Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I was very pleased to bring the issue of an Australian standard for the training and use of privately contracted security and detection dogs to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement. The issue was brought to me by Mick Goodwin, a former superintendent of the New South Wales Police Dog Squad and now operator of Dog Force Australia, in late 2019. Alarmingly, at that time, despite previous attempts, there was no agreed national standard for private security canine detection service providers regarding the minimum levels of training, performance, welfare, assessment, operation and administration to carry out the role effectively and with integrity. Additionally, there were no standards for security or protection, meaning canine providers were able to operate without being required to meet any competency based standards.

I would like to thank the committee and, in particular, the chair, the member for Hughes, and the deputy chair, the member for Cowan, for their bipartisan approach and efforts. In addition, I thank the numerous agencies who gave evidence over a number of days.

Along with the recommendations made in this report, it is extremely pleasing to see that Standards Australia have commenced work to develop a voluntary national standard for private sector patrol and detection dogs. Once completed and implemented, this will provide certainty to consumers of a minimum standard of quality of work; certainty as to the proper and humane treatment and training of the dogs; and it will bring Australia in line with other leading countries.

The committee welcomes Standards Australia's decision to develop a voluntary national standard, and I believe that it's this committee's work that has been instrumental in this step being taken. This report provides a clear, concise direction for a national standard, and I commend it to the House.

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