropriateness of:

• providing the responsible ministers with a power to make non-disallowable legislative instruments under subclause 11(2) of the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2];

• conferring a broad power to make grants to the states in circumstances where there is no guidance in the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2] as to the terms and conditions on which grants may be made, and no requirement to table written agreements with the states containing those terms and conditions in the Parliament; and

• providing the ministers with a power to make non-disallowable Investment Mandates under subclause 41 of the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2].

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[56] This entry can be cited as: Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2]; Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 [No. 2], Scrutiny Digest 9 of 2023; [2023] AUSStaCSBSD 139.

[57] Clause 11, subclause 18(3) and clause 41 of the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 [No. 2]; Schedule 2, item 5, proposed subsection 8(2) of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 [No. 2]. The committee draws senators’ attention to this provision pursuant to Senate standing order 24(1)(a)(iv) and (v).

[58] Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny Digest 2 of 2023 (8 March 2023) pp. 1–8.

[59] A copy of the letter is available on the committee's website: see correspondence relating to Scrutiny Digest 4 of 2023 available at: www.aph.gov.au/senate_scrutiny_digest.

[60] Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny Digest 2 of 2023 (8 March 2023) pp. 22–30.