Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move the amendments standing in my name on sheet 8251:

(1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (lines 9 to 31), omit the definition of Immigration and Border Protection information, substitute:

Immigration and Border Protection information means information of any of the following kinds that was obtained by a person in the person's capacity as an entrusted person:

(a) information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to damage the security (within the meaning of section 4 of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979), defence or international relations (within the meaning of section 10 of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004) of Australia;

(b) information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to prejudice the prevention, detection or investigation of, or conduct of proceedings relating to, an offence or contravention of a civil penalty provision;

(c) information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to prejudice the protection of public health, or endanger the life or safety of an individual or group of individuals;

(d) information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to found an action by a person (other than the Commonwealth) for breach of a duty of confidence and is damaging to the regulatory function of the Department;

(e) information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to cause competitive detriment to a person;

(f) information of a kind prescribed in an instrument under subsection (7).

Note: See also subsections (4) to (7).

(2) Schedule 1, item 5, page 4 (line 16) to page 5 (line 7), omit the item, substitute:

5 At the end of section 4

Add:

(5) Without limiting the definition of Immigration and Border Protection information in subsection (1), information that has originated with, or been received from an intelligence agency is taken to be information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to prejudice the security, defence or international relations of Australia.

(6) Without limiting the definition of Immigration and Border Protection information in subsection (1), information that was provided to the Commonwealth pursuant to a statutory obligation or otherwise by compulsion in law is taken to be information the disclosure of which would or is reasonably likely to found an action by a person (other than the Commonwealth) for breach of duty of confidence.

The amendments proposed reflect the recommendations made by the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Law Council of Australia in their submissions to the inquiry into this bill. The recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission aim to advance the bill's stated objective and enhance the bill's compatibility with human rights. The unauthorised disclosure of information under section 42 of the Australian Border Force Act carries a penalty of up to two years imprisonment. The Australian Human Rights Commission submitted that, given the adverse consequences associated with a criminal conviction, criminal penalties should only attach to the unauthorised disclosure when it harms essential public interests.

The term 'would or could reasonably be expected to' potentially criminalises the disclosure of information where there is a reasonable possibility but not the reasonable likelihood of prejudice. Using prejudice broadens the application to include disclosures that disadvantage rather than harm or damage. Prejudice could be about protecting the reputation of the department rather than causing any actual damage to the department. There are multiple definitions of 'security' in federal legislation, and security is not confined to the Australian Border Force Act. For clarity and consistency, the definition of security in the ASIO Act describes security in specific terms. The term 'international relations' is also undefined. Using the definition in the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 would lessen the chance that unauthorised disclosures that simply embarrass the government without causing any real damage would fall outside the scope of the offence.

In relation to the duty of confidence: the Australian Human Rights Commission submitted that there must be compelling justification to support secrecy provisions that criminalise the unauthorised disclosure of information that is not reasonably likely to harm essential public interests. While it's accepted that people and companies will provide sensitive information that they expect the department to keep confidential, the provision as currently drafted is too broad. The Australian Law Reform Commission stated:

The category of information protected should be narrowly defined, so that the secrecy provision is not so wide as to cover information that would not harm the regulatory functions of the agency.

Competitive detriment is, once again, an extremely broad provision. Civil law remedies such as contractual, common law and equitable remedies are available to address the problem of improper disclosure of commercial information. Extending criminal liability to the unauthorised disclosure of information that would or could cause competitive detriment is inappropriate.

The Australian Human Rights Commission considers that the deeming of information with a security classification as information requiring protection—without any consideration of the context of the information or whether it has been correctly classified—is a blanket provision that unduly restricts freedom of expression, political communication and legitimate public scrutiny.

So there you have it. The Greens are attempting to improve this legislation, to narrow the scope of what can be determined to be protected information. We are doing so in order to lessen the effect on freedom of communication that the Australian Border Force Act will have, even should the amendments currently before the Senate be passed.