SenateDivision 10 · 5 Feb 2026

Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea

Passed31 aye · 10 no

What this vote was about

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the bill's main idea. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill for a second time. This means they can now discuss the bill in greater detail.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest, which is a document put together by the parliamentary library:

The security situation in the Indo–Pacific region is challenging and deteriorating. Australian defence spending and activity is increasing in response. Due to security risks, an increasing number of defence matters cannot be properly scrutinised in public hearings of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT).

The Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025 (the Bill) proposes a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence (the Committee), to take on JSCFADT’s Defence-related functions. The Committee is modelled on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS).

A Bill in very similar terms, the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2024 (the 2024 Bill), was introduced to the 47th Parliament but negatived at third reading in the Senate. Despite proposal of a number of amendments, consensus could not be reached on Committee membership.

There are very few changes from the 2024 Bill and those changes are technical rather than substantive. In particular, the membership provisions are unchanged.

At the time of writing, the Bill had not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committees. However, the 2024 Bill was considered by the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. Those committees raised concerns relating to:

whether it is appropriate for the executive to be able to limit a parliamentary committee’s powers to conduct itself

the absence of an adequate rationale for certain serious penalties

freedom of expression and privacy.

Context written by They Vote For You volunteers (ODbL), reproduced unchanged.

Second reading: The second reading vote decides whether the chamber agrees with the bill in principle. A second reading amendment attaches commentary or conditions to that agreement without changing the bill's text.

Related bills

Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025

By party

Party	Aye	No
Australian Labor Party	23	1
Australian Greens	0	9
Pauline Hanson's One Nation	4	0
Liberal–National Coalition	3	0
Independent	1	0

Every vote

Other divisions this sitting day

What the Senate divided on around this vote, in order.

5 Feb 2026Competition and Consumer Amendment (Make Price Gouging Illegal) Bill 2024 - Second Reading - Agree with bill's main ideaSenate 12–29
5 Feb 2026Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 - in Committee - Limiting applications to be reviewed on the papers to student visasSenate 12–32
5 Feb 2026Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 - Third Reading - Pass the billSenate 32–11
5 Feb 2026Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 19–29
5 Feb 2026Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 27–19
5 Feb 2026Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 18–27
5 Feb 2026Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 36–9
5 Feb 2026Committees — Environment and Communications References Committee; ReferenceSenate 18–28
5 Feb 2026Committees — Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; ReferenceSenate 20–29
5 Feb 2026Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Membership of CommitteeSenate 12–26
5 Feb 2026Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Constitution of CommitteeSenate 13–28