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Parliamentary Education Office, 2008. Please visit the Image Library page for important information about use of images.

Description

This diagram illustrates the path of a bill through the federal parliament to become Australian law.

A bill is a proposed law. When a bill is in the House of Representatives it goes through the following mandatory steps:

• first reading: the bill is introduced
• second reading: the bill is debated
• third reading: the bill is agreed.

When a bill is in the Senate, it goes through the following mandatory steps:

• first reading: the bill is introduced
• second reading: the bill is debated
• third reading: the bill is agreed.

Following this the bill receives royal assent, which means approval by the Governor-General.

The bill becomes an Act of Parliament, which is a law.