Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

CRIMES AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (OMNIBUS) BILL 2023

The Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2023 will update, improve and clarify the intended operation of certain provisions in the Crimes Act 1914 and other Commonwealth legislation, to support the proper administration of government, law enforcement, oversight and judicial processes.

This Bill will make a number of minor and technical amendments. These include correcting errors in naming and referencing, and clarifying and improving a range of government, judicial, regulatory and oversight processes.

The amendments do not expand or otherwise alter existing powers for law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Similarly, the amendments do not limit or in any way reduce existing scrutiny and oversight mechanisms for the exercise of those powers.

Amendments to the Crimes Act 1914will correct drafting errors and clarify and improve judicial processes, including ensuring that persons arrested for a Commonwealth offence can be bailed or remanded in the timeliest manner.

Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 will strengthen and modernise aspects of Australia's AML/CTF regime, and assist AUSTRAC in fulfilling its important functions as Australia's money laundering and terrorism financing regulator in an efficient and practical manner. The amendments will achieve this by strengthening and clarifying the civil penalty provision for a person failing to enrol with AUSTRAC. The amendments will also clarify the existing secrecy and access framework to ensure that sensitive AUSTRAC information, which is subject to extensive safeguards, cannot be inappropriately disclosed for the purposes of, or in connection with, court or tribunal proceedings, protecting the integrity of this information.

Further, the amendments will explicitly authorise the AUSTRAC CEO to use a computer program to automate 'positive' administrative actions under relevant provisions of the AML/CTF Act, the AML/CTF Rules, or other instruments made under that Act. Automated actions will only relate to 'positive' decision making responsibilities regarding registration and enrolment of entities which do not result in an adverse outcome for a person or impact the application of procedural fairness principles. These will include decisions to renew the registration of a remittance service provider or a digital currency exchange provider. In practice, the computer program would consider an application for renewal alongside objective criteria such as whether the reporting entity has complied with all requirements specified in the AML/CTF Act and Rules, whether there have been changes to registration details or key personnel, and whether there have been disclosable civil or criminal proceedings, actions or convictions against any key personnel in the period since the entity was last registered. If no issues are identified, the person's application for renewal of their registration is accepted. If potential issues are identified, the application is forwarded to an AUSTRAC officer to manually process the application and make a decision.

Amendments to the Witness Protection Act 1994will improve outcomes for participants of the National Witness Protection Program, and assist the Australian Federal Police in its management of the program. The amendments will achieve this by correcting a drafting oversight to ensure that past participants of witness protection programs, which preceded the existing National Witness Protection Program, are covered by the Witness Protection Act 1994. The amendments will allow participants to be temporarily suspended from receiving protection and assistance under the witness protection program in appropriate circumstances, rather than needing to exit and re-enter the program. The amendments will also modernise certain processes and terminology throughout the Act which will also assist with reducing the administrative burden on the AFP.

The amendments to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987will expand the existing mandatory ground of refusal regarding torture. Currently, requests for assistance must only be refused if the person who is the subject of the request may be subjected to torture. This amendment expands the scope of the ground of refusal so that the Attorney-General must refuse requests where there are substantial grounds to believe that any person would be in danger of being subjected to torture if the request were granted. This may include witnesses, persons who consent to be transferred to a foreign country to give evidence, or other persons that may be impacted.

Amendments to the Foreign Evidence Act 1994 will streamline legal processes by expanding the categories of persons who can sign or certify foreign testimony, and simplifying the process of obtaining testimony from foreign countries for use in Australian proceedings. An additional update to terminology in the Act will reflect, and further enable, the current international practices of providing material by electronic means. These amendments will ensure our legislation reflects current international and Australian domestic practices, and will minimise difficulties in obtaining and admitting evidence.

Amendments to the International Transfer of Prisoners Act 1997 will allow the Attorney-General to refuse consent to applications for transfers to or from Australia at an earlier stage, instead of at the very end of the process. This will make the process more efficient and reduce administrative burdens by ensuring that state and territory governments, foreign countries and prisoners are not unnecessarily consulted where the Attorney-General would be minded to ultimately refuse consent but is unable to do so before seeking consent from all other parties.

A minor amendment to the Criminology Research Act 1971 will update the process for appointing the Commonwealth representative to the Criminology Research Advisory Council. The amendment will clarify that the appointment applies to the holder of a particular senior executive position, not the individual officer. This will remove the need for the Minister to revoke and remake the appointment each time there is a change in the relevant senior executive officer.

Minor amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 will address referencing inconsistencies. The amendments will ensure that state and territory-based Public Interest Monitors can provide effective oversight on applications for interception activities made by the relevant agency in their jurisdiction.

Minor amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, Surveillance Devices Act 2004, Crimes Act 1914, Criminal Code Act 1995 and Privacy Act 1988 will correct references relating to the South Australia Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Amendments to the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 will correct a minor drafting error so that the penalty for non-compliance with a notice to produce is in the correct location in this Act.

Conclusion

The Crimes Omnibus Bill 2023 makes minor and technical amendments which will support the proper administration of regulatory, law enforcement, oversight and judicial processes. These changes will improve the everyday operation of government agencies by creating efficiencies and removing doubt and inconsistencies in certain provisions.

These amendments will also improve outcomes for non-Commonwealth government stakeholders, including members of the public who come into contact with the judicial system, state and territory governments, and our international partners.

I commend the Bill to the House.

FAMILY LAW AMENDMENT (INFORMATION SHARING) BILL 2023

The Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023 is a significant step to ensure that children and families do not fall between the gaps of the federal family law system, and the State and Territory family violence and child protection systems.

The Albanese Government is firm in its view that ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children and their families is a priority. This includes their safety within the family law system.

This Government has made its intentions on the family law system clear. This system must be safe, simpler to use, accessible, and deliver justice and fairness for all families accessing it. The Government is delivering on this commitment through significant reform to the family law system, including through this Bill.

Measures included in this Bill are complementary to the reforms proposed in the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023. Both Bills will work together to create a family law system which meets the needs of its users, centring the voices and best interests of children, and ensuring their safety and wellbeing is the paramount consideration.

Family safety risk in family law matters

The disappointing reality is that family violence, child abuse and neglect continue to permeate our community. Court data from last financial year offers a sobering glimpse into the prevalence of violence and abuse in family law matters:

However, it must be acknowledged the true figures are likely higher.

The significant numbers of matters referred to State and Territory child welfare agencies, and the prevalence of family violence and child abuse risk within family law matters, demonstrates a need to ensure these federal, state and territory systems are joined-up when supporting and responding to the children and families accessing them.

The importance of a joined-up approach between systems has been examined and highlighted by the many reviews and inquiries into the family law system over the last decade. These inquiries, including the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC's) 2019 report Family Law for the Future: An Inquiry into the Family Law System (Report 135), have been integral to developing this Bill and the National Strategic Framework for Information Sharing between the Family Law and Family Violence and Child Protection Systems (National Framework) it implements.

A new framework for court-initiated orders for information sharing

This Bill will operationalise key aspects of the National Framework, enhancing the sharing of family violence, child abuse and neglect risk information between the family law courts and state and territory child protection, police and firearms authorities.

The family law courts do not have powers to investigate family violence, child abuse or neglect. They rely on the investigations conducted, and information provided, by state and territory agencies with those responsibilities.

The current legislative framework facilitating information sharing is limited in the information that can be sought by the courts and provided by these agencies. Expanding the information sharing framework within the Act will ensure the family law courts are able to access all relevant family violence, child abuse and neglect information, providing a holistic picture of the risks to both the children and parties to proceedings.

This framework will provide powers for the courts to receive critical information earlier, quicker and throughout proceedings.

