Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Proposed amendments to clause 6OP ensure that these types of accounts will be subject to the same protections. The records will be held securely by the custodian, the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, when the inquiry ends. A court will not be able to compel the department to disclose this information and third parties will not be able to seek this information under the freedom of information regime.

Confidential information will only be able to be used in the report of the disability royal commission if it is de-identified or if the information is also given in evidence.

Flexible non-publication direction procedures

Subject to the passage of this bill, additional amendments will streamline existing arrangements in the act to enable certain members of a royal commission to more efficiently make directions for the non-publication of information and identities.

Non-publication directions ensure that any evidence, documents or descriptions of anything produced that might enable a person to be identified shall not be published or shall not be published except in such a manner, and to such persons, as the commission specifies.

Non-publication directions are an essential feature for protecting the identity of individuals, and other sensitive information such as locations or institutions, when giving evidence or providing information to a royal commission such as through a notice process.

The chair of the disability royal commission wrote to the Prime Minister and requested an amendment to the act that would overcome practical difficulties for commissioners of a royal commission when making a non-publication direction.

Practical difficulties can arise particularly when an urgent direction is required, as commissioners may fulfil their duties at different locations within Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioners have been required to undertake official duties remotely in different locations, which has heightened the need for simplified processes.

At an authorised member hearing, a direction may be made by either the chair alone, provided the chair is present at the hearing, or all members of that hearing.

In circumstances other than an authorised member hearing the chair may give the direction, or a majority of the members of the commission may give the direction. This resolves the practical issue whereby a majority of commissioners have been required to collectively make a direction when a hearing is not occurring.

This bill will provide greater flexibility for the disability royal commission, and commissioners of future royal commissions, to make non-publication directions.

Efficient information sharing

The bill would also act on a request by the chair of the disability royal commission to improve arrangements for Commonwealth royal commissions to communicate information and evidence obtained during the course of its inquiry with a royal commission, and a commission of inquiry, of a state or territory.

This is an important and essential mechanism for this inquiry which has been set up as a joint Commonwealth and state royal commission, established through the issue of concurrent letters patent under the respective royal commissions legislation. Streamlining these information-sharing arrangements will create important efficiencies for the disability royal commission, and future royal commissions. Currently, most evidence tendered in the Commonwealth royal commission must be tendered for the concurrent state royal commissions. This is impractical and time consuming. The amendments will streamline the process of tendering documents by enabling evidence tendered on behalf of the Commonwealth disability royal commission to be easily shared with all concurrent state royal commissions.

Improved processes for receiving and handling evidence will assist the commission to efficiently prepare a single and comprehensive final report drawing on all the evidence before Commonwealth and state commissions established under each jurisdictions respective legislation.

This amendment would also remove onerous administrative requirements for the tendering of large volumes of evidence in each jurisdiction, in particular where it has been obtained under a compulsion pursuant to different state royal commission laws.

Concluding remarks

The government has given careful consideration to the development of this bill to ensure that it provides comprehensive protections to sensitive information.

The drafting of our bill takes into account the specific circumstances in which people have given information to the royal commission. Royal commissions determine their own operating procedures, which includes the way that they invite people to make submissions and engage with it.

It is important that the government has a proper understanding of these procedures so that the legislation can be drafted in a way that captures the information the chair of the royal commission has identified as needing protection.

This is why the disability royal commission has been consulted closely on the development of the bill.

The outcomes of the disability royal commission will be guided by people's lived experiences, and its outcomes must be based on a true reflection of those experiences.

In order for the royal commission to fully realise the scope of its inquiry, it's important that the Australian community feels comfortable and supported in fully engaging with the royal commission.

It is critical that people sharing their lived experiences with the royal commission feel respected and that survivors of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation have their experiences appropriately acknowledged, recognised and validated.

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