Bill for Australian CDC Passes Parliament With Mandatory Climate-Health Reporting

The new CDC will face climate-health reporting obligations and must include disability and Indigenous representation on its board.

A woman closes her eyes while receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice in the Balgowlah suburb of Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 10, 2022. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 has passed the parliament, with Greens-backed amendments requiring annual reporting on the health impacts of climate change.

The local CDC is due to commence from January 2026 as a statutory agency within the Health Minister’s portfolio, and will report directly to parliament.

Under changes negotiated in the Senate, the Director General’s annual report will now need to include the effects of climate change on Australians’ health, including comparisons over time. The report will also cover Australia’s pandemic preparedness.

A further amendment requires that the Australian Centre for Disease Control board appoint one member with a disability with appropriate qualifications.

“The Minister must ensure that at least one appointed member is a person with a disability who has expertise, qualifications, or experience in the health needs of people with disability,” the schedule of the amendments made by the Senate states.

Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, who moved the changes, said the package strengthened the CDC’s governance.

“These amendments substantially strengthen the Centre for Disease Control,” he told the senate.

“Critically, they will ensure that there is, now and forever, a permanent disabled representative on the advisory council.”

The final text (pdf) also requires the Minister to ensure at least one appointed member is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

“At least one member must be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person and must have expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, supporting our commitment to closing the gap,” Labor Minister Jennifer McAllister told the senate.

The Bill passed the Australian Senate on Nov. 5, with 35 in favour and 22 against. The House of Representatives agreed to the amendments the following day, 99 votes to 37.

Concerns Over Limited Debate

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts criticised the legislation, calling it “dangerous.”

“This is significant legislation, and I'll go so far as to say that it’s the worst legislation I’ve seen in nine years in the Senate,” he said.

Nationals Whip in the Senate, Matt Canavan, also raised concerns that Australia had not learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made his remarks during general Senate business as he said he was “denied the opportunity to speak on the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025.”

“I heard the minister say that the CDC bill was needed as a response to the lessons of the coronavirus pandemic,” Canavan said.

“That surprised me because we haven’t really learnt the lessons from the pandemic, because we’ve never had a royal commission.

“We’ve never had a proper inquiry into what happened during COVID, despite all of the businesses that were shut and ultimately lost. There were people who lost their jobs and who were traumatised.”

Independent Senator for the ACT, David Pocock, welcomed the CDC but objected to curtailed debate.

“I simply do not see the need to constrain debate like this,” he said.

CDC Will Be Reviewed Independently in 2028

Labor Minister Jennifer McAllister described the legislation as significant and said the initial priorities of the CDC would focus on communicable diseases, pandemic preparedness, and capabilities in environmental health and occupational respiratory diseases.

Eventually, it will expand into chronic conditions following an independent review of the CDC’s funding and operations in 2028.

“That review will assess the Australian CDC’s effectiveness in delivering on its initial priorities and help inform a staged widening of its remit over time,” McAllister said in parliament (pdf).

“Our expectation is that the CDC will consult widely with public health experts, with clinicians, with academics and, importantly, with communities.”

The Public Health Association Australia said they were delighted that legislation to create an Australian Centre for Disease Control passed the Senate.

“This is a moment for the public health history books, and is a testament to the tenacity of countless people who’ve toiled for decades to achieve this,” Public Health Association of Australia CEO Terry Slevin said.