On the final sitting day before the winter recess, the Council passed six bills, including the three Budget bills introduced in the Assembly on Tuesday. The Budget Estimates hearing dates for 2025/26 were agreed to, and the Minister for the Environment made a Ministerial Statement about the 2024 State of the Environment Report. Read on for more about Thursday in the House, and to find out about changes coming to the House in Review blog during the next sitting period…

2025/26 BUDGET ESTIMATES

A new budget means it’s time for another round of Budget Estimates inquiries! These annual inquiries give Upper House committees the opportunity to closely examine the state budget and investigate how government agencies are spending funds, performing, and delivering services. The process includes public hearings where committees question ministers about their portfolios, as well as the operation of the Parliament itself.

On Thursday, the House agreed to a motion establishing this year’s inquiry and setting out the schedule for the initial 2025/26 Budget Estimates hearings, moved by the Leader of the Government in the Council, the Hon Penny Sharpe. The hearings will begin on 19 August and run through until early-September. Stay tuned for more information on the Budget Estimates webpage.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT – NSW STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT

Minister for the Environment, the Hon Penny Sharpe, made a ministerial statement regarding the NSW State of the Environment report 2024, as tabled in the House early in the day.

Minister Sharpe explained that the report highlights some positive trends – such as improved air quality, increased use of renewable energy, and reduced litter – but also raises serious concerns about biodiversity loss, rising waste levels, and ongoing environmental degradation. The full details of her statement can be found in the Hansard record.

The Hon Aileen MacDonald also made a contribution on behalf of the Opposition.  

PASSED: GOVERNMENT SECTOR AUDIT AMENDMENT (PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORTS) BILL 2025

The Government Sector Audit Amendment (Performance Audit Reports) Bill 2025 passed the Legislative Council. This bill amends the Government Sector Audit Act 1983 to provide for the tabling of reports about performance audits in each House of Parliament. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

Contributions to the second reading debate were made by members of the Opposition and The Greens. Read all member contributions in the Hansard record.

The second reading of the bill was agreed to on the voices before the House resolved into a committee of the whole to consider two amendments moved by the Hon Susan Carter on behalf of the Opposition. These amendments would require reports from the Auditor-General to be tabled confidentially in both Houses of Parliament within six months. These amendments were agreed to on the voices. Read the whole 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.

INTRODUCED: WATER MANAGEMENT LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (STRONGER ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES) BILL 2025

The Water Management Legislation Amendment (Stronger Enforcement and Penalties) Bill 2025 was introduced by Minister for Water the Hon Rose Jackson on Thursday. This bill seeks to amend the Water Management Act 2000 to introduce civil penalties for breaches, strengthen enforcement of financial charges for unlawful water use, improve water metering and volume verification and expand court powers to include orders such as forfeiture of profits gained through contraventions.

In her second reading speech, Minister Jackson explained that the bill seeks to strengthen water laws by enhancing enforcement powers, increasing penalties, and introducing a civil penalty regime to deter unlawful water use. It would equip the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) with new tools – including higher fines, administrative charges, and licence suspension powers – to better hold corporate offenders to account. The bill would also clarify complex legal provisions, improve water metering compliance, and ensure courts consider broader impacts – such as on Aboriginal communities and the environment – when sentencing. Read more about the bill in Minister Jackson’s second reading speech.

Following the bill’s introduction, debate was adjourned for five calendar days, according to standing order.

INTRODUCED: LOCAL COURT AMENDMENT (JURISDICTION) BILL 2025

Also introduced in the Legislative Council on Thursday was the Local Court Amendment (Jurisdiction) Bill 2025. This bill would amend the Local Court Act 2007 in relation to the Local Court’s jurisdiction regarding subject matter.

In her second reading speech, Parliamentary Secretary the Hon Emily Suvaal explained that this bill would amend the Local Court Act 2007 to remove the jurisdiction of the Local Court of New South Wales to hear civil proceedings relating to invasions of privacy or other privacy contraventions. This includes claims under the new Commonwealth statutory privacy tort introduced in 2024, administrative review applications under section 55 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, and any future common law privacy claims. The aim is to ensure such complex matters are heard by courts better equipped to manage them – the District Court or Supreme Court – both of which already handle comparable torts such as defamation. The bill aims to maintain the Local Court’s focus on its heavy criminal caseload while ensuring privacy matters are determined in courts with the necessary expertise and remedial powers. Read more about the bill in Ms Suvaal’s second reading speech.

Following the bill’s introduction, debate was adjourned for five calendar days, according to standing order.

PASSED: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS) BILL 2025

The Industrial Relations and Other Legislation Amendment (Workplace Protections) Bill 2025 passed the Legislative Council on Thursday, having passed the Assembly on the previous sitting day. This bill amends the Industrial Relations Act 1996 in relation to bullying at work and sexual harassment in connection with work, as well as amending the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to provide for matters relating to work health and safety disputes.

