Introduction

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 (the Act). Subsection 7(1) of the Act includes a specific requirement for the committee to report to Parliament on matters appearing in and arising out of the annual reports of the AFP.[1]

Report under consideration

1.2        The AFP Annual Report 2014-15 (annual report) was presented to the Minister for Justice, the Hon Michael Keenan MP, on 16 October 2015. It was tabled in the Senate[2] and in the House of Representatives[3] on 9 November 2015.

1.3        The committee's report into the annual report is divided into four chapters.

1.4        Chapter 2 examines issues related to the AFP's performance against its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), together with an examination of its financial statements and staffing profile.

1.5        Chapter 3 examines key law enforcement and accountability issues arising in 2014-15, including the AFP's internal complaint handling performance and issues arising from the Commonwealth Ombudsman's statutory responsibility to oversee aspects of the work of the AFP.

1.6        Chapter discusses changes to the oversight of the AFP by the committee, due to legislative amendments moved by the government as part of an overhaul of national security arrangements.

Examination of the report

1.7        In examining the annual report, the committee held a public hearing at Parliament House, Canberra on 3 February 2016. The witnesses who appeared before the committee are listed in Appendix 1.

Acknowledgements

1.8        The committee acknowledges the cooperation of the AFP Commissioner, Mr Andrew Colvin APM OAM, and other AFP officers who assisted the committee in conducting its examination.

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