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A survey of Labor’s legislative achievements in 2025 testifies to Anthony Albanese’s methodical approach but not to his extraordinary mandate. By Karen Barlow.

Full list: what Albanese has legislated this term

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the National Press Club in April.

Credit: Asanka Ratnayake / Getty Images

Labor’s 94-seat victory at the election set expectations for bold action – this is apparently an extraordinarily empowered government.

Political scientists have made the point, however, that the landslide was a broad but shallow one, based on a historically low primary vote and a powerful current of preferences. If this is a reason for more caution, that is not the way Anthony Albanese wants to describe his approach at the outset of his second term.

Instead, the prime minister has called 2025 his “year of delivery”.

“We know that delivery matters for all those Australians who voted Labor for lower taxes, stronger Medicare, better education and new help with the cost of living,” the prime minister told the National Press Club in June.

Versions of this are his refrain when asked repeatedly about how he will use his commanding majority. He wants Australians to see this year as “a step on the journey, not the destination”.

The Saturday Paper catalogued all 50 pieces of legislation passed into law so far in this term, and measured them against Labor’s promises.

Among those realised since May 3 are the long overdue environmental law reform, the establishment of an Australian Centre for Disease Control and delivering cheaper medicines. There were also responsive laws such as the establishment of the Triple Zero Custodian and the strengthening of childcare oversight.

The sum total indicates conscientiousness in fulfilling an agenda of somewhat limited scope, says one cross bench source. “It’s a case study in attacking the low-hanging fruit, with a few notable exceptions … This isn’t big reform.”

A senior government insider defends the legislative agenda, pointing to the reforms passed with necessary support in the Senate. “There’s always a lot of that unspoken stuff that just churns through. But we got a lot of it done.”

Albanese’s year of delivery has a few months to run before this parliament enters its second year – when the governing party traditionally starts looking to the next term.

The new year’s priority will likely be expedited legislation to address the Bondi terror attack, through hate speech laws and gun reform. The legislation to enact reform to freedom of information laws remains officially on the notice paper despite ardent opposition from both the Coalition and the Greens. The legislation intended to simplify Australia’s veteran entitlement system has been withdrawn after a heavy backlash over the move to limit the timeframes for review of military honours.

Yet to be delivered, in line with earlier commitments, is legislation to expand the use of nurses in primary care, to punish bad actors in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and to address the problem of mobile coverage in Australia.

Election promises still to be fulfilled include tackling financial abuse of women and a ban on non-compete clauses to help support wages growth.

While Labor has taken steps, if not strides, to meet voters’ expectations on key concerns in terms of cost-of-living support and housing affordability, there are other notable omissions, such as tougher action on gambling advertising, bold tax reform, second term housing reform, or progress on a Future Made in Australia… policies that might begin to describe a more ambitious legacy.

Education

Name of bill Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent)
Promise “If Labor wins, we’ll cut your student debt. If Peter Dutton wins, he’ll make you pay for your boss’s lunch.”
Passed both houses July 31, with support of the Greens and progressive cross bench.
Summary One-off 20 per cent reduction to Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts, raised and restructured minimum repayment threshold.

Name of bill Early Childhood Education and Care (Strengthening Regulation of Early Education)
Promise “Make early education simple, accessible and affordable.”
Passed both houses July 31
Summary Gives the government the power to suspend or cancel funding to Child Care Subsidy centres that aren’t meeting safety and quality standards.

Name of bill Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence)
Promise “Gender equality cannot be achieved without ending gender-based violence and the Albanese government remains absolutely committed to this task.”
Passed both houses August 25
Summary Establishes standards for higher education providers to address the issue of gender-based violence.

Name of bill Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures)
Passed both houses November 28
Amendments Independent review of changes within two years, with report tabled in parliament; power of secretary to request information is not retrospective; exemptions for higher education and TAFE providers, limits on ministerial powers.
Summary New measures to regulate quality and integrity of the international education sector, including the registration of providers and courses. Includes changes to the early childhood education and care sector ahead of mooted universal childcare reforms.

Home Affairs

Name of bill Customs Amendment (Australia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation); Customs Tariff Amendment (Australia–United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation)
Passed both houses July 31
Summary Implements Australia’s obligations under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Name of bill Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1)
Passed both houses September 4, with support of the Coalition and One Nation.
Summary Accelerated deportation process for members of NZYQ cohort whose visas were cancelled on basis of character. Provides that the rules of natural justice do not apply in relation to third-country reception arrangements with a foreign country. Validates certain visa decisions retrospectively.

