Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

In explaining those amendments can I say that, under the AusCheck Amendment Bill 2009, as it currently stands, background checks can only be undertaken in relation to Aviation and Maritime Security Identification Card schemes.

The main purpose of this bill is to amend the AusCheck Act to provide a capacity for the Attorney-General’s Department to conduct background checks for national security purposes. The bill does not impose any requirement for any person to have a national security background check. Rather, it would give the Attorney-General’s Department the capacity to conduct such checks in line with any future government decisions. The government amendments to the bill respond to a report of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. I thank the committee for their deliberations. The amendments respond to four of the six recommendations made by the Senate committee and address privacy concerns raised by the Law Council of Australia and the Australian Privacy Foundation during the Senate committee inquiry. The amendments clarify that new national security background checking regimes must be authorised by an Act of Parliament, other than the AusCheck Act.

The bill is another important step forward in the government’s commitment to improving national security, within a transparent framework that respects rights and the rule of law.

Question agreed to.

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