It’s Budget week in the Parliament of NSW and Treasurer, and member of the Legislative Council, the Hon Daniel Mookhey delivered his budget speech in the ‘the other place’… also known as the Legislative Assembly chamber on Tuesday. Back in the Council, the House passed two bills related to community housing providers and suicide prevention and sent another to committee for inquiry. Read on for more…

THE BUDGET

Budget week kicked off in the Parliament of NSW on Tuesday with the introduction of the 2025/26 budget bills in the Legislative Assembly. Since the Treasurer the Hon Daniel Mookhey is a member of the Legislative Council, and the Constitution Act 1902 requires budget bills to be introduced in the Assembly, he was given special permission to step into the chamber and deliver his budget speech.

This is a rare occurrence, as Mr Mookhey is only the fourth Treasurer in recent times to come from the Legislative Council. Read Mr Mookhey’s Budget speech in the Hansard record.

TABLING & TAKE NOTE OF THE BUDGET PAPERS

After the day’s formal business, the 2025/26 budget papers were tabled by the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, the Hon Penny Sharpe. These included:

PASSED: COMMUNITY HOUSING PROVIDERS (ADOPTION OF NATIONAL LAW) AMENDMENT BILL 2025

The Community Housing Providers (Adoption of National Law) Amendment Bill 2025 passed the Legislative Council on Tuesday. This bill amends the Community Housing Providers (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 to provide for the registration and management of affordable housing. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

Contributions to the second reading debate were made by members of The Greens and the Opposition. Read the full debate in the Hansard record, and continued here.

The second reading of the bill was agreed to on the voices before the House resolved into a committee of the whole to consider amendments.

  • Five amendments were moved by Ms Abigail Boyd on behalf of The Greens which sought to ensure housing is accessible, requiring housing managers to record whether dwellings are SDA-enrolled or meet accessibility standards (silver, gold or platinum), and to audit and update this information within 12 months. These amendments were negatived on division (Ayes: 5/Noes: 34)
  • One amendment was moved by the Hon Scott Farlow on behalf of the Opposition which sought to adjust the obligations of owners within affordable housing guidelines. This amendment was negatived on the voices.
  • One further amendment was moved by the Hon Scott Farlow on behalf of the Opposition which sought to change the requirement for owners to appoint responsible housing managers from 60 days to 90 days. This amendment was agreed to on the voices.

Read the full committee of the whole proceedings in the Hansard record.

With the third reading agreed to on the voices, the bill as amended was sent on to the Legislative Assembly for concurrence.

PASSED: SUICIDE PREVENTION BILL 2025

Also passing the Legislative Council on Tuesday was the Suicide Prevention Bill 2025. This bill provides for matters in relation to suicide prevention. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

Members of the Opposition, The Greens and the Libertarian Party contributed to the second reading debate. Read the full debate in the Hansard record, and continued here.

The second reading of the bill was agreed to on the voices before the House resolved into a committee of the whole to consider an amendment. Dr Amanda Cohn moved one amendment on behalf of The Greens which sought to require the Mental Health Commission to publish advice it received and respond to it. This amendment was agreed to on the voices.

Read the full committee of the whole proceedings in the Hansard record.

The third reading of the bill was agreed to on the voices before the bill, as amended, was sent on to the Legislative Assembly for concurrence.

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE: GAME AND FERAL ANIMAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CONSERVATION HUNTING) BILL 2025

Debate of the Game and Feral Animal Legislation Amendment (Conservation Hunting) Bill 2025 continued in the Legislative Council on Tuesday. This bill seeks to formally recognise conservation hunting as a tool for managing invasive species, introduce a new conservation hunting licence and establish a dedicated Conservation Hunting Authority. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

Members of the Opposition, The Greens, the Government and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party made contributions to the second reading debate. Read all these contributions in the Hansard record.

During the second reading debate, the Hon Scott Barrett (Nationals) moved an amendment asking that the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on State Development for inquiry and report by 10 October 2025. This amendment was agreed to division (Ayes: 20/Noes: 19) meaning a vote on the second reading of this bill was not conducted.

Keep an eye on the inquiry website for updates about the progress of this inquiry, including a call for submissions and hearing dates.

IN COMMITTEES

During the tabling of Report No. 35 of the Selection of Bills Committee, the Hon Chris Rath (Liberal) moved an amendment seeking to refer the Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2025 to the Standing Committee on State Development for inquiry and report. This amendment was agreed to on division (Ayes: 19/Noes: 18). Keep an eye on the inquiry website for updates about this new inquiry.

The following committee reports were also tabled and reported in the House on Tuesday:

The House heard ‘take note’ debates on the following committee reports:

GENERAL MOTIONS

The following motions were agreed to without debate, during the day’s formal business:

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