Chapter 4Access to Australian Parliament House by lobbyists
3.1The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) administers the pass system that provides access to Australian Parliament House (APH), under the APH Private Area Access Policy (the APHPAA Policy) and the APH Security Policy and Governance Framework.
3.2There are 14 categories of unescorted access passes to APH listed in the APHPAA Policy. While none of these are specific to lobbyists, it is generally assumed lobbyists fall under the sponsored pass category, also referred to as an 'orange pass'.
3.3At a public hearing on 8 April 2024, the Secretary of DPS, Mr Rob Stefanic, advised the committee that 'sponsored passes are not lobbyist passes'. Indeed, Mr Stefanic noted that the list of sponsored pass holders 'includes advocacy groups, academics, peak bodies, unions, non-government organisations, local government and faith-based organisations'.
3.4Further, as noted in Chapter 3, and as stated by Mr Stefanic, there is currently no interaction between the pass system administered by DPS and the Code of Conduct and Register of Lobbyists administered by the Attorney-General's Department.
3.5This chapter provides an overview of the administration of the sponsored pass system and finds that under the current privacy arrangements it is not possible to ascertain the scale of lobbyist access to APH.
The various pass categories
3.6APH is divided into public and private areas. To access private areas of the building, either an escorted access pass or an unescorted access pass is required.
3.7Escorted passes are issued to visitors to the building who present valid photographic identification, such as a driver's license or passport, and are either signed in by an authorised passholder or attending an authorised function. Escorted passes are intended to provide temporary visitor access and are generally valid for one day.
3.8Unescorted passes are issued to people who can demonstrate a business requirement for accessing APH on a regular basis.
3.9There are 14 types of unescorted access passes listed in the APHPAA Policy. These are:
Current Senators (including those who are Ministers);
Current Members (including those who are Ministers);
Ministerial employees;
Protocol (including former federal parliamentarians and current and former State and Territory parliamentarians);
Nominated family members of current parliamentarians;
Staff and volunteers of current Senators and Members;
Australian Parliamentary Service employees;
Australian Public Service employees;
Media;
Contractors;
Sponsored persons who:
have a significant and regular business requirement for unescorted access;
are engaged by political party secretariats;
are official guests and visitors; or
are parents of children in childcare;
Sponsored local First Nations Recognised Elders and Custodians;
Special events (non-photographic); and
Temporary security (non-photographic) for members of the Australian Federal Police or the Parliamentary Security Service.
3.10This inquiry is specifically concerned with passholders in the sub-category of sponsored persons with a significant and regular business requirement for unescorted access who are also lobbyists.
3.11Mr Stefanic advised the committee that, as of 31 March 2024, of the 2052sponsored passholders 1977 fall into the sub-category of sponsored persons with a significant and regular business requirement for unescorted access.
3.12However, noting Mr Stefanic's assertion that 'sponsored passes are not lobbyist passes', under the current APHPAA Policy, it would not be possible to substantiate an assumption that the majority of these passholders are lobbyists.
The process and eligibility requirements for obtaining and maintaining a sponsored pass
3.13All sponsored pass applications require the sponsorship of a parliamentarian or the head of a parliamentary department.
3.14However, the process for obtaining a sponsored pass is not entirely transparent as it relies on an existing passholder, or 'insider', with knowledge of and access to the internal DPS system to access the relevant forms required to commence a pass application.
3.1Mr Stefanic advised the committee that of the 2052 sponsored passholders, seven are currently sponsored by a parliamentary department head.
3.2In addition to the sponsorship requirements, applicants in the sub-category of sponsored persons with a significant and regular business requirement for unescorted access are subject to further suitability requirements, including:
(a)the nominating sponsor must have known the individual or the organisation for 12 months or longer; and
(b)where the individual has not been known for 12 months their employing organisation must provide a letter vouching for the person and their need for significant and regular business access.
3.3The APHPAA Policy provides that applications for an unescorted pass require the collection of personal information including the applicant's:
(a)name;
(b)address;
(c)contact details;
(d)employment details;
(e)identification; and
(f)vehicle registration details.
3.4This information is then considered by the DPS Security Pass Office alongside supporting documentation, including a:
Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC);
APH Access Card Application Form;
APH Authorised Officer Nomination Form; and
DPS Access Request Risk Assessment.
3.5The information gathered via the application process is then used to assess an applicant's suitability to obtain an unescorted access pass.
3.6When a pass is granted, the passholder is required to adhere to the compliance responsibilities set out in the APHPAA Policy, including:
clearly displaying the pass whilst in the private areas of APH;
protecting the pass from loss, damage, theft, or misuse;
immediately reporting the loss of a pass to the DPS Security Pass Office; and
informing the DPS Security Pass Office of changes to personal circumstances which impact their suitability to maintain the pass.
3.7Generally, sponsored passes are issued for a period of three years and remain valid until the end of the parliamentary term in which they are granted. These passes can then be renewed at the beginning of the following term of parliament.
3.8If the parliamentarian that sponsored the pass ceases to be a member of parliament, either by way of an election or for any other reason, there is an unspecified grace period in which a passholder may seek a new sponsor.
3.9Passes that are not used for a period of 180 consecutive days are deactivated.
3.10Under the APHPAA Policy, the Presiding Officers of the Parliament, being the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or their delegates, are empowered to suspend or cancel any pass where:
(a)a person may be considered a threat to the security of the functions of the Parliament, the building itself or its occupants or visitors;
(b)a person has abused the privileges provided to them; or
(c)a person has signed in a visitor who has not complied with the terms and conditions regarding access to the private areas.
3.11In addition to the powers of the Presiding Officers, the sponsoring parliamentarian or parliamentary department head may also revoke their sponsorship, in effect cancelling the pass.
3.12Sponsors also retain the ability to specify the hours that the pass provides access which, for example, may restrict the sponsored passholder's access to standard business hours, as opposed to 24/7 access.
Privacy and the passholder database
3.13The DPS Privacy Policy provides that all personal information gathered for the purposes of assessing, granting, and managing access passes to APH is stored securely and managed in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988.
3.14Unlike the Register of Lobbyists, which is a publicly accessible database, the current privacy arrangements around the passholder database prevent information from being made public regarding who holds a sponsored pass, what interests they represent, which parliamentarian sponsored their pass, and how often and for what purposes they access APH.
3.15Mr Stefanic advised the committee that:
Disclosure of personal information for a purpose not connected with 'identity verification and managing the security of Australian Parliament House' would be inconsistent with both the DPS Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 1988, and in particular Australian Privacy Principle 6.
3.16The current privacy arrangements and the absence of any interaction between the pass system and the Code of Conduct and Register of Lobbyists make it impossible to ascertain the scale of lobbyist access to APH.
3.17Analysis to this effect would therefore rely on a speculative assumption that the majority of sponsored passholders are lobbyists who regularly conduct lobbying activities inside APH.