Chapter One - Annual Reports of Government Departments


Chapter One - Annual Reports of Government Departments

1.1       The following reports of government departments for the financial year 2003-2004 were referred to the Committee for examination and report:

  • the Attorney General's Department; and
  • the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.

Attorney General's Department

1.2       The Secretary's Review in the Department's annual report advises of a number of areas in which the Department has been active over the reporting period. The Secretary's Review indicates that the Department has invested a great deal of time and effort in ensuring its ability to participate fully in whole of Government responses to a range of challenges, most particularly in the field of national security.

1.3       The Committee notes the growth in staff numbers within the Department to over 840 full time positions as at 1 July 2004, a gain of more than 120 positions over the previous year.

1.4       Throughout the reporting period, the Criminal Justice Division and the Information and Security Law Division worked on a range of legislative instruments in the areas of national security, anti-terrorism and telecommunications interception. This included legislation such as:

  • the Criminal Code Amendment (Terrorist Organisations) Act 2004 (Cth);
  • the Criminal Code amendment (Hamas and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba) Act 2003 (Cth);
  • the Anti-terrorism Act 2004 (Cth); and
  • the Surveillance Devices Bill 2004.

1.5       The Department's Protective Security Coordination Centre organised the Mercury 04 terrorism exercise which saw 16 Australian Federal, State and Territory agencies respond to a series of fictional terrorist incidents throughout the country. Agencies responded to incidents in Darwin, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart, and to an attack on an off-shore oil and gas facility off Australia's north-west coast.

1.6       The Office of International Law provided legal services and advice concerning a number of issues in a range of areas. For example, the Office assisted in negotiations of the Australia-US and the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreements, and:

...provided sound policy and legal advice on a wide range of matters being considered at the UN Commission on Human Rights.[4]

1.7       The Committee notes the statement from the Australian National Audit Office in its audit report that:

...in prior years, the department did not maintain adequate accounts and records in resect of payments against the special appropriations made under the National Firearms Implementation Act 1998, the Law Officers Act 1964, and the High Court Justices (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979.[5]

1.8       The Committee also notes that appropriate steps have been taken by the department to ensure that the breaches of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 mentioned above will not recur.

1.9       The Committee considers the annual report of the Attorney-General's Department to be "apparently satisfactory."

Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

1.10   The Secretary's Review in the Department's annual report advises of the continued rise in the number of visa grants within the Migration Program. The number of visas granted through the program exceeded 114,000, the highest in over a decade.

1.11   The Department implemented a number of key initiatives in response to a whole-of-government strategy designed to combat people trafficking. Initiatives included:

  • an extended visa regime that provided for a person who assists with investigations and/or prosecutions of people trafficking matters to remain in Australia with access to victim support. Two new visas came into effect on 1 January 2004:
  • a Bridging F Visa (BVF) which enables a stay of an initial period of 30 days (with intensive case management support) while law enforcement authorities decide if a longer stay is required. Ten BVFs have been granted;
  • a witness protection (Trafficking) visa which enables a person to remain in Australia temporarily or permanently where they have assisted with an investigation of prosecution and may be at personal risk if they return to their home country.[6]

1.12   The Migration Amendment (Identification and Authentication) Act 2004 is seen by the Department as an important initiative, involving the use of biometric data to assist in establishing the identity of persons wishing to enter Australia. The Department noted that this:

... also allows Australia to keep pace with technological developments being implemented in other countries such as the USA, and EU Member States.'[7]

1.13   On 15 April 2004 the government announced its intention to abolish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and to transfer indigenous programs to other Departments and Agencies. The Department's Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (OATSIA) provided advice on a range of other reforms such as:

  • the establishment of Indigenous Coordination Centres to enhance service delivery to Indigenous communities;
  • the establishment of a Ministerial Taskforce to oversee coordination of Indigenous Policy and program delivery; and
  • the establishment of the Office on Indigenous Policy Coordination.[8]

1.14   The Committee considers the annual report of the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs to be "apparently satisfactory."