Firms could be barred from federal work for up to 5 years
The federal government spends about $99 billion a year buying goods and services. Senator Barbara Pocock wants to shut out companies that have recently broken the law, treated workers badly or dodged tax.
Official name: Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Ban Unethical Contractors) Bill 2025
- Firms caught doing the wrong thing would be banned from federal government work for up to five years.
- Bad behaviour includes recent crimes or fines, a record of treating workers badly, and dodging tax.
- A public list of banned firms would go on the website of the Department of Finance, which looks after government spending.
- Banned firms could ask for the decision to be looked at again.
- It is a private bill from one senator, not from the government. It is still in the Senate, Parliament's second house.
Who it affects
- Companies that bid for government work (offer to do it for a price): They could be banned for up to five years if they behaved badly. In some cases, bad behaviour by their staff or linked companies could count too.
- Government departments that buy things: They would have to check a supplier's record and tell the Finance Minister about some decisions. That is the minister in charge of government spending.
- The Finance Minister: The minister would have to write the ban rules within three months, set up a way to challenge bans and run a public list.
- Taxpayers: They could see online which firms are banned and why.
No ban for bad contractors
The federal government buys a huge amount of stuff. It pays for computers, buildings, advisers, cleaning and much more. The senator's notes on the bill say this adds up to about $99 billion a year.
Right now Australia has no national system for banning bad firms from that work. The notes say at least 20 other places have one. These include Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The notes say two groups have called for one here. One is a club of rich countries that studies how governments work. Its name is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The other is the Australian Law Reform Commission, which advises on changing laws.
The bill was written because of the PwC tax leaks scandal. PwC is a big firm that gives business advice. Secret facts about tax plans from the Treasury, the government's money department, were used to win business.
PwC was never banned from bidding. It agreed with the Department of Finance to step aside for a while. Later it was let back in to bid. The notes say the government has no clear power to ban a firm in that position.
Who brought the bill
This is a private bill. That means one senator brought it, and the government did not write it.
Senator Barbara Pocock brought it into the Senate on 4 September 2025.
How the ban works
The bill changes the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. That law sets the main rules for how federal money is spent.
It lets the Finance Minister write the rules for buying. Public servants, the people who work for government, must follow these rules when they buy things. The rules are called the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. Procurement means the government buying things.
Under the bill, those rules would have to include a ban system. Any firm that has behaved badly must be kept out of federal work for up to five years. This covers firms that might bid and firms that have already put in a bid.
Government buyers would also have to look at the people and companies around a bidder. That covers its board members, senior bosses and staff. It also covers linked companies, such as a company that owns the bidder.
If one of those people or linked companies behaved badly, the buyer could choose to ban the bidder for up to five years. That ban is a choice. The ban for a firm's own bad behaviour is a must.
Say a cleaning company bids to clean a government office. That company was fined last year for underpaying staff. It would be shut out.
But say only one of its managers had broken the law. Then the department could decide whether to shut it out.
What counts as unethical
The bill gives four tests. A firm or person has behaved badly if any one of them is true.
The first is being found guilty of a crime in the last three years. Being ordered to pay a money punishment also counts. This covers any federal, state or territory law.
The second is a proven record of treating workers badly. The third is a proven record of dodging tax.
The fourth is anything else that harms, or is likely to harm, the honesty of the federal government. It also covers harm to public trust in the government.
The bill does not say who decides what is proven. That would be left to the rules the Finance Minister writes.
Public list of banned firms
The Finance Minister would have to keep a list of every firm banned from federal work. It would show how long each ban lasts.
The list would also show each time a department signed a deal with a firm even though its staff or a linked company had behaved badly.
The list must be put on the Department of Finance website.
There must be a way to fix wrong facts on the list. A person named on it must be able to ask for a fix about themselves.
Challenging a ban
The Finance Minister would have to set up a way for bans to be looked at again. A firm that is shut out could use it to challenge the decision.
The notes say this gives firms natural justice. That is the legal idea that people should get a fair hearing before a decision goes against them.
Deadlines for the minister
The minister would have three months from the start date to make three sets of rules. They would cover the ban system, the way to challenge bans, and the way to fix the list.
The minister could also make short-term rules to handle the change. Those rules could not create crimes or give powers to arrest or search. They could not set a tax or change the Act itself.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start the day after it was signed into law. The minister's rules would then start the day after the minister makes them.
Senator Pocock brought in the bill on 4 September 2025. She spoke on its main idea that day. It is still in the Senate.
To become law, the Senate would need to debate it and pass it. Then the House of Representatives would need to pass it too.
Private bills often wait a long time. Many never come to a vote.
Its journey through Parliament
| 04 Sep 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 04 Sep 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |