Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Amendment Bill 2011 [Provisions]
Information about the Inquiry
On 12 May 2011 the Senate referred the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Amendment Bill 2011 for inquiry and report.
The Bill amends the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986. These amendments are primarily targeted at updating and modernising the operation of the Act.
The amendments will:
• recognise expressly the role of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) in assisting the Government to provide the Parliament and the public with assurances that the use of special powers and capabilities by the Australian Intelligence Community (AIC) is subject to scrutiny;
• provide the IGIS with the capacity to undertake own-motion preliminary inquiries;
• extend the capacity of the IGIS to undertake own-motion full inquiries;
• provide the IGIS with the capacity to delegate the powers of the Office of the IGIS, subject to Ministerial approval;
• provide the IGIS with the capacity to release material to Royal Commissions, at the discretion of the Government, to assist Royal Commissions, while ensuring the effective operation of limitations on any unauthorised release of sensitive or classified material by current or former IGIS officers to a court, coronial inquiry or Royal Commission; and
• update and modernise a number of provisions of the Act, while not changing substantively the role, powers or functions of the IGIS.
Submissions should be received by 10 June 2011. The reporting date is 07 July 2011.
The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations preferably in electronic form submitted online or sent by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au as an attached Adobe PDF or MS Word format document. The email must include full postal address and contact details.
Alternatively, written submissions may be sent to:
Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Committees
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
Notes to help you prepare your submission are available from the website at https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm. Alternatively, the Committee Secretariat will be able to help you with your inquiries and can be contacted on telephone +61 2 6277 3560 or facsimile +61 2 6277 5794 or by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to Parliament House TTY number 02 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools at http://access.adobe.com/ for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. If you require any special arrangements to enable you to participate in the Committee's inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretariat.
Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes a confidential Committee document and is protected by Parliamentary Privilege. You must not release your submission without the Committee's permission. If you do, it will not be protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes submissions public and places them on its website. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.
For further information, contact: Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Committees
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia