Page 946 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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The bill proposes a collection of temporary amendments prioritised as urgent and immediate to support operational responses. In that context, this bill is an omnibus bill which amends a range of legislation across ACT government ministerial portfolios comprising: the Associations Incorporation Act 1991, the Bail Act 1992, the Children and Young People Act 2008, the Corrections Management Act 2007, the Court Procedures Act 2004, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020, the Crimes Act 1900, the Crimes (Sentence Administration Act) 2005, the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005, the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989, the Education Act 2004, the Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1991, the Financial Management Act 1996, the Firearms Act 1996, the Gaming Machine Act 2004, the Gaming Machine Regulations 2004, the Human Rights Commission Act 2005, the Leases (Commercial and Retail) Act 2001, the Long Service Leave Act 1976, the Long Service (Portable Schemes) Act 2009, the Payroll Tax Act 2011, the Powers of Attorney Act 2006, the Prohibited Weapons Act 1996, the Public Health Act 1997—although the Minister for Health will move an amendment in the detail stage to omit this and to consider it in a future bill—the Public Health (Emergencies) Amendment Act 2020, the Public Trustee and Guardian Act 1985, the Rates Act 2004, the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, the Retirement Villages Act 2012, the Taxation Administration Act 1999, the Terrorism (Extraordinary Temporary Powers) Act 2006, the University of Canberra Act 1989, the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011, and the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Amendment Act 2019.
This is an extensive omnibus bill, as you can see, Madam Assistant Speaker. As part of the commitment to parliamentary transparency in these challenging times, the government, through the Attorney-General, provided a draft of the bill for review to the scrutiny of bills committee late last week. The government thanks the committee for its urgent consideration of the bill and has sought to properly consider the comments provided despite the short time frames.
The amendments contained within the omnibus bill create the flexibility needed in a range of different areas to either directly or indirectly keep Canberrans safe whilst ensuring that government and business can continue to function properly. I draw the Assembly’s particular attention to the various amendments to tax laws which the government considers are necessary and vital to support the community in the face of economic impacts arising from the pandemic.
Amendments to the Payroll Tax Act 2011 exempt wages supported by the commonwealth’s JobKeeper wage subsidy from payroll tax. This measure is taken to remove a potential disincentive for businesses from the operation of the JobKeeper program. I highlight that so that it is clear that federal income tax will continue to be collected on JobKeeper wage subsidy payments by the commonwealth, but the ACT government will be exempting wages supported by the JobKeeper wage subsidy from territory payroll tax.
The bill also amends the Taxation Administration Act 1999 to provide a set of consistent powers across tax types to provide relief for households and businesses through rebates, exemptions and deferrals. Like other measures in this bill, a sunset clause applies to the operation of these powers.
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