1.1
The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (the committee) examined the proposed 2021–22 expenditure of the Home Affairs portfolio and the Attorney-General’s portfolio at public hearings held on 14 and 15 February 2022.
1.2
This report does not attempt to analyse the evidence presented to the committee; however, it does outline the key issues considered by the committee during its examination of the proposed 2021–22 expenditure.
Referral of documents
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On 10 February 2022, the Senate referred the following documents to committees for examination and report:
Particulars of proposed additional expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2022 [Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2021-2022]; and
Particulars of certain proposed additional expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2022 [Appropriation Bill (No.4) 2021-2022];
together with the final budget outcome 2020-21 and the advances under the annual Appropriation Acts for 2020-21.
Portfolio oversight
1.4
The committee is responsible for examining the proposed expenditure of the departments and agencies within the Home Affairs and Attorney-General’s portfolios.
Questions on notice
1.5
In accordance with Standing Order 26, the committee has drawn the attention of the departments and their agencies to the agreed deadline of Friday, 25 March 2022 for the receipt of answers to questions taken on notice.
1.6
This report has been prepared without reference to any responses to questions on notice.
1.7
Tabled documents from the hearing, along with responses to questions on notice and additional information provided to the committee, are tabled in the Senate and uploaded to the committee’s website.
Hansard transcripts
1.8
A transcription of the committee’s hearings is made via the Committee Hansard, which is published on the estimates webpage.
1.9
References in this report are to the proof Committee Hansard. Page numbers may vary between the proofs and the final versions of the Committee Hansard.
Home Affairs portfolio
1.10
At its hearing on 14 February 2022, the committee examined the outcomes of the Home Affairs portfolio. Evidence was presented by Senator the Hon Amanda Stoker on behalf of the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs and Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie the Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience. Senior officers from the Home Affairs portfolio also gave evidence, including the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Michael Pezzullo AO.
1.11
The committee took evidence from the following departments and agencies.
Department of Home Affairs (including Australian Border Force (ABF));
Australian Federal Police (AFP);
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO); and
Office of the Special Investigator (OSI).
Key issues
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The committee discussed a wide range of topics relating to the Home Affairs portfolio, including those outlined in the following sections.
Department of Home Affairs (including Australian Border Force)
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Mr Pezzullo and Mr Michael Outram PSM, Commissioner of the ABF made opening statements.
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Key issues discussed included:
a 2018 ‘stress test’ that examined the ability of the Department of Home Affairs to assist the Department of Health during a pandemic scenario;
preparations by the Department of Home Affairs and ABF for the reopening of the Australian border to international arrivals;
a contract (AusTender CN3815437) between the Department of Home Affairs and AirBnB in 2021 to provide quarantine accommodation to government officials returning from overseas;
engagement between the department and the Minister for Home Affairs’ office around decisions to release people from Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) into the community;
aerial firefighting capacity and the National Aerial Firefighting Strategy 2021–26 produced by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC);
floods in South Australia and the role of Emergency Management Australia (EMA) in responding to them;
cybersecurity and ransomware;
funding for security at regional airports;
the administrative structure of the National Coordination Mechanism and its engagement with industry groups;
a tender that the Department of Home Affairs has advertised for identity-matching services;
the distribution of funds from the Safer Communities Grant program;
status of the terrorism threat in Australia from the perspective of the Department of Home Affairs;
welfare of Australian women and children in Syria and the possibility of their repatriation and reintegration into the Australian community;
the Prime Minister’s loss of access to his WeChat account;
the process undertaken to grant a visa to Mr Novak Djokovic;
visas for Afghan nationals;
settlement support services offered to migrants from Afghanistan;
the timeline for the introduction of the Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD);
tests of Aboriginality for the purposes of the application of the provisions of the Migration Act 1958 with reference to the Federal Court’s decision in McHugh v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2020] FCAFC 223;
public health orders and attendance at citizenship ceremonies in Queensland;
matters relating to the establishment of the DPD including funding and Accenture contract CN3441145 which procured information technology consultation services;
Federal Court matter relating to respondent EGZ17;
New Zealand’s offer to resettle 150 refugees detained in Australia;
Parliamentary Liaison Network’s service standards;
the Agriculture Visa program;
amending Safe Haven Enterprise Visa regions to include Perth;
COVID-19 concessions for holders of 457, 476, 482, 485 and 500 visas;
COVID-19 vaccination and quarantine requirements for entry to Australia;
the process that led to the decision to cancel Mr Novak Djokovic’s visa;
powers available to ABF officers to seize mobile phones and the data contained on mobile phones in customs-controlled areas;
matters relating to Operation Sovereign Borders including ‘turn-backs’ and the Zero Chance campaign;
the process of searching electronic material seized by the ABF after it exercised a search warrant in Bundaberg, Queensland; and
the detention and deportation of Ms Renata Voracova.
Australian Federal Police
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Commissioner Reece Kershaw APM made an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
illicit drug trafficking in Australia and the potential risks associated with the decriminalisation of illicit drugs;
protest activity at Australian Parliament House on 12 February 2022;
progress on a review into the safety of parliamentarians;
cooperation between the AFP and Chinese law enforcement agencies;
Northern Territory Child Abuse Taskforce; and
the outcome of a fraud and corruption investigation conducted by the AFP and the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
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Mr Mike Burgess, Director-General of Security, made an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
partisanship and public confidence in ASIO;
the radicalisation of minors; and
nationalist racist violent extremism.
