Andrew Leigh

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Stronger Charities, Stronger Communities
Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Governing For Good Forum

Online Address

Friday, 14 August 2026

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people where I am recording this and the Wurundjeri people where you are meeting, and pay respects to all First Nations people present, as well as the many charities that work to close the gap.

One of the best books I’ve read this year is Nicholas Epley’s A Little More Social, which argues that most of us would be happier and healthier if we connected with people more often. Drawing on decades of research in social psychology, he makes a powerful case that we should have more conversations with strangers and deeper chats with friends.

Some of that is about individual actions, but it’s also about institutions. A society with thriving charities is one that provides more chances for us to be a little more social. Community groups are essential to building community, and good governance in the charity sector helps the organisations that connect Australians remain effective, trusted and resilient.

Before turning to that topic, I want to thank Sue Woodward for your leadership of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, and for bringing us together for this year’s Governing for Good Forum.

I also acknowledge the members of the ACNC Advisory Board, chaired by Sarah Davies. I thank retiring members Myles McGregor-Lowndes, Rosina Loria, Anna Bacik and David Crosbie for their service over the past three years. I welcome new members Alice Macdougall, Ian Murray, Krystian Seibert and Rosy Walia. I congratulate Sarah Davies, Sara Harrup, Ian Hamm and Nick Maisey for their continuing contribution.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Melinda Tynan and Cameron Myers
Constituency Statement 

House of Representatives,
Parliament House, Canberra

Thursday, 13 August 2026

I rise today to recognise two outstanding constituents of Fenner.

Melinda Tynan is retiring after decades of public service. Melinda began her career in the New South Wales police force, where she worked directly with people experiencing domestic violence. She was the chief instigator of the first Australasian Women in Policing Conference, held in Sydney in 1996, which helped lead to the creation of the Australasian Council of Women and Policing. The council was incorporated in 1997; Melinda was a founding member and its secretary. In 1998 the ACT Attorney-General appointed her domestic violence project coordinator and an ex-officio member of the ACT Domestic Violence Prevention Council.

Her 2000 thesis, 'Fatal flaws', examined the policing of violence against women in Australia. She later brought that expertise into the Australian Public Service, working on women's safety and responses to trafficking, forced marriage and family violence. Her daughter, Ophelia, tells me that Melinda was also among the key advisers who helped develop Australia's first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. Ophelia described her mother to me as a giant in the field and said she was an extremely proud daughter. After a career spent making women and children safer, Melinda has given her plenty to be proud of.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Labor is the Party of Competition and Consumers
Matters of Public Importance

House of Representatives,
Parliament House, Canberra

Wednesday, 12 August 2026

Nine years of the former Coalition Government left Australia with too much market power and too little consumer power. I could not be happier than to be debating the Shadow Treasurer on this MPI about which side of this House stands up for consumers against the power of oversized corporations.

I will take the House back to what the situation was in 2022. When we came to office, competition and consumer penalties were too low. They were being treated by firms as a cost of doing business. The maximum dollar penalty was $10 million, a 10th of what that figure is today. When we came to office, the former government had left payday lending reforms on the shelf. They'd accepted recommendations from a review back in 2016 and released exposure draft legislation the next year, but by 2022 they hadn't done a thing on payday lending reforms.

The former government fought the Banking Royal Commission for ages. Throughout 2016 and most of 2017 they were fighting the Banking Royal Commission, and they only agreed to have the Banking Royal Commission when the banks themselves called for it. It was the four major banks that called for a Banking Royal Commission before the then Coalition Government. Of course, that Banking Royal Commission found widespread misconduct across banking, insurance and financial advice, making 76 recommendations.

Under the former government we saw buy now, pay later explode outside credit regulations. Providers didn't need a credit licence or to comply with responsible banking obligations. Under the Coalition it was buy now, regulate later. They didn't stand up for consumers.

Under the former government, when we came to office, unfair contract terms were legal. Courts could declare them invalid, but there was no offence on a firm that put an unfair contract term in a standard form contract, and that meant small business was getting hurt.

The Hon Clare O’Neil MP
Minister for Housing
Minister for Homelessness
Minister for Cities

The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Social Services

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Alicia Payne MP
Member for Canberra

David Smith MP
Member for Bean

Caitlin Tough MLA
ACT Minister for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence
Member for Brindabella

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
YARRALUMLA, ACT
WEDNESDAY, 12 AUGUST 2026 

SUBJECTS: $300 million investment in crisis accommodation; family and domestic violence crisis; 1.2 million housing target; 2026 Census

ALICIA PAYNE: Today we are announcing that there will be 19 new crisis accommodation homes across the ACT as part of a national investment into crisis accommodation, including around $16 million for the ACT. 

This is just one of the things that we are doing across the board to ensure that Australians have access to the housing that they need, and this is a really important part of it, and I know one that Canberrans will be very pleased to hear about. So I'll hand over to Minister O'Neil. 

CLARE O'NEIL: Actually, when we're going to hear from our ACT colleague first, so Andrew and David, do you want to say a few words? 

ANDREW LEIGH: If we're going to end domestic and family violence, then blokes need to step up. We need to step up and speak out against domestic and family violence, and we also need to support important initiatives like this one: 448 dwellings across the country providing safe, secure places for women and children facing domestic and family violence to go in their moment of peril. 

DAVID SMITH: This is a great announcement today that recognises that FDR happens everywhere right across the country and our responses need to reflect that. So in today's announcement we're providing housing right across the ACT, including my electorate of Bean. 

CLARE O'NEIL: I'll go, Caitlin, and then we'll go to you, and then to you. 

Okay. Good morning, everyone, and I'm really pleased to be with you here today, and I acknowledge my fantastic colleagues behind me who are joining the fight against the crisis of domestic violence that affects us right across Australia. 

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO PERTH, DRIVE WITH OLIVER PETERSON
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: 2026 Census 

OLIVER PETERSON: Don't forget the actual Census is also due tonight. The survey is obviously an important opportunity for the government to know what it needs to know about all of us. And to tell us more, I'm joined by federal MP Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury. Dr Leigh, welcome back to Drive.

ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks Oliver, great to be with you.

OLIVER PETERSON: Just remind us about how we can do that Census if we haven't done it already?

ANDREW LEIGH: So, you should have received a form in the mail which will have a code on it. You go to census.abs.gov.au, and you can fill in your Census online. That's how the ABS expects 85 per cent of Australians to fill in the Census. If you need a paper form, then there's information on that website about how to order a paper form, and there's also large print and braille forms that are available.

This is one of the biggest peacetime logistics operations that the Australian Government does. So, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has been engaging extensively with prisons, with aged care homes, hotels and motels, with the homeless population in order to make sure that we get the most accurate count of the country tonight. That means we're able to better target government services, organise the fair distribution of GST, figure out where to put a new health centre, or help businesses or non-profits work out how to allocate their resources.

OLIVER PETERSON: So it's about allocating those resources, is it, Dr Leigh? That's what the data specifically does and is collected to really help the government do its job?

ANDREW LEIGH: The government – and business and non-profit communities as well. Sometimes it's about communities wanting to know their own story. So really, in filling out the Census, you're not only helping your own household, you're also helping your neighbours. If a council is figuring out where to put a local bus route, then they'll often rely on the Census. And if we need a population count, well, the Census is perfect for that in a way that a sample survey just isn't.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics runs a range of surveys from time to time. But for knowing about localised population data, nothing beats a Census.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING, WITH PATRICIA KARVELAS
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: 2026 Census

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Tonight is Census night, and if you don’t know what that is, it’s something the Australian Bureau of Statistics does every five years to count every person and every household in Australia. It’s actually a huge thing to do. Technically, it’s called the Census of Population and Housing. It gives the ABS a snapshot of Australia on a particular night. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister responsible for the Census. He joins us. Welcome!

ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks Patricia, happy Census Day!

PATRICIA KARVELAS: It is exciting, I will admit that. You’re an economist. Why is the Census important?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, tonight’s the night where we count the country and get those nation-building numbers. This will determine the flows of GST to states and territories, where we put centres for dealing with people with long-term health conditions. It’ll shape where new schools are located, where bus routes are placed and it’s important too for businesses who might be looking as to whether to open a new store, or for non-profits who are looking as to where to provide services to vulnerable communities.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: What are the new questions that are in this Census that you think are particularly interesting or exciting tonight in terms of capturing new data?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, this year, in common with a range of other countries such as Canada, we’re including questions on gender and sexual identity. They’re questions asked only of people over 16 and there’s a ‘prefer not to answer’ option. These are questions that the LGBTQ+ community has been calling for, for decades, and which are important for providing better targeted services to that vulnerable population.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Okay, so that’s the biggest change?

