Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The AusCheck Amendment (Global Entry Program) Bill 2025 enables the expansion of Australia's participation in the United States's trusted traveller Global Entry program. Australia's participation in the Global Entry program will improve the border entry experience for the multitude of Australians who visit the United States every year.

The relationship between Australia and the United States is built on strong people-to-people links, based on common values and our deep historical and cultural bonds. A significant number of Australian citizens travel annually to the United States and its territories, including tourists, students, professional workers, temporary business travellers and working holiday-makers.

The Global Entry program is a voluntary program and provides an avenue for eligible citizens of trusted partner countries to have access to faster entry at US airports. The opportunity to access expedited clearances when crossing US borders is already available for citizens of other nations and we also want to make this available for Australians. This was secured by Prime Minister Albanese on a state visit to the United States in 2023.

This government has entered into an arrangement with the United States that enables Australian citizens to join this program, which is a sign of the closeness and trust between our two nations. Implementation of this arrangement was announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 6 August 2024.

As a requirement for participation in the Global Entry program, the Australian government must complete background checks on applicants who are Australian citizens. This bill includes amendments to the AusCheck Act 2007,to provide a legislative basis for Australia's participation in the Global Entry program.

The bill will amend the regulation-making power in the AusCheck Act to allow regulations to be made for the purpose of coordinating and conducting background checks of an individual, to enable participation in the Global Entry program.

AusCheck, situated within the Department of Home Affairs, has a long history of providing background checks for various national security related background-checking programs. It has well-established controls and processes, and the expertise and experience necessary to undertake background checks for the high volume of applicants expected to apply for the Global Entry program.

Background checks are managed through a cybersecure system, which limits unauthorised access to applicants' information. The system features integration with checking partners to ensure a secure and efficient end-to-end process for assessing applications. Utilising the existing AusCheck framework will provide a streamlined background checking process for Australian Global Entry program applicants.

The bill also allows regulations to be made that prescribe the criteria for background checks for Global Entry program applicants. The proposed criteria would align with the eligibility criteria established by the US government for the Global Entry program.

The amendments will also allow for regulations to prescribe how decisions are to be made and how the results of background checks are to be communicated. This includes communication of results to the applicant, to an entity who applied on the applicant's behalf, and the US Customs and Border Protection.

The amendments in the bill will also expand the scope of what background checks may be conducted under the AusCheck Act to allow an assessment of whether the applicant has been convicted of particular offences under the Defence Force Discipline Act. This amendment is necessary to align with the requirements specified by the United States government for eligibility into the Global Entry program.

Personal information collected by AusCheck as part of undertaking background checks for Global Entry program applicants will be subject to the existing information handling protections as set out in the AusCheck Act. This will safeguard the personal information of all Australian applicants regardless of when they submitted their application.

A small number of Australian citizens have already been able to apply through phase 1 of Australia's participation in the Global Entry program, which commenced on 17 January 2025, and we're seeking to progress this legislative reform as quickly as possible to ensure ongoing participation in the program.

I want to thank the department and the staff at the department for their hand in facilitating this important reform, and I commend the bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned.