Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Again, Senator Keneally, the majority of what the ABF are looking for is actually found in the containers, not necessarily on the particular person themselves. I go back to my previous evidence: there is no legislative requirement for passengers and crew arriving in Australia, whether by sea or air, to be subject to security screening. As we've discussed, in relation to, for example, a metal detector, all identified risks—this is what the benefit of intelligence is—are scrutinised and treated appropriately to prevent the importation of prohibited goods. So, depending on the level of intelligence that has been gained by the ABF themselves, they will then seek to deploy specialist capabilities, including—and we've referred to them—detector dogs, to areas of greatest risk and identified need as informed through intelligence. This is why the gathering of intelligence is such an important part of the Australian Border Force's functions.