Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment and Water (Senate)) Share this | Hansard source

I want to ask some questions with respect to information management, schedule 17. We've very firmly put our opposition to this schedule. As we understand it, it seeks that the secretary of the department will be able to get from a person information that can be used as evidence to investigate and prosecute that person for criminal offences. We're concerned that it limits the privilege against self-incrimination, which, in our view, is a basic common law right.

You're putting forward to this place a schedule that means that a person subject to the coercive information-gathering power will not have the right to refuse to provide information or documents on the basis that it may be incriminating or will expose a person to a penalty. What you're doing, as we understand it, is to effectively allow the department to circumvent the need to obtain admissible material by search warrants pursuant to section 3E of the Crimes Act 1914. We're extremely concerned that, in practice, this means that a person can be asked to provide information to prove that they've not complied with their obligations as a welfare recipient, and any information provided can be used as evidence against them. You have to ask yourself where the onus of proof is here. I've certainly seen, in relation to robo-debt, a considerable reversal of that onus within DHS. I'm very concerned that the information can also be used as evidence that a person has not fully complied with the requirements to give information or documents, or has provided false or misleading information or has engaged in forgery.

Importantly, the Social Security Rights Network, whose advice I very much respect, has expressed their significant concerns about this schedule. They're very concerned that it limits the privilege against self-incrimination and can be used to gather information from welfare recipients that can be used against them in criminal proceedings. Minister, does the government believe that this schedule limits the privilege against self-incrimination, which is a basic and substantive common law right?