The House of Representatives Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services was established on 2 August 2022 to undertake a first principles review of the Workforce Australia employment services system. This interim report puts forward the evidence obtained during the inquiry and sets out the Committee’s views and recommendations.

This committee report recommends that the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 be passed, if amendments are made to strengthen enfranchisement and participation in the referendum, particularly of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and clear, factual and impartial information is made accessible to all voters.

In this inquiry report, the Committee recommends that the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry review its food import risk frameworks to ensure that they are fit for purpose and that decisions under the frameworks are accelerated where required.

This issues paper has been released to provide interested parties with an update on the Committee’s inquiry to date, and also to identify some of the issues and themes emerging from the Committee’s preliminary investigations and to highlight gaps and areas that the Committee intends to examine during upcoming public hearings.

The Australian Parliament has long sought to address the issue of codes of conduct. The Committee recommends that parliamentary consideration of this report, including the proposed behaviour standards and codes, should maintain a primary focus on ensuring that Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces are safe and respectful for everyone who enters them.