Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Solomon for his question. On the eve of Remembrance Day, I acknowledge his service to our country in our armed services.

It is a tragic fact that each year in Australia around 30,000 people go missing. Many of these people are found but, devastatingly, some will never be seen again. As we know, the first few hours and days after a person goes missing are the most crucial when searching for them, and that's why today the Albanese government introduced legislation to strengthen emergency services capabilities to locate missing persons.

Last month, a New South Wales Deputy State Coroner wrote to me outlining recommendations stemming from a coronial inquest. The inquest was in relation to the tragic findings of the presumed death of a missing person. In Her Honour's letter, the coroner recommended the removal of a barrier in the Telecommunications Act for emergency services using technology to locate missing persons. Today, three weeks after that correspondence, I brought legislation to this House to address the very issue raised by Her Honour.

As it currently stands, for law enforcement to request access to an individual's data, the situation must meet the threshold of a serious and imminent threat to a person's life or health. This set the bar too high. In most circumstances, emergency services were unable to reach this threshold and lost a valuable tool in responding swiftly to someone in need. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this issue has been raised. The Australian Law Reform Commission and past coronial inquests have identified these limitations.

This amendment removes the 'imminence' threshold. If emergency services believe there is a serious threat to a person's life or health, assistance may be requested and granted. This bill also ensures that the privacy of Australians is balanced against emergency services requirements, with provision for further oversight over telecommunications data disclosure. To this end, these proposed changes clarify that it is law enforcement that decides the seriousness of the threat rather than the carriers. It's important to note that these laws can be used only in specific circumstances where it's considered impracticable or impossible to obtain a person's consent to their data being shared.

This is an important proposed change to the way we deliver emergency services to Australians. The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Information Disclosure, National Interest and Other Measures) Bill is targeted not only to improve the operation and transparency of the relationship between law enforcement and telcos but also, crucially, to save lives. I would hope that all members of this House and the other place recognise the urgency of this legislative amendment. If even one life is saved through these changes, it will be a worthy cause. It is based on sound and thorough consultation, and I look forward to this bill being passed expeditiously.

See this speech in context