The new order for particulars introduced by this Bill will support early information being provided to the courts about the types of documents or information held by agencies. This will assist not only in the making of early or urgent interim orders, but will inform the safe and appropriate case management and triaging of matters. The new order will also increase the efficiency of seeking production of full documents or information, by allowing the court to target the specific documents considered relevant.

The new order for production of documents or information will broaden the scope of information able to be sought. It will ensure the court has access to the full range of information it considers necessary to make orders in the best interests of the children, while considering the safety of all those involved.

Admission of information into evidence

A core tenet of the Bill is balancing the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness against the potential risks associated with the disclosure of sensitive personal information.

The Bill requires that the courts admit into evidence particulars, documents or information shared through the enhanced information sharing framework on which they intend to rely. In doing so, the court must have regard to specific advice provided by information sharing agencies about any risks associated with disclosure of information.

Safeguardin g sensitive information — Exclusions

This Bill recognises the inherently sensitive nature of family violence, child abuse and neglect information. The broader scope of this new information sharing framework necessitated considerations of protected material, and the inclusion of safeguards on the sharing of all family safety information.

Developed in consultation with frontline agencies and peak family violence and family law organisations, this Bill includes protections where the disclosure of documents or information to be shared would:

In providing for the exclusion of these protected materials, the Bill recognises there may be circumstances where the risk of disclosure is outweighed by the risk of non-disclosure.

In these circumstances, the Bill provides avenues for information sharing agencies to provide this information to the courts in a restricted manner, and to communicate the additional risk they see as being associated with the disclosure of information.

The Bill additionally recognises the importance of protecting confidential notifications made by mandatory reporters and everyday Australians concerning suspected family violence or child abuse. The court must protect the identity of notifiers, unless a limited exemption applies.

The limited circumstances in which the identity of these individuals can be disclosed ensures that this critical protection is only infringed in rare instances, where the information is crucial to the decision-making process in the parenting proceedings.

Safeguarding sensitive information — Information S haring Safeguards

In addition to excluding protected materials, the Bill includes a requirement for information sharing agencies, and the courts, to have regard to safeguards when sharing, using, accessing, storing and disclosing information.

The information sharing safeguards will be prescribed in amendments to the Family Law Regulations 1984, ensuring they can continue to evolve to reflect the best practice for the sharing of sensitive information.

These safeguards have been informed by a Privacy Impact Assessment commissioned by the Attorney-General's Department, and through consultation with relevant family law, family violence and child protection stakeholders.

It is envisaged that the information sharing safeguards will include items to ensure:

Information sharing agencies

Amendments to the Regulations will additionally prescribe a broader set of information sharing agencies ahead of commencement of measures in this Bill.

These agencies will include those State and Territory agencies responsible for child protection and welfare, police, and firearms authorities.

The new prescription of agencies will also be clearer about the role of Commonwealth agencies, where they are performing functions for States and Territories. Relevantly, that includes the Australian Federal Police when performing the policing function in the Australian Capital Territory.

The express inclusion of firearms authorities is the single biggest change to these agencies. This change is to support the court in understanding the holistic picture of family violence risk facing families and children.

We know that acrimonious family law proceedings can escalate family violence risk, including the risk of homicide for women and children.

Any death resulting from family violence is unacceptable.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the family law system is safe for families, including those experiencing family violence. Achieving this commitment means learning from and understanding failings in the past, to create hope for the future.

Conclusion

In proposing these measures, the Government thanks all those who contributed to the various reviews and inquiries which have influenced this Bill.

In particular, the Government recognises the contributions of individuals and families with lived experiences of family and domestic violence, the family law system, and its intersection with State and Territory police and child protection systems. Your strength in sharing these experiences, and calling for reform, have been central to developing this Bill.

Keeping children and families safe is at the heart of the family law system. This Bill is one part of ensuring the family law system can deliver on this responsibility.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 115(3), further consideration of these bills is now adjourned to 14 June 2023.

Ordered that the bills be listed on the Notice Paper as separate orders of the day.