The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security today tabled its advisory report on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020.

Media release issue date: Thursday, 3 December 2020

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security today tabled its advisory report on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020. The Committee recommended that, following implementation of the recommendations in its report, the ASIO Amendment Bill 2020 be passed by Parliament. The Chair of the Committee Mr Andrew Hastie MP said “The Committee made a number of recommendations. In particular and to ensure that the Committee is able to carry out its oversight role appropriately is has recommended that the Bill be amended to allow the Committee to request a written or oral briefing on any matter in relation to any questioning warrant as reported in the Annual Report prepared by the Director-General of ASIO.” “The Committee takes its oversight role extremely seriously. The powers of ASIO, or indeed any security agency, are not set and forget.“ Mr Hastie said. To provide a greater level of safety for children the Committee recommended that the Bill 2020 should be amended to require the Attorney-General to take into account the best interests of the child as a primary consideration in deciding whether to issue a minor questioning warrant In addition, the Committee recommended that: the sunsetting time is reduced from 10 to 5 years; the Committee may review the operation, effectiveness and implications of the questioning powers ahead of that sunset date; and, a legal practitioner able to be appointed as a prescribed authority must have engaged in legal practice for at least 10 years and be a Queen’s Counsel or a Senior Counsel. Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website. Media enquiries: Chair, Mr Andrew Hastie MP 08 9534 8044 (Electorate office)  02 6277 4223 (Parliament House) For Background Information:  Committee Secretariat 02 6277 2360 pjcis@aph.gov.au

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) will hold a public hearing tomorrow for its review into the effectiveness of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020.

Media release issue date: Thursday, 9 July 2020

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security will hold a public hearing tomorrow for its review into the effectiveness of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020. The Bill review was requested by the Minister for Home Affairs in a letter to the Committee available here. Public Hearing Details Date: Friday, 10 July 2020 Time 10.00 am – 5.00 pm (AEST) Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra The Committee will hear from the Law Council of Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Inspector General for Intelligence and Security, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Security intelligence Organisation and the Department of Home Affairs. A program for the hearing can be found here. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, teleconference and video conference facilities will be used to connect witnesses to Committee Members. The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website. Media Inquiries Chair, Mr Andrew Hastie MP (Canning, WA) 08 9534 8044 (Electorate office) 02 6277 4223 (Parliament House) For Background Information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 2360 pjcis@aph.gov.au

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has commenced a review into the effectiveness of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020.

Media release issue date: Monday, 18 May 2020

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has commenced a review into the effectiveness of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020. The bill review was requested by the Minister for Home Affairs in a letter to the Committee available here. The Bill amends the compulsory questioning framework in the ASIO Act by: enabling ASIO’s continued use of questioning warrants, but removing its ability to use questioning and detention warrants; replacing the existing detention framework with a more limited apprehension framework;  enabling the use of questioning warrants in relation to espionage, politically motivated violence (including terrorism) and acts of foreign interference;  providing the power for a police officer to conduct a search of a person who is apprehended in connection with a questioning warrant; and permitting ASIO to seek a questioning warrant in relation to minors aged 14 to 18 years old, but only where the minor is themselves the target of an ASIO investigation in relation to politically motivated violence  The Committee requests submissions to the inquiry by Friday 26 June 2020. Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee. Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link. Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website. Media inquiries: Chair, Mr Andrew Hastie MP (Canning, WA) on 08 9534 8044 (Electorate office) or (02) 6277 4223 (Parliament House) For background information: Committee Secretariat, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, (02) 6277 2360 or pjcis@aph.gov.au. For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner of the page.