Bill 23: Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2026
Bill Sponsor: Amery
Bill Type: Government Bills
Amendments: No
Money Bill: No
Documents Bill 23
First Reading
March 30, 2026 passed 1299
Second Reading
April 14, 2026 passed 1455-62
Committee of the Whole
April 15, 2026 passed 1492-98
Third Reading
April 16, 2026 passed on division 1520-24
Royal Assent
April 16, 2026 outside of House sitting
Comes into Force
April 16, 2026, with exceptions SA 2026, c4 5/3/2026 9:05 PM
AB Bill 23 — Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2026 Minister of Justice
WHO GAINS POWER
- Government gains new tools to block citizen initiatives — petitions can now be terminated during election periods with no ability to restart using the same signatures
- Election Commissioner gains authority to issue takedown directions for AI-generated deepfakes during elections, with daily fines for non-compliance
- Chief Electoral Officer gains new transparency obligations — must publish notices when petitions are submitted and notify parties before verification begins
- Scrutineers (lawyers appointed by proponents or the Minister) gain formal observation rights over petition verification and recall processes
WHO LOSES POWER
- Citizens lose the ability to run initiative petitions during the 12 months before an election, during an election, and the 12 months after — effectively a 2+ year blackout window around every election cycle
- Citizens lose the ability to continue a petition if an election is called mid-process — the old "pause and resume" mechanism is repealed entirely
- MLAs subject to recall gain scrutineer rights equal to the applicant — adding a government-side observer to what was previously a citizen-driven process
WHO GAINS MONEY
- No direct financial beneficiaries
WHO LOSES MONEY
- Proponents and members named in recall petitions must pay their own scrutineer costs
- Deepfake creators face fines up to $10,000/day (individuals) or $100,000/day (entities)
- Public sector salary disclosure threshold raised from ~$104,754 to $130,000 — fewer employees will be publicly disclosed going forward
THE CATCH
- ⚠️ The election blackout window for citizen initiatives can span more than 2 years — 12 months before + election period + 12 months after means a petition started at the wrong time is dead before it begins
- ⚠️ The "pause and resume" mechanism for petitions interrupted by elections is repealed — there is no replacement; if an election is called, the petition is gone
- ⚠️ The Minister gets a scrutineer at recall verification — government now has an observer inside a process designed to hold government accountable
- ⚠️ The public sector salary disclosure threshold is raised and indexed to wage settlements — not CPI, meaning it can rise faster and shield more salaries from public view over time
- ⚠️ Deepfake rules only apply during elections and only to named political figures — no broader application outside electoral periods