Public hearing to hear from experts on proposed military secrets bill

Issue date: Wednesday, 21 February 2024

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The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) will hear evidence tomorrow from a range of expert witnesses for the Review of the Defence Amendment (Safeguarding Australia’s Military Secrets) Bill 2023.

The Committee will hear from a number of witnesses, including the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, and key government agencies: the Department of Defence and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

 “The Military Secrets Bill will work to regulate the work that certain former defence staff members can perform for or on behalf of a military organisation or government body of a relevant foreign country. The Committee will closely examine the Military Secrets Bill to ensure that it appropriately manages the potential risk of former defence staff members revealing sensitive defence information and placing Australia’s national security at risk,” said PJCIS Chair Mr Peter Khalil MP.

“The public hearing will allow the PJCIS to hear from industry groups regarding its potential impacts. The Committee will then test this evidence with the Department of Defence who would administer this legislation and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation,” Mr Khalil said.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

Public Hearing Details

Thursday, 22 February 2024
10:00AM – 12:15PM (AEDT)
Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

A program for the hearing can be found here and the hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Media inquiries

Chair Mr Peter Khalil MP, via Lachlan Hinds
0455 999 677
lachlan.t.hinds@aph.gov.au

For background information

Committee Secretariat, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, (02) 6277 2360 or pjcis@aph.gov.au.

For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner of the page.

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