Dissenting report by the Australian Greens
1.1
The Australian Crime Commission Amendment (National Policing
Information) Bill 2015 (the bill) seeks to amend the Australian Crime
Commission Act 2002 to merge CrimTrac and its functions into the Australian
Crime Commission (ACC). The Australian Crime Commission (National Policing
Information Charges) Bill 2015 provides the legislative basis for the ACC to
charge for national policing information services.
1.2
This is the second bill introduced into Parliament recently that seeks
to merge an entity into the ACC. The Australian Crime Commission Amendment
(Criminology Research) Bill 2015 proposed to merge the functions of the
Australian Institute of Criminology into the ACC.
1.3
The National Commission of Audit in 2014 recommended that CrimTrac be
merged with the ACC 'to better harness their collective resources'.[1]
1.4
The Australian Greens have concerns with the bill's potential impact on
personal privacy.
1.5
CrimTrac holds considerable personal information obtained from police
and other sources.
1.6
Currently, the activities of CrimTrac are covered by the Privacy Act
1988. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
submitted:
Under s7 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act),
the ACC is not required to comply with the obligations of the Privacy Act,
including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), unlike CrimTrac (whose
activities are covered by the Privacy Act). Therefore if the Bill is enacted as
drafted, I understand that:
- the
information currently held (and the functions currently exercised in relation
to this information) by CrimTrac will no longer be subject to the protections
in the Privacy Act, and
- the
Australian Information Commissioner would no longer have oversight or
enforcement powers in relation to that information or those functions.[2]
1.7
While it appears that states, as the primary collectors of CrimTrac
information, will continue to be subject to privacy principles, the principles
will not be binding on information actually stored in CrimTrac systems within
the merged agency.[3]
1.8
In addition to general privacy issues, the Australian Greens have
particular concerns relating to missing persons information. It is reasonable
for adults to exercise their free choice to not associate with family and
friends, particularly where an individual may have been subject to a violent or
harmful environment. The OAIC submitted:
If the Bill is enacted, the Privacy (Persons Reported as
Missing) Rule 2014 would no longer apply to the personal information
currently held by CrimTrac (ie national policing information), and the ACC
would not be obliged by the Rule to respect any known wishes of persons
reported as missing when using or disclosing information about them.[4]
Conclusion
1.9
The ACC and CrimTrac already share information for enforcement-related
activities including intelligence gathering.
1.10
Information sharing between the ACC and CrimTrac could be enhanced
through other mechanisms such as Memoranda of Understanding.
Recommendation 1
1.11
The Australian Greens recommend that the bills not be passed.
Senator Nick
McKim
Senator for
Tasmania
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