What are the main stages for a bill to become law in Australia?

A bill becomes law in Australia by passing through several formal stages in each House of Parliament and receiving royal assent from the Governor-General. The process applies similarly to government, private members', and money bills, with specific procedural variations.

The main stages in each House are first reading (the bill is introduced and given its short title), second reading (the principles and policy of the bill are debated and the House votes on whether to agree to the bill in principle), consideration in detail or committee of the whole (the bill is examined clause by clause and amendments can be moved), third reading (the final form of the bill is presented and the House votes definitively on whether to pass it), and transmission to the other House.

When the second House (usually the Senate for bills originating in the House of Representatives) considers the bill, it follows similar stages. The Senate can pass the bill unchanged, amend it, refer it to committee for inquiry, postpone or defer consideration, or reject it outright. If the Senate amends the bill, the amended version returns to the House of Representatives for agreement. Disagreements bounce back and forth as messages between the Houses until either agreement is reached or the bill is abandoned.

After both Houses have passed the bill in the same form, it is presented to the Governor-General for royal assent. The Governor-General almost invariably gives assent on the advice of the government, with the bill becoming an Act of Parliament from the date of assent or from a specified commencement date. Some Acts begin operation immediately, others wait for proclamation of a commencement date, and some commence in stages. The Federal Register of Legislation publishes the text of every federal Act. State parliaments follow similar processes for state laws, with the state Governor providing assent on the advice of the state government.