The Australian Capital Territory has set an important national precedent, with the passage of independent MP Thomas Emerson's Public Sector (Closing the Gap) Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.

The Bill, debated in the ACT Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, was passed with minor amendments required for Labor's support.

Loud applause erupted in the Legislative Assembly as the bill passed.

The bill makes the ACT the first state or territory to legislate its commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap by embedding the provisions of the agreement in the laws that govern the responsibilities and reporting obligations of the public sector.

The Member for Kurrajong, Mr Emerson said the government amendments were developed in close consultation with his office and the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, and would help ensure his bill achieved its objective of significantly increasing action and accountability in relation to the ACT Government's Closing the Gap commitments.

"For too long, Closing the Gap initiatives have been treated like optional extras," Mr Emerson said on Monday.

"This bill will transform our Closing the Gap commitments into core government business.

"We've been talking about Closing the Gap for 20 years, and I believe the ACT can be the first state or territory to actually do it. Yet two years after we stood alone in voting 'Yes' in the Voice to Parliament referendum, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our community continue to experience significant entrenched disadvantage."

The ABC reports that the Chair of the ACT's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, Maurice Walker, said he and the other members of the elected body were ecstatic to see the bill passed.

"[It's the culmination of] a lot of work from not only parliamentarians but also our Aboriginal community," he said.

"We just need to make sure that this bill is one of those instruments that the community and the government take seriously, and more importantly the public service.

"We've had many decades of failed attempts to get programs and services right, and now this bill is about making sure that we get action from our public servants."

Mr Emerson noted "we're nowhere near on track to meet our targets nationally, and here in the ACT the gap has been widening in multiple critical areas including child developmental vulnerability, youth detention and adult incarceration".

"Systemic reform was promised five years ago when the ACT Government signed the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, but the work hasn't been done to deliver on that promise," he said.

"The passage of this bill will mobilise the public sector from the top down to start delivering on the Government's Closing the Gap commitments."

Mr Emerson thanked Minister for the Public Service Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA, and their offices for their collaborative engagement on the bill.

The independent MLA introduced the private member's bill in June 2025. It gives effect to two key recommendations made by the Productivity Commission in its damning February 2024 review of progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Region news service reports ACT Minister Stephen-Smith said embedding Closing the Gap principles into the ACT Public Service "will ensure accountability and transparency in delivering better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples".

"The ACT is a progressive community that delivered the strongest 'Yes' vote in the Voice referendum. Our Public Service reflects these values and is committed to advancing the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples," she said.

"While good work is already underway to improve cultural capability, we know that dismantling institutional racism requires structural change. This bill is an important step forward in that journey."

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he is proud the ACT is leading the way.

"The ACT will be the first jurisdiction to require individual public servants to proactively demonstrate the way that they are transforming government institutions to deliver on the commitment to implement the national agreement," he said, the ABC reports.

In August, 38 community leaders, including two former ACT Chief Ministers, signed an open letter calling for the bill to pass.

In October, an Assembly Committee recommended that the bill pass with three amendments: that only senior public servants and statutory office holders be bound by the new closing the gap principle, that the provisions in the bill commence on 1 July 2026 to allow time to prepare for its requirements, and that a post-implementation review be undertaken after commencement.

During the inquiry, the head of the ACT Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Kamilaroi/Gomeroi man Brendan Moyle, disclosed that his current workplace was the least culturally safe workplace he had ever encountered.

The government amendments to Mr Emerson's bill give effect to the Committee's recommendations, as well as making minor technical changes that clarify the nature of the obligations imposed on public servants and government agencies under the legislation.

The amended bill inserts into the Public Sector Management Act 1994 a new 'closing the gap principle' that all Senior Executive Service (SES) members and statutory office holders will be bound by. The principle requires them to:

- Implement the provisions of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap that relate to transformation or governance of government agencies, including by: Continually developing and demonstrating their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural capability; Continually developing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural capability of their administrative unit; Promoting cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and Working to eliminate institutional racism in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

- For other provisions of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap that relate to the individual's job: Implement those provisions of the agreement; or Provide advice to their Minister about implementing those provisions of the agreement.

The bill also amends the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act 2004, introducing clear reporting requirements in relation to progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

All public sector entities will be required to report annually on the measures they've taken to implement the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, including to implement the four priority reforms laid out in the agreement and to respond to any recommendations made in reviews of the agreement.

The reporting format must be developed in consultation with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body.

It's expected that the provisions of the bill will begin on 1 July, 2026.