Peaceful protest would become a legal right
A bill in the Senate would write a right to peaceful protest into federal law. State and territory laws that limit protest more than needed would stop working.
Official name: Right to Protest Bill 2025
- The bill says every person has the right to protest peacefully in a public place.
- Governments could only limit that right when it is truly needed for safety, order, health, security or other people's rights.
- Very harsh fines or long jail terms for protesting would count as an unfair limit.
- State and territory laws that clash with the right would have no effect.
Who it affects
- People who protest: They would have a federal legal right to protest peacefully in public, including protests that cause disruption.
- State and territory governments: Parts of their protest laws could stop working if they limit protest more than the bill allows.
- Police: The rules they use against protesters would need to be needed and fit a real risk of harm.
- Courts: Judges would have to decide if a protest law goes too far and clashes with this bill.
No general right to protest
Australia has no law that spells out a general right to protest. Senator David Shoebridge brought this bill to the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, on 13 February 2025 to change that. It is a private bill. That means it comes from a member of Parliament who is not a minister.
In 1966 Australia signed a world treaty. A treaty is a deal between countries. This one is called the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Its articles 19, 21 and 22 protect free speech and peaceful gathering. They also protect joining groups such as trade unions. The bill says it puts those promises into Australian law.
The senator's written notes on the bill say states and territories have passed many laws that limit protest. They say these laws put nature and social justice groups at risk of being charged for peaceful protest.
The notes also say Australia's treaty promises do not allow protest to be limited just to protect business. They also do not allow it to be limited to shield a government from criticism.
The new right to protest
The heart of the bill is one short rule. A person has the right to take part in peaceful protest in a public place.
Protest is given a wide meaning. It includes actions that are political. It also includes actions that cause disruption, or try to.
A public place is also wide. It covers anywhere the public can go by right, such as a street or a park. It also covers places open to the public for the time being. This holds even if you must pay to get in, or need the owner's yes.
Say a group of parents holds a peaceful rally outside a shopping centre about a school closing. Under the bill, that rally would be a protected protest. This holds even if it slows down people walking past.
When the right is limited
The right has limits. It can only be limited when that is truly needed in a free and fair society, for certain reasons.
The reasons are national security, public safety, public order and public health. Protecting the rights and freedoms of other people is also a reason.
A limit only counts as needed if it aims to deal with a serious risk of harm linked to one of those reasons. It must also fit that goal well.
The bill also deals with punishments. A punishment that goes too far is always an unneeded limit. A very long jail term or a very large fine are examples. That is true even when the rule being broken was itself fair.
State and territory laws
Any federal, state or territory law that clashes with the right would have no effect, as far as it clashes. This covers laws already in place and laws passed later.
Laws that can work side by side with the right would keep working. So a law that only blocks a road for a real safety risk could stay. A law that jails people for years over a peaceful sit-in could be knocked out.
Australia's Constitution is the country's founding rule book. Under it, a valid federal law wins over a state law when the two clash. That is why a federal right could switch off parts of state laws.
Where the power comes from
The federal government can only make laws on topics the Constitution allows. The bill mainly relies on the external affairs power. That power lets the federal government make laws to carry out treaties Australia has signed.
As a backup, the bill would still work in smaller ways if a court found the main power did not reach far enough. It would still cover protests in a territory. It would cover protests on federal land, such as airports or defence sites. It would cover protests that use phone, internet or broadcast services.
The High Court, Australia's top court, has said the Constitution already protects some political talk. This is called the implied freedom of political communication. The bill says it does not apply where it would clash with that freedom.
Governments themselves would have to obey the bill. It also reaches Australia's outer territories, the small offshore lands Australia runs, such as Norfolk Island and Christmas Island.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start the day after it became law.
Senator Shoebridge brought the bill into the Senate on 13 February 2025. It ran out of time when the last Parliament ended on 21 July 2025. It was put back on the Senate's to-do list on 23 July 2025.
The debate on its main idea began on 27 August 2025. The bill is still before the Senate. To become law, it must pass a Senate vote, then pass the House of Representatives, the lower house. Then the Governor-General must sign it. The Governor-General stands in for the King.
Its journey through Parliament
| 13 Feb 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 13 Feb 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 21 Jul 2025 | Senate: Lapsed at end of Parliament |
| 23 Jul 2025 | Senate: Restored to Notice Paper |
| 27 Aug 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 27 Aug 2025 | Senate: Second reading debate |