Duty to examine annual reports
1.1
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement (the committee) has a statutory duty to examine the annual report of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) under the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010 (PJCLE Act).
1.2
Paragraph 7(1)(f) of the PJCLE Act provides that one of the specific functions of the committee is to 'examine each annual report on the AFP and report to the Parliament on any matter appearing in, or arising out of, any such annual report'.
1.3
The duty of the committee to examine annual reports of the AFP under the PJCLE Act arises from an expectation that agencies which have been granted strong coercive powers, such as the AFP, should be subject to additional oversight.
1.4
Subsection 7(2)(g) of the PJCLE Act precludes the committee from monitoring, reviewing, or reporting on the performance of the AFP of its functions under Part 5.3 of the Criminal Code (that is, the AFP's counter-terrorism function).
Examination of the report
1.5
In examining the AFP's Annual Report 2019–20, the committee held a public hearing at Parliament House, Canberra, on 12 April 2021. Witnesses who appeared before the committee are listed in Appendix 1. Typically, the committee examines each annual report of the AFP and canvasses a range of contemporary issues pertaining to the organisation at its hearing. While the committee endeavours to restrict its examination to the 2019–20 period, matters that fall outside of the reporting year have been included in this report where necessary for completeness.
1.6
Each AFP annual report includes annexes that contain yearly reports on the National Witness Protection Program, unexplained wealth investigations and proceedings, and delayed notification search warrants as required under their respective pieces of legislation. This committee's report examines only the AFP annual report.
1.7
The Annual Report 2019–20 was presented to the then Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Peter Dutton MP, on 16 September 2020, and was tabled in the House of Representatives on 19 October 2020 and in the Senate on 9 November 2020.
1.8
On 2 October 2019, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw was sworn in following the decision of former AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin to not extend his tenure.
Structure of this report
1.9
This report comprises the following three chapters:
Chapter 1 outlines the committee's duty to examine annual reports and particulars of reports being considered.
Chapter 2 examines the purpose, outcomes and priorities of the AFP, changes to the AFP performance framework, the AFP's performance results for 2018-19, and the AFP's financial performance for the year.
Chapter 3 considers the AFP's progress in improving mental health in its workforce, the AFP's strategic and organisational restructure, key reports and findings from external scrutiny agencies which were released during or pertain to the 2019–20 year, and compliance with annual report requirements.
Acknowledgements
1.10
The committee acknowledges the cooperation and assistance of the AFP Commissioner and other AFP officers who assisted the committee in its examination.