1.1
The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (the committee) examined the proposed 2021–22 expenditure of the Home Affairs portfolio and the Attorney-General's portfolio at public hearings held on 24 to 27 May 2021.
1.2
This report does not attempt to analyse the evidence presented to the committee; however, it does outline the key issues considered by the committee during its examination of the proposed 2021–22 expenditure.
Referral of documents
1.3
On 11 May 2021, the Senate referred the following documents to committees for examination and report:
Particulars of proposed expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2022;
Particulars of certain proposed expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2022; and
Particulars of proposed expenditure in relation to the parliamentary departments in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2022.
Portfolio oversight
1.4
The committee is responsible for examining the proposed expenditure of the departments and agencies within the Home Affairs and Attorney-General's portfolios.
Questions on notice
1.5
In accordance with Standing Order 26, the committee has drawn the attention of the departments and their agencies to the agreed deadline of 16 July 2021 for the receipt of answers to questions taken on notice.
1.6
This report has been prepared without reference to any responses to questions on notice.
1.7
Tabled documents from the hearings, along with responses to questions on notice and additional information provided to the committee, are tabled in the Senate and uploaded to the committee's website.
Hansard transcripts
1.8
A transcription of the committee's hearings is made via the Committee Hansard, which is published on the estimates webpage.
1.9
References in this report are to the proof Committee Hansard. Page numbers may vary between the proofs and the final versions of the Committee Hansard.
Home Affairs portfolio
1.10
At its hearings on 24 and 25 May 2021, the committee examined the outcomes of the Home Affairs portfolio. Evidence was provided by Senators the Hon Amanda Stoker and Richard Colbeck on behalf of the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, and the Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management. Senior officers of the Home Affairs portfolio also gave evidence, led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Michael Pezzullo AO.
1.11
The committee took evidence from the following departments and agencies:
Department of Home Affairs (including Australian Border Force);
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Institute of Criminology;
Australian Federal Police;
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation;
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre; and
Office of the Special Investigator.
Key issues
1.12
The committee discussed a wide range of topics relating to the Home Affairs portfolio, including those discussed in the following sections.
Department of Home Affairs (including Australian Border Force (ABF))
1.13
Mr Pezzullo and Mr Michael Outram PSM, Commissioner of the ABF, made opening statements.
1.14
Key issues discussed included:
re-opening of Australia's international border and the COVID-19 pandemic;
contracts awarded to Canstruct International for services at regional processing centres;
freedom of information requests;
progress on the resettlement of refugees on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea and Nauru in the United States;
public statements given by Mr Pezzullo about potential international conflict (the 'ANZAC Day message');
allocation of grants from the Safer Communities Fund;
cybersecurity, protection of critical infrastructure assets, and threats from ransomware attacks;
the Transport Security Amendment (Serious Crime) Bill 2019;
implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and allocations from the Emergency Response Fund;
funding for regional airport screening;
funding for national security oversight arrangements;
migration program planning levels;
meat industry labour agreements;
citizenship processing during the COVID-19 pandemic;
temporary visas, including for international students and hospitality workers;
operation of the Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) Act 2021;
the four year waiting period for access to government support for newly arrived residents;
funding for women's safety measures in the 2021-22 Budget;
the Global Talent Program and the appointment of the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Global Business and Talent Attraction;
period of notice given before assessment of applications for Temporary Protection and Safe Haven Enterprise visas;
security incidents concerning transferees in PNG, including the Good Friday shooting and the incident at the Citi Boutique Hotel on 21 May 2021;
review of the Community Support Program conducted by the Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services;
missed taxation revenue on incoming parcels;
the Airline Liaison Officer program;
COVID-related impacts on visas, including humanitarian visas, partner visas, temporary graduate visas and sponsored parent temporary visas;
exemptions to the international border restrictions for certain visa categories;
operation of the National Coordination Mechanism (whole-of-government responses to the issues outside direct health management of COVID-19);
criteria for release of 'Medevac' detainees from Alternative Places of Detention (APODs);
matters relating to the detention of the Murugappan family on Christmas Island (the family from Biloela);
issuance of a National Visits Media Card to Avi Yemini;
shifting priorities for counter-terrorism efforts to meet evolving threats;
application of the UN sanctions regime to the Christchurch shooter;
tender process for the Permissions Capability contract;
test used by the Department of Home Affairs to determine Aboriginality in the context of visa cancellations under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, and the matter of Helmbright v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (No 2) [2021] FCA 647;
the Living Safely Together program;
expenditure in the 2021-22 Budget for the Immigration Detention Network;
changes in the current immigration detention cohort; and
the Future Maritime Surveillance Capacity.
