Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, , 51:00 to 1:00:01
Examination of the timeline for classification reforms, staffing for online safety, and the potential for a PG 13 rating for written material.
Topics: Online safety, Law reform
Speakers: Senator Malcolm Roberts, Senator Nita Green, Ms Sarah Vandenbroek, Speaker 8, Mr David Mackay, Mr Jim Betts, Senator The Hon Sarah Henderson
Thank you, Chair, and thank you for appearing again today. Some of my questions, Chair may verge under the next next segment, but they certainly apply in corporate matters to start with. How many staff work in the online safety and classification division, please? And what's their divisional budget?
Good morning, Sarah Vandenbroek, First Assistant Secretary, Digital Policy Online Safety and Classification Division. The budget for the entire division, which is a bit broader than just online safety is 496 ASL. I'm not sure I have the dollar figure of the budget with me. I'm not sure if Mr. Smith has that.
We will have that with us. I'll just take a minute and the team can just provide me with that information.
496 is the head count.
Sorry.
496 was the headcount.
96 is the average staffing level, not paid count. Sorry, Senator 96 is the head count, 91.7 is the average staffing level. If you were looking just specifically at the online safety branch within that, the average staffing level is 20.3.
And what about the classification division?
The classification branch has an average staffing level of 18.8.
Thank you. So my questions once again relate relate to the review of Australia's classification system. We've been on this for some time. Last estimates I asked about written material and kept on getting answers relating to other media as well. Can we save time today and just limit your answer to written material, please? That's what I'm after. The review of the classification system started in 2019 with the Stevens review. Legislation inspired by the Stevens review occurred in 2024, five years later. Then the current review started into the issue Stevens raised but did not resolve. It's now 2026. This whole process continues at what seems to me to be a snail space. Public consultation on the measures you expect to take was completed in May. It's now October. Minister, what is the timeline for completing the review and making our classification system fit for purpose? When will you finish it?
Thanks, Senator, for the question. I think we are merging into some different outcomes. The Department can step you through where we're up to with that process. If there's more detailed questions on the policy, we might need to wait until we get to that outcome. But yeah, we'll we'll do our best.
Okay.
Senator David Mackay, Deputy Secretary, Communications, Media and Sport. As you mentioned, the consultation process opened on the 23rd of March, closed on the 29th of May. Ms. Vandenbroek might have an update on when we expect that will occur.
We don't have any final timing locked in at this point.
The Minister, last estimates, Mr. Cole made this. I think it was Mr. Cole, made the statement, quote, there hasn't been a commitment by government to introduce legislation to introduce this reform. That's the end of the quote. Can you at least confirm, Minister, that the government is committed to legislate these reforms when the final version is completed?
No, I'm not going to preempt the decisions. We're working through the process at the moment.
In May, I asked about the BG 13 classification for written work, which is clearly provided for in the draft guidelines, and the answer from Mr. Cole was not clear. For clarity, is the current proposal to include a PG 13 rating for written work?
That has been consulted on. We heard mixed views from the people that we consulted as to the introduction of a PG 13 plus rating. So that is a matter that we are still working through as to whether that will be introduced or not.
Thank you. The MA 15 plus, which is proposed to move to MA 16 plus, currently has the restriction that a person under this age cannot view this material without parental supervision. The wording will need to change to include written material. Setting that aside, if some of the adult pornographic cartoons I've been asking about previously are classified MA16 plus, will the guidelines support a decision by the states or libraries to only offer that material in a physically restricted way, such as a lock cabinet if it's accessible at all?
That's a matter for the states and territories.
Is the Department on board? Do you believe in the report?
The Department can't be asked to express opinions on numbers on that.
It might be a different way of phrasing the question. I think when a question starts with do you believe, that's when we get into opinion territory, Senator. Sorry.
I understand that, but there seems to be a slowness, slowness that goes beyond just being slowness. Is it intentional? Do you intend, Minister, to do something about this?
Well, look, I I can't really add to our previous answers. I mean we are working on this. The Department does have a very large body of work that we are undertaking. And if there's further information we can give you, we will update you on that.
Well I'm feeling underwhelmed and I lack confidence in in the uh in the in the minister because she's not meeting my need for commitment. Well can we get some sign of commitment here?
Senator, it's not um uh it's not for me, representing the minister today to make our policy on the run. It's really important that when we do have uh when we are considering a policy like this where respectfully there are very different views from yours, I imagine, and I'm not um uh someone who's spent a lot of time considering those views, but I imagine there are different views which need to be balanced. That is why we are taking the time to consider all of the options available to the government.
Can you see how from our perspective it looks like it's stalling?
Senator, I uh I reject that allegation and um uh I you know uh register your interest and um and your um concern and we'll continue to do the work that the department is doing.
So are you going to provide the guidelines needed for states to control this obscene material being displayed for our children? Are you are you are you on board with that?
Sorry, I missed that question, Senator. You'll have to.
The intent is clear. Are you providing the guidelines needed for states to control this obscene material being displayed to young children?
Uh well, Senator, um, as you know, um agreement is required from all states and territories. Um so we will seek to work with states and territory governments on this work.
Are you pushing it?
Well, Senator, I'm not the minister. I'm representing the Minister today, um, and we are continuing to work with states and territories on this.
Okay, Minister, I'll just finish by saying that there are a lot of parents very worried about this not being done.
Sure, I I understand that. Um we we have responded to the request of parents to take action on um uh social media. We are progressing that work and um we will always stand on the side of parents. We need to make sure that the views that you have or others have are balanced against the views of others to make sure that there's a fair system in place.
And the protection of children.
Of course, the protection of children, Senator, that's the guiding principle of all of the policies that the Australian government's brought forward in this space. You haven't agreed with most of those, but we would hopefully um be able to um continue that work through this portfolio.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Chair.
So Senator, can I just Senator Roberts? So the funding uh budget for the division is 19.6 million for the year.
Thanks, Chair.