Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Australian government is introducing the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Bill 2024 to strengthen protections for Commonwealth frontline workers, who are increasingly subjected to acts of violence or aggression from members of the public. This violence and aggression can have devastating impacts on frontline workers and their families as well as on the broader safety and operation of Commonwealth workplaces.

The Services Australia Security Risk Management Review was commissioned after a serious assault on a staff member at a Services Australia service centre in 2023 and conducted by Mr Graham Ashton. Mr Ashton made 44 recommendations to increase staff safety and deter acts of aggression. The government has committed to implementing all 44 of those recommendations.

This bill will implement recommendation 18 of the Ashton review by amending the Commonwealth Criminal Code to increase the penalties available for causing harm, or threatening to cause serious harm, to a Commonwealth public official where the official is also a Commonwealth frontline worker.

These amendments will align the penalties for causing harm, or threatening to cause serious harm to a Commonwealth frontline worker with the penalties applicable for the same conduct against a Commonwealth judicial officer or Commonwealth law enforcement officer.

Specifically, the penalty for conduct that causes harm to a Commonwealth frontline worker under section 147.1(1) of the Criminal Code will increase from a maximum of 10 years to 13 years imprisonment. Similarly, the penalty for conduct that threatens to cause serious harm to a Commonwealth frontline worker under section 147.2(1) of the Criminal Code will increase from a maximum of seven years to nine years imprisonment.

The bill defines 'Commonwealth frontline worker' as a Commonwealth public official who performs work requiring the person to deal directly (whether or not in person) with the public, or a class of the public, as a primary function of their role. This reflects the diversity of Commonwealth frontline worker roles, from service delivery to regulatory functions.

Commonwealth frontline workers are in service centres and call centres across Australia. Commonwealth frontline workers are also out in the community performing essential outreach in our communities, providing access to government payments following emergencies or natural disasters, and safeguarding the integrity of government programs through monitoring and enforcement activities.

These amendments send a strong message that the Albanese government values the contributions made by our frontline workers and that violence and aggression towards those workers is unacceptable.

This bill is an important step towards creating safer Commonwealth workplaces.

I acknowledge the strong support of the Minister for Government Services for the measures in this bill and I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.