Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I can assure the senator not only that standards will be maintained but also that values will be maintained. A very important change we have made is a change in the values in the way we treat people. You can be assured that these standards will be maintained and the values will be maintained. In terms of processing times—and I will get the exact figures for the senator—the standard target is about 90 days. I think it is slightly over 100 days at the moment. I make no apology for that.

I would like the Senate to understand this: the last thing involved in the process is the security check, and it is usually the slowest thing in the process. Our security agents have to become comfortable with the credentials of the person they are dealing with. We will not be cutting corners on that. The processing times may well blow out, but we will be ensuring proper security assessments are made.