Office of the Special Investigator
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Mr Chris Moraitis PSM, Director-General, made an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
the number of staff employed by OSI and the number of staff with special investigator roles; and
the OSI’s correspondence with the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor.
Attorney-General’s portfolio
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At its hearing on 15 February 2022, the committee examined the outcomes of the Attorney-General’s portfolio. Evidence was provided by the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash and Senator the Hon Amanda Stoker assistant minister to the Attorney-General and senior officers of the Attorney-General’s portfolio, including the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, Ms Katherine Jones PSM.
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The committee took evidence from the following department and agencies within the Attorney-General’s portfolio:
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT);
Attorney-General’s Department (AGD);
Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC);
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP);
Federal Court of Australia and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia;
National Archives of Australia (NAA);
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC);
Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide; and
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission).
Key issues
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The committee discussed a wide range of topics relating to the Attorney-General’s portfolio, including those outlined below.
Attorney-General’s Department
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Key issues discussed included:
the settlement of sexual harassment claims against the former High Court judge the Hon Dyson Heydon AC QC;
the Corporations Amendment (Improving Outcomes for Litigation Funding Participants) Bill;
the Social Media (Anti-Trolling) Bill 2022;
progress on the implementation of the recommendations in the Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report;
taxpayer-funded legal assistance for ministers and ministerial staff;
resources provided to the Respect@Work Council and the AHRC to assist in implementing the Respect@Work report;
funding for the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP);
the transfer of family violence prevention legal services from the National Indigenous Australians Agency to NLAP;
the proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission;
the status of reforms to the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 including the implementation of recommendations from the Review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (the Moss Review) and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s Inquiry into the Impact of the Exercise of Law Enforcement and Intelligence Powers on the Freedom of the Press;
prosecution of Mr Bernard Collaery and Witness K; and
the Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
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Mr Jamie Crew, Acting Registrar, made an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
the number of applications to the AAT made by National Disability Insurance Scheme participants and the number of those applications finalised;
the promotion and remuneration of senior members of the AAT;
performance measures and benchmarking of members of the AAT;
the number of matters lodged and finalised by the Migration and Refugee Division (MRD) and the resources provided to that division;
the resignation of the former President, the Hon Justice David Thomas, and the former Registrar, Ms Sian Leathem; and
the audit of the AAT by the Australian National Audit Office and its identification of instances of overpayment to some part-time members in the MRD.
Australian Human Rights Commission
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Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, President, gave an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
the increase in the number of complaints received by the AHRC over the last three years and the resources available to the AHRC to address that increase;
Section 38(3) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984;
the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021;
the implementation of OPCAT in Australia;
the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people;
the number of staff available to support the Sex Discrimination Commissioner;
recommendation 38 of the Respect@Work report relating to the use of non-disclosure agreements in workplace sexual harassment cases;
the Respect@Work report and the Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (the Jenkins Review); and
the role of the Disability Advisory Council.
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
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Key issues discussed included:
the status of the legal proceedings against Mr Richard Boyle;
matters relating to the trials of Mr Bernard Collaery and Witness K including total costs to the CDPP and the Attorney-General’s Department, proceedings in the High Court, and a statement of solidarity with Mr Collaery signed by members of the East Timorese parliament; and
matters relating to the discontinued ‘ANZ bank criminal cartel case’ including the reasons for its discontinuation, the possibility of the CDPP undertaking a review into the conduct of the case, and the external costs to the CDPP.
Federal Court of Australia and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
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Mr David Pringle, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, made an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
the case management model used in Division 2 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court and the case clearance rate of that division;
the average time to trial for Division 1 cases;
the Lighthouse Project, which provides assistance to litigants who have experienced family violence and associated risks;
progress on the construction of new law courts in Launceston; and
the possibility of the Federal Circuit Court conducting circuits on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
High Court of Australia
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Key issues discussed included the High Court’s implementation of changes to its human resources policies based on the recommendations made by Dr Vivienne Thom AM after her investigation into sexual harassment claims.
National Archives of Australia
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Key issues discussed included:
records administration requirements for the release of National Cabinet documents from 2001;
the mechanism to appeal decisions relating to the withholding of records and the potential for reform to the Archives Act 1983 to alter the appeal process; and
progress on the digitisation and preservation of the National Archives’ collections.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
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Ms Angelene Falk, Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, made an opening statement.
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Key issues discussed included:
the increase in the number of Information Commissioner reviews that are over 12 months old between June 2018 and June 2021 and the appointment of a FOI commissioner; and
the outcome, to date, of legal proceedings lodged by the Information Commissioner in the Federal Court against Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland in March 2020.
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
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Key issues discussed included:
dates for planned public hearings in 2022 and the possibility of conducting public hearings in Western Australia;
the possibility of holding a hearing on the impact of the omicron variant of COVID-19;
advertising for private sessions and the duration of the waiting list for those sessions; and
demographics of witnesses providing evidence to the royal commission through public hearings, private sessions, and written submissions.
Acknowledgement
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The committee thanks the ministers and officers who provided evidence, and support for, the committee’s hearings.
Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
Chair