Andrew Leigh

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
MURAL HALL, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
MONDAY, 10 AUGUST 2026 

SUBJECTS: 2026 Census

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning everyone. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and the Assistant Minister responsible for the Australian Census. Tomorrow is Census Day, and the government is urging all Australians to fill in their Census. Collecting data through the Census is an important way in which you help not only your own household but also your community. The Census is used by the Australian Government, by state and territory governments and by local councils in order to allocate resources. 

We use the Census for figuring out where to put bus routes and where to deploy new infrastructure. Businesses use the Census in figuring out where to open new stores, and community groups use the Census in seeking to better understand their local neighbourhoods. So filling out the Census is a generous act to those around you. We'd urge all Australians to take part.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ target Census completion rate is 100 per cent. They've been working hard across Australia with a network of some 30,000 Census officers aiming to increase response rates. In the last Census, 80 per cent of Australians filled out the Census online. In this Census, the ABS is anticipating 85 per cent filling out the Census online. If people need more information, they can go to census.gov.au to get more information or phone the helpline, 1800 181 227. 

The ABS is familiar with many of the challenges that emerge. Working with prisons, with aged care centres, with people with disability – they've been distributing forms that are in large print and with braille. They understand the challenge of collecting data from the homeless population and the importance of getting the Census right so our national snapshot, conducted every five years, is as good a portrait of Australia as we can get. Happy to take questions.

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
MURAL HALL, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
FRIDAY, 7 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: ACCC to probe allegations of food mislabelling; bird flu; fuel; gambling reform; immigration

ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks very much for coming everyone. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Competition. When Australians walk into a supermarket, they should have the confidence of knowing that the claims on the shelf are true. That means if they're paying a premium for a product that's made in Australia or made according to certain conditions, then they should be confident that those claims are accurate. 

Over the last couple of weeks, we've seen some concerning allegations aired on Four Corners suggesting that some of the products in Australia's supermarkets are not being accurately represented. I'm pleased today that the ACCC has announced that it will inquire into those allegations.

The ACCC is an effective enforcer, which has been given additional resources by the Albanese Government. No Australian Government has been more passionate about improving the quality of our consumer laws. We've increased penalties for anti-consumer conduct. We've banned unfair trading practices. We've taken action against shrinkflation. We've cracked down on supermarket price gouging. The ACCC’s inquiry continues a range of actions that the ACCC has taken against misleading statements around food in recent years. That's included actions in which the ACCC has managed to secure infringement notices or penalties against misleading statements to do with the country of origin of fish, the country of origin of lobster, whether milk was fresh, and also whether eggs were free range. 

The ACCC has shown a strong willingness to enforce Australia's consumer laws in the interest of Australian consumers. Australians shouldn't be duped by misleading labels. Australians should be able to walk into a store and know that what it says on the tin is accurate. I commend the ACCC in taking this important action. I’m happy to take questions.

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

Food Labels Must Tell The Truth 

Friday, 7 August 2026

The Albanese Government welcomes confirmation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that they are probing the concerning allegations of food mislabelling raised by the ABC’s Four Corners program. 
Australians deserve confidence that the products they purchase are accurately advertised and that they are getting exactly what they pay for. These allegations have understandably caused considerable concern.

Whether a product is marketed as Australian-grown, cage-free, or made from particular ingredients, consumers have a right to expect the label tells the truth. When people pay a premium based on those claims and do not get what they paid for, they are being ripped off.

These allegations are not just about consumers. They are also about fairness for Australian farmers, producers and businesses that do the right thing. Honest businesses should be rewarded for competing on quality and integrity, not undercut by those making claims that are misleading or false.

At a time when cost of living pressures remain significant, every dollar counts. Australians should be able to shop with confidence, knowing claims about where food comes from, how it is produced and what it contains can be trusted. 

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

Make it count on Tuesday

Published in The Daily Telegraph

7 August 2026

Next Tuesday, Australia will do something both impressively ambitious and remarkably detailed: counting everyone.

That includes people in city apartments and remote communities. It includes workers on offshore oil rigs and passengers aboard cruise ships in Australian waters. It is a vast national undertaking, built one answer at a time.
People have been organising censuses for nearly 6,000 years. Some of the earliest known censuses were carried out in ancient Mesopotamia around 3800BC, counting people, livestock and food supplies. Next Tuesday's Census is mercifully less interested in your goats.

Australia's first national Census took place in 1911. Field officers travelled by foot, horse, cart and bicycle to collect the forms, before every result was tabulated by hand.

This year, for the first time, Australians have been able to subscribe through myGov to receive Census updates and access the online form.

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
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes

OLIVER PETERSON: Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and he joins me live on drive. Dr Leigh, good afternoon.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon Oliver, great to be with you.

OLIVER PETERSON: Right now, states are responsible for this and each have their own rules. Why is the federal government getting involved?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, there's two stages at which we need to crack down on these dodgy e-bikes. The first is that the Transport Ministers, led by Minister Catherine King, got together and agreed to a set of standards about what can be ridden. And now the Consumer Ministers are getting together and we've agreed on a set of standards about what can be sold.

That means that from next year, the ACCC will have set a safety standard that will regulate things like how fast the bike can go, how much power it can have and ensuring it can't be modified. E-bikes are a great boon in terms of mobility, but these super-powered bikes are a risk to their own riders and to pedestrians around them.

OLIVER PETERSON: Have you ridden one yourself, Andrew?

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2GB, SYDNEY NOW WITH CLINTON MAYNARD
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes

CLINTON MAYNARD: I want to speak with the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Andrew Leigh. Andrew has announced a range of measures at a federal level to start tackling this problem. Hi Andrew.

ANDREW LEIGH: G'day Clinton, great to be with you.

CLINTON MAYNARD: So, what are you proposing?

ANDREW LEIGH: So we've asked the competition watchdog, the ACCC, to develop a mandatory safety standard that will determine what kind of bikes can be sold. The Transport Ministers have already agreed to set standards on what can be ridden. This sets standards on what can be sold and cracks down on exactly the problem that you've talked about. 

E-bikes can be really useful for getting around and taking some of the pressure off the roads. But what we don't want is to see these unsafe, overpowered bikes out on the road. Some of them are being sold so they can be modified, and setting a clear standard that takes into account modification, I think, is going to be important.

CLINTON MAYNARD: Okay. Now that's a crucial point there you raised there, Andrew. So in NSW, the law is at 25 kilometres an hour the electric motor is supposed to completely cut out. So if you're going down a hill, you're going to exceed that. But you shouldn't be under electric power over 25. That's on the road. But if you're off the road, you can go faster than that. And that's where a lot of these bikes are being overridden with the software. How do you stop that?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, some of the bikes that comply with the international standard, which prevents modification, will do a factory reset if they detect an attempt to modify. Other ones will go further than that, they will actually slow down the assist to just 6 kilometres an hour.

CLINTON MAYNARD: But if you can legally use a bike off-road, so not on a public road and it can go above that 25 kilometres an hour, does that mean it can then be brought into the country and legally sold?

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO SYDNEY, DRIVE WITH THOMAS ORITI
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026 

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes

THOMAS ORITI: Dr Andrew Leigh is Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, who is with us now. Good afternoon.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon Thomas, great to be with you.

THOMAS ORITI: Thank you for joining us. I mean, this is usually the responsibilities of the states and a story we've been covering for quite some time. In fact, I hazarded a guess, when we look at all of the issues we've been chatting about this year on Drive, e-bikes would be up there in terms of the passionate response from our audience. Why is the federal government getting involved now?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, consumer affairs is a compact between the Commonwealth and the states and territories, which is why in Darwin last week when Consumer Ministers met, we agreed to work together on setting a national standard for e-bikes. The Transport Ministers, led by Minister Catherine King, have already put in place an international standard which sets limits on speeds and power, as you referred to before. Now, from a consumer side, we're focusing on what can be sold. That regulation happens through the federal regulator – the ACCC, which will set the standard and then work to enforce it and also through all the state and territory fair trading bodies.

