Committee to review 'declared area' provisions

THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has commenced a statutory review into the ‘declared area’ provisions, listed in sections 119.2 and 119.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

The provisions were introduced as part of the Foreign Fighters Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendments in 2014, and make it an offence for a person to enter, or remain in, declared areas of a foreign country, historically on the basis of regional terrorism activity.

Under a sunset clause, the provisions are due to expire on September 7, 2021. The Committee will review and make recommendations on whether they should be extended.

The Committee requests submissions to the inquiry by Friday August 28, 2020.

Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee.

Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

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

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