Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Serious and organised crime threatens the safety and wellbeing of our communities and has a significant financial impact—estimated by the Australian Institute of Criminology to be $82.3 billion in 2023-24, a figure that rose more than $13 billion in a single year.

The threat environment is complex and constantly evolving. Threats that were historically treated as separate are now converging and overlapping. Characteristics that were previously associated with terrorism, or foreign interference or child exploitation, are now converging with serious and organised crime.

Serious and organised crime groups are opportunistic, highly adaptive, resilient and increasingly operate with the agility and sophistication of multinational businesses. Networks often span across a diverse range of crime types and illicit markets such as money laundering and drug trafficking. They are borderless, decentralised, digitally enabled and increasingly embedded in legitimate systems. Criminal actors operate to target Australia from offshore and online and use innovative methods and technologies to both advance and obscure their illicit business ventures.

Law enforcement cannot combat the threat alone. Where we have a convergence of threats in this way we need to have a convergence of protection. To do this, Australia requires a national criminal intelligence agency equipped with the appropriate powers and capabilities to obtain and provide actionable intelligence on the complex and evolving criminal networks impacting Australia today and into the future. It is essential that law enforcement agencies are supported by unique and insightful intelligence to more effectively direct their disruption efforts.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Bill 2026 will ensure the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission is repositioned as an intelligence-focused agency aimed at countering the national security threat that serious and organised crime poses. The bill will ensure that the ACIC has the necessary functions and powers to deliver this role, replacing theAustralian Crime Commission Act 2002.

The bill is informed by, and gives effect to, the government response to legislative recommendations of the Independent Review of the ACIC and associated Commonwealth law enforcement arrangements.The independent review recognised that the functions and powers vested in the ACIC are no longer fit-for-purpose and inhibit the ACIC from effectively fulfilling its intelligence mandate.

Parts 1 and 2 of the bill comprehensively reform the ACIC by setting out its core functions. This includes the collection, use and communication of intelligence relevant to serious and organised crime, the provision of national policing information systems and services, the provision of criminal intelligence assessments, and cooperation with a range of entities. Part 2 also provides for the making of guidelines relating to the use of personal information and other matters.

Part 3 of the bill will establish a framework for the ACIC's exercise of coercive powers. This will include powers to conduct examinations, and to compel the provision of evidence, information, documents or things that would assist the agency to obtain intelligence relevant to serious and organised crime. Coercive powers remain a core capability for the agency and represent a significant value-add to help build a transnational picture of the serious and organised crime landscape to assist partners in targeting their efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks.

Part 4 of the bill will also establish a framework for the ACIC to conduct controlled intelligence operations. This framework will enable the ACIC to obtain intelligence relevant to serious and organised crime, by ensuring its capacity to gain close access to sensitive information via covert means. It will achieve this by enabling authorised persons to engage in unlawful conduct as outlined in a controlled intelligence operation authority. These operations are of critical importance as criminal actors and their enablers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and using complex methodologies to facilitate and commit crimes.

Part 5 of the bill will also enable the ACIC to execute search warrants in relation to particular premises or persons, and related assistance orders, to obtain intelligence relevant to serious and organised crime. Search warrants are an important tool in intelligence gathering as they enable access to otherwise inaccessible information that is stored privately and securely.

Part 6 of the bill will provide for the continuance of the ACIC's provision of national policing information systems and services. These systems are essential enablers that provide agencies with cross-jurisdictional information that supports frontline officers and enhances community safety. This will also include the provision of nationally coordinated criminal history checks, which support governments, businesses and other organisations to make informed decisions regarding a person's criminal history.

Part 7 of the bill will continue to enable the ACIC to make and give criminal intelligence assessments to inform certain background checks, including to determine the eligibility of individuals to access certain secure environments and to possess a firearms licence. This function is in line with amendments recently made to the Australian Crime Commission Act by the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Act 2026.

Part 8 of the bill will provide a framework for timely intelligence sharing, enhancing the ACIC's ability to communicate intelligence to relevant agencies and bodies to support operational outcomes and other actions. This is in recognition that sharing intelligence with other agencies and bodies will support broader efforts to mitigate risks, address vulnerabilities and harden the environment against serious and organised crime. This part will also establish secrecy offences to ensure there are adequate protections over the sensitive information that the ACIC holds.

Part 9 of the bill contains administrative provisions to support staffing and appointments. The bill will provide for the appointment of the director-general of the ACIC and appointment of independent examiners. The director-general will have powers in relation to staffing and the general administration and operation of the agency.

Part 10 of the bill contains record-keeping and reporting requirements to facilitate effective and appropriate oversight of the ACIC and its use of powers by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. This will complement other legislation facilitating oversight of the ACIC as amended by the Strengthening Oversight of the National Intelligence Community Act 2025. This part of the bill will include a requirement for periodic independent reviews to ensure the legislation remains fit for purpose.

This bill will be accompanied by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (National Policing Information Charges) Bill 2026 and a consequential and transitional package of amendments, to be introduced later this year.

Closing remarks

The measures I've outlined in this bill deliver fundamental reforms to recast the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission as Australia's national criminal intelligence agency focused on countering serious and organised crime. This bill reflects this government's commitment to protecting the Australian community, by ensuring that our agencies can adapt and respond to the rapidly evolving landscape of serious and organised crime.

I commend the bill.

Debate adjourned.

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