ANDREW LEIGH: That’s the most significant change. It’s a new topic that’s been added, with questions drafted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO ILLAWARRA, MORNINGS WITH NICK RHEINBERGER
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: 2026 Census

NICK RHEINBERGER: Well, it is Census night in Australia. You can fill out the Census beforehand. You don't have to do it this evening and sit around the table as long as you know exactly who's going to be in your house as of tonight. Do you have issues with filling it out? We certainly know that in 2026 there's a lot of distrust of certain government programs. Well, we're going to try and ease your mind a little bit with Dr Andrew Leigh, Member for Fenner, which covers Wreck Bay, and he's with us now here at ABC Illawarra. He is also the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury here at ABC Illawarra. Andrew Leigh, g'day!

ANDREW LEIGH: G'day Nick, how are you?

NICK RHEINBERGER: Not too bad. Look, it's fair to say a lot of people would remember 10 years ago where the Census essentially overloaded itself and didn't work on the night. How robust are the government IT systems this year?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yes, the federal government learned a lot from that Census disaster in 2016. And now the Australian Bureau of Statistics engages much more closely with our cyber security agencies. It's been an extensive topic of my discussions with the Bureau of Statistics over recent months in the lead-up to the Census. The Census has worked extensively, stress testing its systems and working to combat those cyber threats. They're more severe than ever, and so it is a real risk but the Australian Bureau of Statistics has done all they can in order to deal with the cyber security dangers.

NICK RHEINBERGER: How do you stress test something which is going to potentially get 10 million people online tonight?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
4CA RADIO CAIRNS, BREAKFAST WITH MURRAY JONES
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: 2026 Census

MURRAY JONES: Let's talk to the Assistant Minister responsible for the Census. Andrew Leigh joins me this morning. Good morning Andrew, how are you today?

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Murray, great to be with you.

MURRAY JONES: Thank you for your time. I'm sure you're a busy lad today. You've got a bit on the plate, hey?

ANDREW LEIGH: Absolutely. Census day is an exciting moment for anyone close to it and I've been working with the Australian Bureau of Statistics over the last couple of years as they've done the planning leading up to our five-yearly Census. A really important chance to get a snapshot of us as a nation. It informs health policy, it ensures that states get their fair share of GST funding, sorts out where the federal electorate boundaries might be redrawn and allows us to look at things like long-term health conditions and infrastructure. So, it really is an important Census to fill out, not just for your own household, but for the good of your whole community.

MURRAY JONES: And look, you know, the fact that it's gone online has made it a lot easier for people actually doing the Census. But I should imagine, you know, for the ABS, of course, getting all this information, collating it, doing it online is certainly a good way, but maybe not for everyone, though?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO SYDNEY, MORNINGS WITH HAMISH MCDONALD
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: 2026 Census; migration; gambling reform

HAMISH MCDONALD: Andrew Leigh is the federal Assistant Minister responsible for the Census. Good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Hamish, great to be with you.

HAMISH MCDONALD: More than three and a half million households have already done a form for this year. There’s still another seven million, I think, that have to complete it tonight. Tell us about how the logistics of this works? Because it’s described as the largest peacetime logistics operation that any government engages in?

ANDREW LEIGH: It really is huge, Hamish. For many of us, we’ll just be doing it online and not interacting in person. But there’s 30,000 Census workers out there focusing principally on vulnerable populations and hard-to-reach populations. So, they’ll be contacting people who are homeless, people in prisons, people in aged care centres, in remote communities. And the Australian Bureau of Statistics has been doing this since 1911 so it has a huge amount of experience about how to get as many people as possible. And of course, their goal is a response rate of 100 per cent.

HAMISH MCDONALD: And so should we be expecting doorknocks?

ANDREW LEIGH: Look, if somebody has responded using a paper form in the past, then the ABS knows that and they’re reaching out to those people. There’s large print and braille forms that they’re sending out, but for most people they will have just received that standard Census form in the mail and they’ll be logging on to do their Census online. If you know where you’re going to be tonight, you can do it right now. As you said, three and a half million people have already done that. And if you’re completely unable to do it tonight, of course you can do it tomorrow and just fill in the details for Tuesday night.