THOMAS ORITI: Okay that's looking at what will be sold. So, obviously maximum speeds, that kind of thing. But isn't the issue with e-bikes, particularly in Sydney, we keep hearing that what's being sold is not what's on the road? People are tweaking the speeds. They're fiddling with the motors and making them faster than they should be. These changes won't necessarily target that, will they?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, that work on enforcement of what's being ridden is ongoing already. So, the Transport Ministers have agreed to move to an international benchmark, EN 15194, which is a standard that has to do with speed, with power and also with the ability to modify. 
So, some of these bikes have rules - if you comply with the international standard, it means that if anyone attempts to modify the bike, then it immediately reverts to the factory setting. Indeed, in some cases they will revert to a go-slow mode, and so you can't get power assist beyond 6 kilometres an hour. Almost a punishment for attempting to modify the bike. We're also looking at things like what happens to modification kits and whether they should be banned as part of this reform.

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO ADELAIDE, BREAKFAST WITH JULES SCHILLER AND RORY MCLAREN
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes; 2026 Census

JULES SCHILLER: Let’s talk e-bikes and e-scooter regulations. We’ve talked a lot about state level regulations but the federal government is also getting involved as well Rory.

RORY MCLAREN: You’re joined now by Andrew Leigh. He’s the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh, welcome.

ANDREW LEIGH: G'day, Jules. G'day, Rory. A hard act to follow there coming off the back of Jimmy Barnes.

JULES SCHILLER: And corned beef! That's right.

ANDREW LEIGH: Absolutely!

RORY MCLAREN: What are you looking to do as a federal government in this space and what move will happen and how quickly will it be in place?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, plenty of Australians have gotten the benefits of e-bikes and are out there on the streets keeping themselves fit and reducing congestion. But we're also seeing this rise in these high-powered, unsafe e-bikes. And so what the federal government's announced today is that we will task the competition watchdog, the ACCC, to develop a national safety standard and that will ensure that people aren't able to sell these overpowered, easily modified bikes, keep Australians safer, but also have the benefits of getting e-bikes out on the road.

The Hon Catherine King MP
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

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

Stronger Product Safety Standards For E-Bikes

Thursday, 6 August 2026

The Albanese Government is continuing to crack down on the sale of unsafe e-bikes to protect consumers and the community. 

To further strengthen consumer safety, the Government has directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to develop a new nationally consistent safety standard under the Australian Consumer Law. 

This safety standard will ensure there is consistency in every state and territory when it comes to what battery-powered devices can be sold.

This will apply to e-bikes and e-micromobility devices, including e-scooters and e-skateboards, drawing a firm line against high-powered, high-speed devices linked to serious injuries and deaths, including children.

This work builds on decisions taken by Australian Transport Ministers to adopt international standard EN-15194 as the standard guidance for sellers and consumers on what bikes are appropriate for use on Australia roads.

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

What Australian Aid Makes Possible

ACFID State of the Sector Report 2026 Launch,
Online Address

Thursday, 6 August 2026

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet, and pay my respects to Elders past and present. I extend that respect to all First Nations people here today.

On the cover of this report are Kilu and Oneidah from Boboe Island in Solomon Islands, harvesting sea grapes.

Sea grapes are a traditional food and an important source of livelihood. In Western Province, four communities have launched a women-led enterprise producing body lotion and soap from sustainably harvested sea grapes. The work draws on traditional practices and helps conserve a food source under pressure from a changing climate. It also creates new sources of income.

The project is supported through Climate Resilient by Nature, an Australian Government initiative delivered in partnership with WWF-Australia.

That cover image captures much of what good development looks like. Local knowledge shapes the work. A trusted partnership supplies support. Environmental care and economic opportunity advance together.

The photograph shows people at work. The pages that follow give us the evidence behind that work.

Good sector data helps organisations see changes and lets funders test assumptions. It also gives the public a clearer view of how the sector uses trust and expertise. This report performs each of those functions.

I am delighted to launch the ACFID State of the Sector Report 2026.

Thank you to ACFID and Monash University, and to Karinda Flavell, Raewyn Lans, Aditri Saikia, Emily Moreton, Samanthi Gunawardana and Sara Niner, with support from Terence Wood. Thank you also to the organisations that contributed data and case studies. A report of this scale depends on a sector willing to examine itself closely and share what it finds.