The committee will hear evidence from People With Disability Australia commencing at 6pm.
The inquiry is looking into a range of areas, including:
The experience of First Nations applicants and applicants with disability in their dealings with the Scheme.
Accessibility, performance and effectiveness of support services and legal advice for survivors and their advocates.
Full details of what the inquiry is examining can be found in the terms of reference on the committee’s website. An easy English guide is also available.
THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has endorsed rules that allow sharing of information between administrators of the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS) and the Foreign Arrangements Scheme (FAS).
The new Rules authorise the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, which administers the FITS, to communicate FITS information to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), who are responsible for the FAS.
The committee agreed that streamlining interoperability between the two schemes was a legitimate and reasonable purpose for sharing FITS information with DFAT for the FAS.
The committee encouraged the government to consider a legislative amendment to similarly allow sharing information in the other direction, from the FAS to the FITS. The committee also urged administrators to take whatever measures they can to minimise the compliance burden on entities that may fall within both schemes.
The committee is undertaking a separate review of the FITS Act in its entirety, and looks forward to reporting to Parliament on that in due course.
Further information on both inquiries can be obtained from the Committee’s website.
The Bill was introduced into Parliament by the Attorney-General on August 10, 2023, and he then referred it to the PJCIS for review and report.
The Bill would extend the operation of Australian Federal Police (AFP) powers relating to terrorism under the Crimes Act 1914 (Crimes Act) and the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Criminal Code) for a further three years, to December 2026. Those powers relate to:
authority to stop, question and search persons and seize items in Commonwealth places, including in ‘prescribed security zones’ (Crimes Act, Part 1AA, Division 3A);
the control order regime (Criminal Code Division 104); and
the preventative detention order regime (Criminal Code Division 105).
The Bill would amend some conditions and requirements for the use of these powers, in response to the recommendations of a review of police powers undertaken by the PJCIS and presented to Parliament in October 2021.
The Bill would also extend the operation of Commonwealth secrecy offences under the Criminal Code for 12 months to December 2024, to allow the Government to complete its current review of Commonwealth secrecy provisions and consider any necessary reforms.
Chair of the PJCIS, Peter Khalil MP said, “The Australian Federal Police holds significant powers to protect the community against terrorism. This review will allow the committee to consider the government’s response to its previous recommendations to strengthen safeguards on those powers; and to ensure that the powers remain necessary and appropriate.”
Submissions to the inquiry are invited by Friday, October 6, 2023.
Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.
Division 3 of Part III of the ASIO Act provides for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to request that the Attorney-General issue a warrant to require a person to appear before a prescribed authority to give information, or produce a record or other thing, that is, or may be, relevant to intelligence that is important in relation to a questioning matter.
Chair of the PJCIS, Peter Khalil MP said, “This review will provide a valuable opportunity to consider the effectiveness of questioning warrants in relation to espionage, politically motivated violence and foreign interference, and the continued appropriateness of the current compulsory questioning laws.”
The committee requested submissions to the inquiry by Thursday, February 1, 2024.
Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.
The agreement, which is noted as ‘"a historic achievement" by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is a significant advancement in ocean sustainability. The agreement will prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies which contribute to the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks.
Committee Chair Josh Wilson MP said, “This is the first WTO agreement to focus on environmental sustainability and delivers on a key Sustainable Development Goal target. This is positive for the environment, for humankind and for the sustainability of the world’s fisheries.”
The agreement specifically prohibits subsidies to a vessel or operator that is engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, in addition to subsidies for fishing of overfished stocks and unregulated high seas fishing.
“The committee notes the importance of addressing the sustainability of the world’s global marine capture fisheries resources," Mr Wilson said. "This is especially important in the Pacific region and it is very welcome that Australia worked in partnership with Pacific nations to realise those interests as part of the treaty negotiations.”
The committee noted the value of the Fisheries Funding Mechanism which will support the implementation of the agreement, to which Australia has already donated A$2 million, reflecting the importance of these issues to Australia. Notably, Australia was the first to make a pledge to the new mechanism.
The committee held a public hearing as part of its inquiry into the Agreement and heard from Government and other stakeholders. The committee noted the support of the government for the agreement.
The committee supports ratification and recommends that binding treaty action be taken.
The report can be found on the Committee website, along with further information on the inquiry.
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