Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, , 5:54:05 to 5:58:46
The committee explores the need for specialized digital security support for victims of tracking and the possibility of legislative changes to criminalize extraterritorial coercion.
Topics: Online safety, Law reform
Speakers: Senator David Shoebridge, Stephanie Foster, Ciara Spencer, Hon Murray Watt, Unknown Speaker, Senator Jana Stewart
I I have some of that information for this calendar year if that's helpful now.
Well, that would be helpful. Thanks, Ms. Spencer.
So, in terms of um if I go directly to community engagement, we've had um 14 engagements with community representatives, um, 10 with NGO and support organisations. Seven with community groups, nine with service providers, and one with a faith-based peak body. Um that is the counter-foreign interference team within Department of Home Affairs. Obviously, foreign affairs and trade, AFP and a range of other agencies would also have engagements.
And Senator, we also have our community liaison officer network in every state and territory which has regular engagements with communities, not specifically targeting this in the same way as the CFI teams do, but um often covering the same ground. So that's another uh resource that we'll tap into when we ask your answer your question.
Um Thank you. That would be useful if you get that granularity on notice. Umware if there were any visas refused or cancelled in the last financial year or at any point since on the basis of the person's involvement or potential involvement in foreign interference or transnational repression?
I'm not aware.
Senator, I think we'd need to ask the visa cancellation um team that.
Refused or cancelled?
We can do that in outcome two, Senator.
Okay, in outcome two. Um, where we are next. Has the department assessed any Interpol red notices or extradition requests or mutual assistance requests as politically motivated attempts to reach dissidents in Australia?
That would be a matter for Attorney General's department. No, not within the home affairs.
Is there any support given to individuals by home affairs who are facing potential actual or potential foreign transnational repression to assist them with their digital security? So as they can limit their online exposure and avoid themselves being tracked. Do you offer any of that support?
Senator, as a policy agency, we don't provide individual supports. What we provide, including on the community hub, is generalized cybersecurity and personal security advice.
And you don't fund any entity to provide that kind of support for people. And I can think of instances where individuals most often they are women are feeling particularly threatened by overseas actors potentially following where they go, knowing who what their social connections are and tracking them through social media, but you're saying there's no actual service in place to fund somebody to assist with their digital security and help them in situations like that?
Senator, you've raised a number of really helpful practical suggestions today to a problem which is a really difficult one. What I'd like to do is to take away the sorts of things you've been raising today and to think about what options we have, either within home affairs or working with our colleagues in AFP, AGD and the states.
Thank you, Secretary. And Minister, is the government considering potential legislative reform to make it very clear that it is an offence under Australian law to seek to coerce somebody in Australia whether or not the coercion happens in a third country, because that would potentially significantly it's a question to you, Minister. Yeah. That would potentially significantly assist in commencing an AFP investigation, for example, and also in having an evidentiary base, even if you couldn't ultimately prosecute an evidentiary base, so as you know that is a person who can never come to Australia.
I'm I'm not aware of that personally, Senator, but Ms. Foster might have something to add there.
So Minister Senator. I know Attorney General's Department is considering those issues. I obviously don't want to speak on their behalf, but just to reassure you that that is under consideration.
All right. Thank you, Secretary.
Excellent.