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC)
1.15
Key issues discussed included:
First Nations deaths in custody;
the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020;
operation of the National Criminal Intelligence System;
national wastewater analysis;
outlaw motorcycle gangs; and
operation and integrity of the Australian Firearms Information Network.
Australian Federal Police (AFP)
1.16
Commissioner Reece Kershaw APM made an opening statement.
1.17
Key issues discussed included:
threats from outlaw motorcycle gangs;
arrest of Mr Thomas Sewell, head of the National Socialist Network, on counter-terrorism charges;
matters relating to allegations of sexual assault at Australian Parliament House made by Ms Brittany Higgins;
the National Operations and State Service Centre;
efforts to counter child exploitation, including through the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation;
AFP activities in Southeast Asia;
documents seized by the AFP in the course of the execution of a search warrant on the Australian Workers Union premises in 2017;
the Commonwealth Ombudsman's report into the AFP's use and administration of telecommunications data powers from 2010 to 2020;
matters relating to allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan; and
matters relating to allegations against the Hon Christian Porter MP.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
1.18
Mr Mike Burgess, Director-General of Security, made an opening statement.
1.19
Key issues discussed included:
future capability demands;
threats from espionage and foreign interference;
terrorist attack threat levels;
threat emanating from nationalist and racist violent extremism; and
ASIO's protocol for listing terrorist organisations.
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)
1.20
Key issues discussed included:
outcomes from compliance assessments, including Project Slalom in relation to Crown Casino's operations;
interactions between state casino regulators and law enforcement;
operation of the Fintel Alliance;
modernisation of AUSTRAC's reporting systems;
regulation of fiat cash to digital currency exchanges;
the Financial Action Taskforce's proposed travel rule;
'know your customer obligations'; and
money laundering risk assessments, including in relation to online gambling.
Office of the Special Investigator (OSI)
1.21
Mr Chris Moraitis PSM, Director-General, made an opening statement.
1.22
Key issues discussed included:
staffing numbers, professional experience and expertise;
relationship between the OSI and the AFP;
impact of the closure of the Australian embassy in Kabul on the OSI's investigations.
Attorney-General's portfolio
1.23
At its hearings on 26 and 27 May 2021, the committee examined the outcomes of the Attorney-General's portfolio. Evidence was provided by the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash and Senator the Hon Amanda Stoker, Assistant Minister to the Attonery-General and senior officers of the Attorney-General's portfolio led by the Acting Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, Mr Iain Anderson.
1.24
The committee took evidence from the following department and agencies within the Attorney-General's portfolio:
Administrative Appeals Tribunal;
Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity;
Australian Human Rights Commission;
Attorney-General's Department;
Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia;
National Archives of Australia;
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner;
Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman; and
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
Key issues
1.25
The committee discussed a wide range of topics relating to the Attorney-General's portfolio, including those outlined in the following sections.
Attorney-General's Department
1.26
Key issues discussed included:
ministerial standards expected of the Attorney-General;
funding for legal assistance services;
the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020;
implementation of the recommendations from the Respect@Work report by Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Kate Jenkins;
legislative reform concerning coercive control, matters relating to women's safety, and domestic and family violence in the family law system;
family law reform, including the creation of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and additional funding measures in the 2021-22 Budget;
pilot programs to deal with low-level property settlement disputes in family law matters;
legal assistance funding applied for, and granted to current and former ministers;
the National Strategy to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse;
application of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to religious schools;
attendees at a meeting between the Prime Minister and Ms Brittany Higgins on 30 April 2021;
prosecution of Witness K and Mr Bernard Collaery;
native title applications;
incarceration rates of First Nations peoples and deaths in custody;
the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability;
appointments of registrars and judicial officers in South Australia;
use of statements made in Parliament in court proceedings;
costs to the Commonwealth in the matter of Palmer v Western Australia [2021] HCA 5 and related proceedings;
the proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission;
Australia's 1999 agreement with Hong Kong on mutual legal assistance;
draft religious discrimination legislation;
inconsistencies between national and state legislation with respect to voluntary assisted dying; and
public statements from the then Attorney-General, the Hon Christian Porter MP in relation to the 'medevac' legislation.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
1.27
Key issues discussed included:
substance and timing of answers to questions on notice from additional estimates 2020-21;
performance, efficiency and output of tribunal members;
impacts of COVID-19 on the AAT's work;
implied undertakings under the AAT's General Practice Directions;
members engaged in outside employment;
resources applied in answering estimates questions on notice;
complaint made to the AHRC by a member of the AAT;
external study undertaken by tribunal members; and
public comments made by former tribunal member Ms Bernadette Ryan.
Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI)
1.28
Key issues discussed included the expansion of ACLEI's jurisdiction and ACLEI's investigation into corruption allegations involving the Department of Home Affairs and Crown Casino (Operation Angove).
Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
1.29
Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, President of the AHRC, made an opening statement.
1.30
Key issues discussed included:
report by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner entitled Change the routine: Report on the independent review into gymnastics in Australia (2021);
reviews of the AHRC's budget;
matters relating to the AHRC's Racism. It Stops With Me campaign;
ethical guidelines used in research considering the experiences of people with disabilities in Australia;
the Independent Review into the workplaces of Parliamentarians and their staff by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Jenkins;
report by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Ms June Oscar AO, entitled Wiyi yani u thangani (women’s voices): securing our rights, securing our future report 2020;
progress of the inquiry entitled Protecting the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions;
implementation of guidelines consistent with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner's 2019 Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport across sporting codes;
independent assessment trials conducted by the National Disability Insurance Agency; and
implementation of the recommendations of the Respect@Work report.
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
1.31
Key issues discussed included the decision to prosecute Mr Richard Boyle; and the prosecution of Mr Bernard Collaery and Witness K.
Commonwealth Ombudsman
1.32
Mr Michael Manthorpe PSM, Commonwealth Ombudsman, made an opening statement.
1.33
Key issues discussed included complaints made about actions taken by Comcare and complaints from whistleblowers about the handling of public interest disclosures.
Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
1.34
Mr David Pringle, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court, made an opening statement.
1.35
Key issues discussed included:
progress of the joint rules harmonisation project ahead of the merger between the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia;
projected impact of additional registrars on caseload;
programs to support the welfare of judicial officers;
caseloads and case resolution time periods;
additional funding measures in the 2021-22 Budget, including for additional judicial officers in South Australia and the Family Advocacy and Support Services;
consideration of family violence matters in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia; and
criticisms from sectors of the legal profession in relation to the creation of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia;
re-establishment of court circuits, particularly to regional areas of South Australia; and
efforts to address the use of 'disappointment' fees by barristers.
National Archives of Australia
1.36
Key issues discussed included:
vacancies on, and tenure of members of the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council;
funding for the National Archives of Australia and implementation of the recommendations of the Functional and Efficiency Review of the National Archives of Australia by Mr David Tune AO PSM, particularly in relation to the preservation of records; and
processing times for applications for the release of materials and caseload of outstanding requests.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
1.37
Key issues discussed included:
caseload and waiting periods for processing freedom of information (FOI) requests;
appointment of the FOI Commissioner;
complaints made under section 70 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) about an agency's performance; and
the Commissioner-initiated investigation by the Information Commissioner of the Department of Home Affairs' compliance with requirements of the FOI Act.
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
1.38
Key issues discussed included:
the Royal Commissions Amendment (Confidentiality Protections) Bill 2020;
future plans by the Royal Commission to hold public hearings in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and other jurisdictions not yet visited;
budget and staffing levels;
community engagement by the royal commission, including with First Nations communities and stakeholders;
counselling services engaged by the royal commission;
waiting periods for private sessions and hearings;
resignation of former commissioner the Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO; and
vetting processes for the selection of witnesses.
Acknowledgement
1.39
The committee thanks the ministers and officers who provided evidence, and support for, the committee's hearings.
Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
Chair