Name of bill Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment (No. 1)
Passed both houses September 4, with support of the Coalition and One Nation.
Summary Extends the operation of ASIO’s compulsory questioning warrant framework for a further 18 months, until March 2027.

Name of bill Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders
Passed both houses October 29
Summary Establishes a scheme for courts to make workplace protection orders to prevent personal violence against Commonwealth workers or in Commonwealth workplaces.

Name of bill Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment
Passed both houses October 29, with full senate support minus the Greens.
Summary Technical clarifications. The bill enables the disclosure and use of protected network activity warrant information and network activity warrant intercept information in certain circumstances.

Name of bill Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2)
Passed both houses November 27, with full senate support minus One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts.
Summary Allows the Department of Home Affairs to collect and validate facial images in line with international standards and current biometric technology; and to remove certain residency barriers to Australian citizenship.

Name of bill Customs Tariff Amendment (Geelong Treaty Implementation)
Passed both houses November 27, with support of the Coalition and independent senators David Pocock and Tammy Tyrrell.
Summary Implements a waiver on customs duties for goods imported from the United Kingdom under the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Partnership and Collaboration Agreement. The Geelong treaty is a commitment to the next 50 years of bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I.

Defence

Name of bill Defence Housing Australia Amendment
Passed both houses August 25, with support of Coalition, One Nation, David Pocock and United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet.
Summary Enables Defence Housing Australia to provide accommodation and services to additional classes of people, including personnel coming to Australia as part of Submarine Rotational Force-West under the AUKUS agreement.

Employment and Workplace Relations

Name of bill Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates)
Promise “Ensuring the wages of around three million workers do not go backwards.”
Passed both houses August 28
Summary Prevents variations to awards that would reduce or remove an employee’s penalty rates or overtime rates.

Name of bill Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya’s)
Promise “No parent should ever have to go through what Priya’s mum experienced.”
Passed both houses November 3, with the support of Greens and progressive cross bench.
Summary Ensures employer-funded paid parental leave is not cancelled if a child is stillborn or dies.

Name of bill VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures)
Passed both houses November 27
Summary Authorises certain activities related to the handling of tax file numbers to facilitate applications for VET Student Loans or to administer the student’s loan.

Health and Aged Care

Name of bill Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures)
Promise “We are investing in Medicare, but we are also doing what we need to do to strengthen the integrity of it.”
Passed both houses September 1
Summary Changes the timeframe for making claims relating to bulk-billed Medicare and dental services from two years to one year. Updates investigative powers in relation to Medicare fraud offences, streamlines pharmacy approval processes and updates, strengthens the management of therapeutic goods shortages; and supports compliance and enforcement activities particularly regarding vaping.

Name of bill National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines)
Promise “The maximum cost of a prescription for a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicine will be cut.”
Passed both houses September 1
Summary Amends the National Health Act 1953 to reduce the PBS general patient charge from $31.60 to $25 from January 2026.

Name of bill Health Insurance (Pathology) (Fees) (Repeal)
Passed both houses September 1
Summary Removes certain fees imposed on the pathology sector.

Name of bill Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Levy Amendment, and companion bill Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment
Promise “Further support for our ambition to transform the experience of older Australians receiving care.”
Passed both houses September 3, 4
Amendments The Coalition, the Greens and David Pocock moved to accelerate release of home care packages. A Coalition amendment changed the timeframe for the minister’s rule making powers from 24 months to 12 months.
Summary Bills to support the Aged Care Act that passed parliament last year. Provisions ensure that registered providers continue to be subject to the government’s guarantee scheme and subsidies are paid correctly. Legislation allows 20,000 home-care packages to be delivered before the end of October.

Name of bill Private Health Insurance (National Joint Replacement Register Levy) Amendment
Passed both houses October 30
Summary Clarifies that the person responsible for a medical device is responsible for payment of the National Joint Replacement Register levy.

Name of bill Australian Centre for Disease Control; Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions)
Promise (2022) “Improve pandemic preparedness and response by establishing an Australian CDC.”
Passed both houses November 6, with support of the Greens and progressive cross bench.
Amendments Greens moved to expand the powers of the CDC’s director-general and provide for an annual report that includes an assessment of pandemic preparedness.
Summary Establishes the Australian CDC as a statutory Commonwealth public health authority.

Treasury

Name of bill Pacific Banking Guarantee
Passed both houses September 2, with full Senate support minus Malcolm Roberts.
Summary Appropriates money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet any liabilities the Commonwealth may incur under a banking guarantee with eligible Australian institutions operating in the Pacific region.

