Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, I present the committee's report entitled Human rights scrutiny report: report 5 of 2026.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I am pleased to present Report 5 of 2026 of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, which was tabled out of session last week.

In this report, the committee considered 27 new bills and 130 legislative instruments. It has commented on four bills and six legislative instruments and concluded its examination of one bill and one legislative instrument.

In this report, the committee commented on two criminal justice bills, which would introduce new warrants and expand existing warrant powers in Commonwealth legislation.

In particular, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Bill 2026 seeks to enhance the powers of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to obtain, analyse and communicate intelligence information relating to serious and organised crime. The measures in the bill would engage and limit various rights, including children's rights; criminal process rights; and the rights to effective remedy, fair trial, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, privacy and work. The committee is seeking further information from the minister to assess the compatibility of the measures in the bill with these rights.

The Combating Illicit Tobacco Bill 2026 would amend the Commonwealth acts to expand telecommunications interception warrants, create a new warrant power for tobacco offences and expand coercive powers in the proceeds of crime regime. These measures engage and limit the right to privacy by expanding powers to covertly intercept private communications and authorising frisk searches and access to personal information and property. The committee has had a longstanding human rights concern with the acts being amended by this bill and has accordingly recommended that the government undertake a foundational review of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for compatibility with human rights.

In this report, the committee has also concluded its consideration of extradition regulations relating to Denmark, Iceland, Japan and the Republic of Fiji. This instrument removes the mandatory grounds for refusal, which automatically prevented Australia from extraditing persons to these countries if the alleged offending was committed wholly or partly in Australia or where the relevant limitation period for the alleged offence has expired in accordance with Australian law.

The committee considers that it has not been demonstrated that the measures pursued are legitimate objectives, noting that the measures do not appear to be strictly necessary to prevent a person from evading justice, as the person could be prosecuted in Australia where the relevant offending occurs in Australia. The committee considers that, while the measure is accompanied by some safeguards, it is not clear that these are adequate. It has therefore been demonstrated that the measures are compatible with the prohibition on removing noncitizens without due process. Further, as the measure will potentially increase the number of extradition requests accepted, the committee's underlying human rights concerns with the extradition process generally are enlivened. The committee has reiterated the previous recommendations to amend the Extradition Act to improve its human rights compatibility.

I encourage all members to consider the committee's report closely. With these comments, I commend the committee's scrutiny report No. 5 of 2026 to the House.

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