National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No. 2) Bill 2023

The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bill in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read it for a third time. Since the bill has already passed in the House of Representatives, it will now become law.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest:

The purpose of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures Bill 2023 (the Bill) is to amend Commonwealth legislation relating to national security and intelligence. Specifically, the Bill seeks to:

• implement ten recommendations from the 2019 Comprehensive review of the legal framework of the national intelligence community (the Richardson Review)

• make changes to the composition of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS)

• clarify the level of detail required in a Ministerial direction to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) under the Intelligence Services Act 2001.

More specifically, the bills digest summarises that the bill:

• Removes the ability of the Attorney-General to delegate powers under the ASIO Act (except financial assistance powers). Limits the ability of the Executive to confer the Attorney-General’s powers with respect to ASIO on another Minister.
• Provides new defences for ASIO relating to interference with facilities, unauthorised modification of data and impairment of electronic communication.
• Increases the membership of PJCIS from 11 to 13 and specifies the composition of Senate and House members.
• Allows ASIO to use, record and disclose spent conviction information.
• Requires the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) to report annually on public interest disclosures and complaints made to IGIS.
• Removes the ability for the Ombudsman to investigate complaints concerning ASIS, the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) and the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO).
• Removes freedom of information (FOI) exemptions for the AGO for documents related to the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO).
• Requires Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) proceedings in relation to security records to be heard in the Security Division of the AAT. Narrows the circumstances in which IGIS is required to provide evidence to the AAT.
• Clarifies the level of detail required in a Ministerial direction to the ASIS.