Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the Attorney-General has already stated, the Statutory Declarations Amendment Bill 2023 may seem unassuming and modest, but, make no mistake, it will have an impact. The purpose of the bill is to establish a framework for the execution of Commonwealth statutory declarations that is fit for purpose. This amendment also better reflects the way that Australian businesses and consumers want to engage and communicate with government and each other: digitally.

On a practical level the bill would achieve this purpose by amending the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 to enable a statutory declaration to be validly made in one of three ways, those being: traditional paper based, requiring wet-ink signatures and in-person witnessing; electronically, through the application of an electronic signature and witnessing via an audiovisual communication link; and digitally verified, through the use of a prescribed online platform that verifies the identity of the declarant through a prescribed digital identity service provider.

Each year Australian small to medium businesses and individuals spend an estimated 900,000 hours executing more than 3.8 million statutory declarations. These documents are used to create reliable statements and attest to events for administrative, civil, commercial and private purposes, whether it be to provide evidence to support an application for sick leave, to accompany an application for child support or other government service, or to provide evidence of fact in administrative proceedings, including those before a dispute resolution body or an administrative tribunal.

Historically these documents have been strictly paper based, requiring ink signatures and in-person witnessing for valid execution. As the Attorney-General has pointed out, following the successful pivot to digital processes in response to the earlier parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian community, and businesses in particular, expect government to offer innovative digital solutions and pathways that modernise old systems and established processes.

This bill will go some way to meeting those expectations. The three methods of execution will be equally robust, will result in equal validity and will carry the same legal effectiveness as a Commonwealth statutory declaration. The bill also responds to community feedback on the advantages of modernising the execution requirements for these documents and in providing choices relating to how individuals or organisations can initiate these requirements. It's important to note, too, that this bill means that rural, remote and regional parts of Australia, as well as those Australians experiencing low mobility or sensory challenges, will be more able to access the statutory declaration executions and will be of great benefit to those communities.

We know that the traditional barriers faced by people from those groups when seeking to engage with paper based processes can often be really difficult and really frustrating. Quite importantly, members of the community without access to technology or internet connectivity, or those who would prefer not to engage with the electronic or digital options, will not be disadvantaged by this bill. Indeed, there may be many members of the community who'll be pleased to hear that the traditional paper based method of execution will continue to be available.

We know that Commonwealth agencies, individuals and businesses have a reliance on statutory declarations for a number of purposes. As a result of restrictions on movement put in place during the earlier parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult to comply with the legislated requirements for in-person execution of Commonwealth statutory declarations. As a result, temporary measures were put in place through the coronavirus economic response package to allow statutory declarations to be signed using electronic means and witnessed by a prescribed person via a facility that enabled audio and visual communication between persons in different places. The amendments also allowed an approved person to sign a copy of the electronic declaration in counterpart, provided the prescribed person was satisfied that it was a true copy of the statutory declaration signed by the declarant. These temporary measures are due to cease on 31 December this year.

The COVID pandemic has demonstrated to us and the world that technology can be used successfully and reliably to facilitate the making of Commonwealth statutory declarations and other kinds of legal documents and communications. This bill will make permanent those temporary measures that were put in place during the earlier parts of the pandemic, allowing a Commonwealth statutory declaration to be witnessed remotely, via video link, and signed electronically. These measures were introduced to assist individuals who, as a result of the pandemic, were either unable to meet in person to have a statutory declaration witnessed or could not meet in person because of stay-at-home or other restrictions on movement. The temporary measures assisted in the continuity of business operations and government services during the worst part of the COVID period without compromising the integrity of the Commonwealth statutory declarations framework.

It's really significant to note, too, that stakeholders have provided feedback and have told us, as a government, that the temporary measures saved time and money and provided convenience and flexibility. This bill will ensure Australians continue to enjoy the benefits of those temporary measures, enabling electronic execution after they expire on 31 December this year. Additionally, the experiences over the earlier part of the pandemic and feedback received show there are particular advantages to modernising the execution requirements and to providing the community with choice in relation to their execution.

If there is a dispute, the bill deals with that as well. The bill also ensures that people will be able to choose a range of options when executing the over 3.8 million statutory declarations made each year by people in Australia, and all will have equal validity. This bill provides a framework for a standalone digital statutory declaration execution service that will leverage established Australian government digital infrastructure to allow Australians to safety and securely make a statutory declaration end to end online.

Consistent with the principle of consent that underpins the Australian government's digital ID system, the bill will also continue to provide options from which Australians can choose, based on their personal circumstances and preferences, including electronic execution and traditional paper based execution. This bill will respond to how Australians want and expect to engage and communicate digitally with government by providing options to make Commonwealth statutory declarations facilitated by technology, and it is an important milestone in driving the digitisation of government services. It will deliver a world-class, modern and secure public service for all Australians and I'm pleased to speak on this today.

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