Peter Slipper will find it much more difficult to overcome the sexual harassment claims that have engulfed his office because of a Labor government law change that reverses the onus of proof, according to the Coalition.
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The government removed the presumption of innocence in cases of this kind and replaced it with a ''presumption of guilt'', shadow attorney-general George Brandis said yesterday.
In addition, Mr Slipper is expected to face a rare motion of no confidence if he returns to the House before the civil claim is settled.
A male staff member has brought the civil action, claiming he was sexually harassed.
It will go before a federal court in Sydney next month.
He also alleged Mr Slipper signed several Cabcharge vouchers that were later filled out by a limousine driver.
Mr Slipper denied all the allegations and said he would return to the chair after he was cleared of the criminal allegations of fraud, even if the civil action was still pending.
Senator Brandis suggested Labor's changes to the Fair Work Act were coming back to haunt the government.
''What this means is that far from enjoying the presumption of innocence, as a result of Section 361 of the Fair Work Act, there is a presumption against Slipper,'' he said.
''Those Labor politicians including the Prime Minister [Julia Gillard] and the Attorney-General [Nicola Roxon] who say Slipper is entitled to presumption of innocence are ignoring the fact that they themselves removed the presumption of innocence in cases of this kind and replaced it with a presumption of guilt.''
Key independent Andrew Wilkie said Mr Slipper must continue to stand aside from the Speaker's chair until all allegations were cleared because the position was subject to a higher standard than other members of parliament.
''No man or woman should sit in that chair while there is any allegation against them,'' Mr Wilkie said.
''It's troubling that some in the government at least think he should resume the chair once the criminal matters [only] are dealt with.
''If Peter Slipper is sitting in the chair before all of these matters are dealt with I will either move or support a motion of no-confidence against him but I do not expect it will come to that.''
However the government accepted that it was Mr Slipper's handwriting on cabcharge vouchers that were at the heart of separate allegations of fraud against the Speaker.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said, ''What has been shown in the documentation, provided by the Department of Finance, is that allegation is not correct''.
Mr Albanese said it was a matter for Mr Slipper whether he resumed the chair.
''Call me old-fashioned but I reckon people are entitled to a presumption of innocence,'' he said.
Mr Slipper's use of handwritten receipts has come into question because most taxis process fares electronically.
Some of the fares were higher than the normal cost of travelling and the serial numbers for the receipts are in sequential order, despite covering different days.
Mr Slipper defended the handwritten dockets yesterday saying he had used a limousine service on all occasions and the driver did not have the machine required to process the fares electronically.
''Many limo drivers taking Cabcharge, particularly smaller operators, only use the manual dockets because they do not have electronic facilities,'' he said in a statement.
