Declared Areas Offence under review by the Intelligence and Security Committee

THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security will hold a public hearing for its review of the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Declared Areas) Bill 2024 (Declared Areas Bill) today, May 20.

Counter-terrorism provisions within the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Criminal Code) include the ability for the Minister for Foreign Affairs to ‘declare’ an area, making it a potential offence, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, for an Australian citizen, resident or visa-holder to enter or remain in the area. The declared areas offence is presently due to sunset in September 2024.

The committee has invited government and non-government representatives to its hearing to discuss the Declared Areas Bill, which primarily aims to continue the declared areas offence and related provisions in the Criminal Code for a further three years.

Committee Chair, Peter Khalil MP, said, "The committee has received mixed evidence regarding the declared areas offence. We look forward to hearing from a range of government and non-government witnesses to inform our review and report to Parliament."

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

The Committee’s website has a full program for the hearing, and the hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Public hearing

Monday, 20 May 2024
11:30am – 2:30pm AEST
Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra, and via videoconference.

 

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