Policy and Law Reform Updates: April 2025

Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Policy and Law Reform Update April 2025

 

These policy and law reform updates are collated to ensure members are equipped for any changes that may impact the profession. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please contact us here. 

Key Legislative Changes  

Note that the following summary does not constitute legal advice and is intended only to provide general information to practitioners, drawn primarily from the amending legislation and explanatory materials accompanying its consideration by the ACT Legislative Assembly.     

Right to a healthy environment  

Amendments to the Human Rights Act 2004 to recognise a new human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment commenced on 17 March 2025. More information about this new right is available in factsheets from JACS and from the ACT Human Rights Commission. 

Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2025  

The Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 was presented in the ACT Legislative Assembly in March 2025 and forms part of the reforms to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) which were effected through the Justice (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Legislation Amendment Act 2023. From 1 July 2025, the MACR will be 14 years (with the rebuttable presumption retained only for 12 and 13 year olds who commit murder, sexual assault in the first degree, an act of indecency in the first degree, or intentionally inflict grievous bodily harm). 

The Bill in large part seeks to specify the circumstances when a police officer may exercise a power to stop, search or detain a person under 14 years old.    

Short-Term Rental Accommodation Levy Bill 2025  

The Short-Term Rental Accommodation Levy Bill 2025 was introduced in the ACT Legislative Assembly in March 2025. If passed, the bill will impose a levy on booking service providers who make, arrange or facilitate short-term rental accommodation bookings in the ACT. 

The levy will apply to short-term rental accommodation bookings of not more than 28 days with certain parameters, including: 

  

  • the booking was made, arranged or facilitated by a booking service; and 
  • the rental accommodation is a self-contained dwelling or building that can be used for accommodation (for example: houses, granny flats, apartments, caravans and any permanent or temporary structure such as a tent or yurt). 

 

Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Vaping Goods) Amendment Bill 2025 

The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Vaping Goods) Amendment Bill 2025 was presented in the ACT Legislative Assembly in March 2025 and seeks to remedy inconsistencies between national reforms made by the Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (TG Act) and the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1927 (TOSP Act) in relation to vaping goods. The inconsistency between the TG Act and the TOSP Act has created uncertainty in relation to the legal requirements that apply to the sale of vaping goods in the ACT. 

Court Listings of Civil Applications

The ACT Supreme Court has confirmed that a civil applications Judge will now be available every Friday. Practitioners are advised to be prepared to proceed when their application is returnable. For matters estimated to exceed two hours, parties should be ready to accommodate the listing date assigned by the Court. This new arrangement is designed to ensure efficient listing and case management. If you have any questions about the new arrangements, these should be directed to registry staff.

ACTLS Submissions  

Inquiry into the management of strata properties 

The ACT Law Society made a submission to the ACT inquiry into the management of strata properties on 7 March 2025. The submission outlined concerns about issues with conflicts of interest in the strata industry, which often lead to over-compensation and other adverse outcomes. The ACTLS submission is available at this link.  

Inquiry into insurance costs in the ACT 

The ACT Law Society made a submission to the Inquiry into insurance costs in the ACT on 14 March 2025. The submission outlined concerns about any changes to legislation resulting from the inquiry (for example the introduction of new caps or thresholds) potentially reducing the rights of workers and the availability of insurance in favour of reducing costs for small businesses. The ACTLS submission is available at this link.