Bills — Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025; Consideration in Detail

Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.

This bill sets up a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence, modelled on the intelligence and security committee, to oversee the defence force, the Defence department, Veterans' Affairs and related agencies. It could receive classified information in private, with criminal penalties for leaks. The debate focused on who should sit on the committee, especially whether crossbench members should be included or kept out.

Arguments made in support

Government members said current oversight of Defence is spread out and cannot examine classified matters, and this committee fills that gap.

Supporters said rising defence spending and projects like AUKUS need closer parliamentary scrutiny of costs and delays.

Government speakers said the bill copies a proven committee model, with strong safeguards to protect sensitive information.

The Coalition supported the bill, saying Australia's AUKUS partners already have dedicated defence committees.

Coalition members argued membership should be limited to government and opposition parties, as with the intelligence committee, to keep it bipartisan.

Arguments made against, or for changes

Independent members said the bill does not guarantee crossbench seats, even though about a third of voters chose minor parties or independents.

Crossbench members moved amendments to reserve seats for crossbench or minor party members, which were not agreed to.

Senator David Pocock said he would only support the bill if crossbench representation was guaranteed.

The Greens opposed the bill, arguing a committee meeting in private with only major parties would reduce real scrutiny.

The Greens moved an amendment to make clear the committee would not limit other oversight, such as Senate estimates.

128 speeches by 48 members in the House and Senate over 10 sitting days.

Hansard: House of Representatives, 8 Oct 2025 ›

The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia

Hansard: House of Representatives, 28 Oct 2025 ›

The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia

Hansard: House of Representatives, 29 Oct 2025 ›