Name of bill Treasury Laws Amendment (Payment Systems Modernisation)
Passed both houses September 4, with support of the Coalition.
Amendments The Coalition moves for greater parliamentary scrutiny through legislative instruments rather than notifiable instruments.
Summary Updates the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 to accommodate new payment systems and participants, including a pilot for central bank digital currency; boost cybersecurity; reform penalties.

Name of bill Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation)
Promise “This will benefit the retirement incomes of millions of Australians.”
Passed both houses November 4, with support of the Coalition.
Summary Requires employers to make superannuation contributions for their employees at the same time as they pay their salary or wages.

Name of bill Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment
Passed both houses November 4, with support of the Coalition.
Summary Imposes a fee on any employer shortfall.

Name of bill Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures)
Passed both houses November 27
Summary Omnibus bill includes provisions to expand disclosure obligations for Australian financial market listing and broaden the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s enforcement powers; and exceptions for the public disclosure of protected Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission information about new and ongoing investigations.

Name of bill Appropriation (No. 1) 2025-2026, Appropriation (No. 2) 2025-2026, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) (No. 1) 2025-2026
Passed both houses October 28, with support of the Greens and the Coalition.
Summary Appropriates money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government and for certain expenditure.

Name of bill Regulatory Reform Omnibus
Promise “A key first step out of the Economic Reform Roundtable and part of Labor’s agenda to make the economy more dynamic, resilient and productive.”
Passed both houses November 27, with support of Greens progressive cross bench.
Summary Streamlining bureaucracy required to access government services in 13 government agencies while also clamping down on fraudulent Medicare claims. It provides for a “tell us once” approach to support the sharing and use of information provided to various government agencies, including Services Australia.

Communications

Name of bill Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers)
Promise “Australians must have confidence that Triple Zero will be there when they need it most.”
Passed both houses November 28, with support of the Greens.
Summary Establishes the Triple Zero Custodian in the wake of the fatal triple-O outage in September. It also gives the Australian Communications and Media Authority the power to require information, or direct action, from carriers, carriage service providers and emergency call persons in relation to matters that affect the Emergency Call Service.

Name of bill Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services)
Passed both houses November 27, with full senate support minus Malcolm Roberts.
Amendments The Greens secured a deal to provide $50 million for the ABC to invest in local content, with a focus on children’s programming.
Summary Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime must commit at least 10 per cent of their local expenditure, or 7.5 per cent of total revenue, on Australian content.

Environment

Name of bill Environment Protection Reform; National Environmental Protection Agency; Environment Information Australia; Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Board of Management Functions); Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition); Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition); Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition); Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition)
Passed both houses October 28, November 27, with support of the Greens and the progressive cross bench.
Amendments The Greens amendments included ensuring fossil fuel actions are not fast-tracked, a revised definition of “unacceptable impacts”, retention of a “water trigger” for projects assessments, a stricter approach for the minister to make decisions based on the prescribed National Standards, and the removal of some exemptions for land clearing.
Summary Establishes the National Environmental Protection Agency as a statutory Commonwealth entity, as well as the statutory position of the head of Environment Information Australia; provides a framework for the minister to make, vary and revoke national environmental standards; streamlines assessment and approvals processes; enables a board for a Commonwealth reserve.

Attorney-General

Name of bill Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation)
Passed both houses November 3, with support of the Greens, the Coalition and the progressive cross bench.
Summary Separates the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and establishes the AER as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.

Name of bill Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism)
Passed both houses November 6
Summary Provides for a framework to list foreign state entities as state sponsors of terrorism and to respond to state-sponsored terrorist acts. It also enables control orders, preventative detention orders and post-sentence orders to be used in respect of state sponsors of terrorism and state terrorist acts.

Name of bill Strengthening Oversight of the National Intelligence Community
Passed both houses November 27
Summary Expands the jurisdictions of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) to include the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Home Affairs.

Social Services

Name of bill Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2)
Passed both houses November 26, with support of the Coalition and One Nation.
Promise “We won’t demonise people for needing support, but we’ll also make sure that we are achieving value for every dollar of taxpayer money spent.”
Summary Fixes past errors in income calculation for social security payments and validates past decisions on the use of income apportionment, introduces new rules for youth Disability Support Pension rates. Notably, Section 5 gives the home affairs minister and the police the power to revoke a person’s welfare benefits if they have an outstanding arrest warrant for a serious crime, even without a criminal charge or conviction.

Veterans’ Affairs

Name of bill Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 1)
Passed both houses November 27
Summary Technical amendments prior to the commencement of the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025.

This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on December 20, 2025 as "A low-hanging fruitful year".

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