Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present a report of the committee on financial related crime, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I would firstly like to thank the committee's secretariat for the work done throughout the inquiry into financial related crime. This inquiry commenced on 5 March last year, but its terms of reference were particularly focused on current Commonwealth law enforcement agency legislation and administrative arrangements that target serious and organised financial related crime, including money laundering and identity fraud. The report has 14 really good recommendations that I am hoping the government will act upon. The recommendations go to issues ranging from internet scams and identity fraud to money laundering and counterfeiting. As we all know, as technology quickly evolves scammers and fraudsters are sadly finding new ways to exploit vulnerable Australians. So we need to constantly ensure in this place that our regulations, our law enforcement and our education methods are contemporary enough to help protect Australian consumers.

I note that the report refers to ABS research which estimates that some 750,000 Australians were victims of identity fraud or identity theft in 2101-11. That is an average personal cost of more than $4,000. But one particular aspect of this report—and there are a couple of recommendations that relate to it—that I would like to draw to the attention of the Senate is financial crime against Indigenous communities. The committee received evidence with respect to the targeting of Indigenous communities by overseas criminal groups, which indicated that increasingly sophisticated groups are targeting Indigenous Australians and committing significant financial crimes. We travelled to Darwin, where we spoke to a range of stakeholders, in particular the Northern Territory Police Force representatives from the former National Indigenous Intelligence Task Force and the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, NAAJA, as well as other community members, about the risks Indigenous communities face with respect to financial related crime. So, in that vein, the committee has made two recommendations that I want to highlight today. The first recommendation is that the Commonwealth fund targeted financial literacy education programs for Indigenous communities in Indigenous languages, in particular, and that these programs should be specific to local community circumstances and be delivered in a culturally appropriate manner.

I think that is a really important recommendation that, if implemented, will help stop the tide of this assault on a number of Indigenous communities by these fraudsters, these predators, that are preying on vulnerable Australians. In our report we talk about appropriately translated materials that are delivered in a culturally accessible manner, and we hope that that assists the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. We need government funding across a range of portfolios to make this work, to support these committees and these organisations.

The second recommendation in this vein is that the government implement the recommendations of the National Indigenous Intelligence Task Force report relating to the prevention of financial crime and to improved governance in Indigenous organisations. I highlight those two recommendations in particular for action by the government—as well as the other 12 recommendations, which are just as important. I did want to highlight this attack on Indigenous communities by these predators who are just preying on the fact that certain disadvantaged groups can be duped by their cunning ways and then find themselves in a terrible financial situation, having been victims of these financial criminals.

Identity crime is of great concern to many Australian's, and the committee also heard from numerous submitters about identity crime and the increasing incidence of identity crime in Australia. It does take many forms, including using a fabricated or stolen identity to commit offences. These are, again, just predators stealing people's identity. Again we make recommendations in relation to that as well. This is a really important report for consumers, for our country, for disadvantaged Australians. As I said, that technology is changing all the time and so with the change in technology our legislation and our regulations need to change to keep pace. That is especially the case in the financial sector and the financial-related crimes sector.

Finally, on behalf of the committee I thank all the submitters and the witnesses to the inquiry, and I thank my colleagues in both chambers—this is a joint standing committee—for their ongoing support and interest in this area. As the report outlines, these are complex matters but the committee has found a pathway to sensible recommendations and, if implemented, they will benefit all Australians I commend the report to the Senate and seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.