In his second reading speech, Parliamentary Secretary the Hon Mark Buttigieg explained that this bill introduces comprehensive reforms to strengthen workplace protections, industrial relations, and work health and safety (WHS) laws in New South Wales. Key reforms include establishing new anti-bullying and sexual harassment jurisdictions within the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), allowing it to conciliate, arbitrate, and issue orders in both areas – providing a simpler, one-stop resolution pathway for affected public sector and local government employees. It also expands the IRC’s role in industrial disputes by empowering it to issue directions and orders even without party consent, clarifies its powers in interpreting industrial instruments, and introduces penalties for breaching its orders. The bill enhances the return-to-work dispute resolution process for injured public sector and local government workers by making it an “industrial matter” under the Act.

The bill also strengthens work health and safety protections. It expands the rights of WHS entry permit holders to gather evidence (such as taking air quality measurements or photographs), improves notification and information-sharing protocols with the regulator, and enables unions to review regulatory decisions. Provisions for prosecuting WHS offences are made more flexible by extending the window for action in cases of delayed-onset harm and allowing courts to award a portion of penalties to prosecuting unions. Employers will be required to comply with ministerial codes of practice unless they demonstrate equal or higher safety standards. Additionally, the bill enhances protections against victimisation, strengthens freedom of association rights, and raises the cap on small claims under the Industrial Relations Act from $20,000 to $100,000. Read more about the bill in Mr Buttigieg’s second reading speech.

The second reading debate included speeches by members of the Opposition, The Greens, the Government, the Libertarian Party and Independent member the Hon Mark Latham. Read the debate in full in the Hansard record.

The second reading of the bill was agreed to on division (Ayes: 32/Noes: 3).

When the House resolved into a committee of the whole to consider amendments…

  • Eight amendments were moved by Independent member the Hon Mark Latham which sought to add objectives promoting wage justice for disadvantaged groups, require resilience and mental strength in recruitment for certain roles, abolish DEI practices in those cases, redefine industrial matters to include recruitment based on resilience, emphasise income alongside gender in anti-discrimination clauses, and narrow bullying provisions to exclude actions tied to the reasonable exercise of workplace duties. Amendments 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were negatived on division (Ayes: 14/Noes: 16. Amendments 3, 7 and 8 were negatived on the voices.
  • Six amendments were moved by Ms Abigail Boyd on behalf of The Greens which sought to introduce new duties for businesses to manage psychosocial and digital work environment risks – particularly around workload, surveillance, and algorithmic work allocation – grant WHS permit holders powers to inspect digital systems, require compliance with codes of practice, clarify WHS dispute processes, and expand the parties who can initiate or recover civil penalty proceedings to include registered industrial organisations. Amendments 3, 4 and 6 were agreed to on the voices, amendments 1, 2 and 5 were negatived.

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 returned to the Legislative Assembly for consideration of the changes.

PASSED: CONVEYANCING AND REAL PROPERTY AMENDMENT BILL 2025

The Conveyancing and Real Property Amendment Bill 2025 also passed the Legislative Council on Thursday. This bill makes various amendments to the Conveyancing Act 1919 and the Real Property Act 1900. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

The second reading debate included contributions by members of the Opposition. Read the whole debate in the Hansard record.

The House agreed to the second reading of the bill on the voices before the House resolved into a committee of the whole to consider one amendment moved by the Hon Mark Buttigieg on behalf of the Government. This amendment sought to extend the transitional arrangements for forms from 31 December 2025 until 31 May 2026. 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: THE BUDGET BILLS

The annual appropriation bills are the central pieces of budget legislation, enabling the government to fund its operations and services for the year. Three Budget bills were introduced by the Treasurer as cognate bills in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday

  • The Appropriation Bill 2025 authorises the appropriation of monies from the state’s ‘Consolidated Fund’ (NSW’s main source of funding). These monies are to be used for the ordinary annual services of the government in 2025/26, being allocated to departments of the public service and various special offices.
  • The Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2025 appropriates monies specifically for the services of the NSW Parliament in 2025/26.
  • The Revenue and other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 makes a number of changes to Acts that are administered by the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance.

Following the Treasurer’s second reading speech in the Council, contributions to the second reading debate were made by members of the Opposition, The Greens, the Animal Justice Party and Independent member the Hon Mark Latham. Read all member contributions in the Hansard record.

With the second and the third readings of the bills agreed to on the voices, the bills were then returned to the Legislative Assembly, ready to be forwarded to the Governor for assent.

GENERAL MOTIONS

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

ORDER FOR PAPERS

RequestMoved byAgreed to?Due date
Order for papers – Albury Hospital Redevelopment – Further Order (26 June 2025)Dr Amanda Cohn (The Greens)Agreed to17 July 2025

IN COMMITTEES

The following committee reports were tabled over the course of the day…

THE HOUSE IN REVIEW IS CHANGING  

From the next sitting week, The House in Review will take on a new form. Instead of daily posts, we’ll be publishing a weekly digest capturing the key events and decisions from each sitting week in the NSW Legislative Council. 

This new format is designed to give you a clearer, faster and more comprehensive overview of what’s been happening in the House. It brings together highlights, links, and summaries all in one place — making it easier for you to follow debates, track legislation, and stay across significant procedural moments without having to sift through multiple posts. 

Whether you’re after a quick update or looking to dive deeper into parliamentary activity, the digest will give you more timely access to the information that matters, while keeping the detail just a click away. 

We look forward to sharing this new format with you — starting in the August sitting period.

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