David Batt (Hinkler, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the following reports: Examination of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission annual report 2024-25 and Examination of the Australian Federal Police annual report 2024-25.

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

by leave—I rise as Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement to present the committee's report examining the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, ACIC, annual report for 2024-25. This committee has a statutory duty to examine each annual report of the ACIC, review the performance by the ACIC of its functions, monitor crime trends which may indicate that changes to the ACIC are required and report back to parliament.

The ACIC has been undergoing a period of change. It welcomed a new CEO, Ms Heather Cook, in January 2024 and has been refining its purpose and performance criteria to align with recommendations from the ACIC review. Regarding the ACIC's annual report for 2024-25, the committee found the agency's performance and reporting to be highly satisfactory. The ACIC consistently performs to a high standard. It fully met nine of its 11 performance criteria. For the two targets it substantially met in the period, the agency provided a satisfactory explanation for this in the report. The ACIC's key achievements in 2024-25 included the development of a national firearms register, the processing of over 7.26 million police checks, the expansion of the National Criminal Intelligence System and the dissemination of intelligence products 12,500 times to 291 agencies.

The ACIC is continuing to upgrade its information systems that are vital for law enforcement work, including the National Firearms Register. This will bring information from multiple jurisdictions together into a central hub, which should be ready for integration by the end of 2026. The ACIC is continuing to develop the National Criminal Intelligence System. The committee is pleased to report that all jurisdictions are now able to access this system, and almost all have been feeding data into the system. The ACIC is also working to introduce a National Continuous Checking Capability for working-with-children and police checks. This will introduce a real-time checking capability as opposed to point-in-time checks. The committee looks forward to seeing this capability rolled out across the country.

The committee acknowledges the ACIC's continued focus on staff wellbeing. The agency saw a significant improvement in its attrition rate from December 2024 to December 2025, and the committee is pleased to report that the ACIC is attracting high volumes of quality applicants to its recruitment processes. Overall, the committee is pleased with the performance of the ACIC. I note that, from 4 June 2026, the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Intelligence and Security will have oversight of the ACIC, and, while there will be a change in parliamentary oversight committees, it will still be appropriate for the ACIC to provide written submissions or appear before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement at public hearings for inquiries relating to serious and organised crime. As such, the committee looks forward to continuing engagement with the ACIC. I thank the officers of the ACIC for their important work in reducing the harm to Australia from transnational, serious and organised crime. I commend the committee's report to the House.

I also rise as Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement to present the committee's report examining the Australian Federal Police annual report for 2024-25. This committee has a statutory duty to examine each annual report of the AFP, review the performance by the AFP of its functions, monitor crime trends which may indicate that changes to the AFP are required and report back to parliament. I note the retirement of Mr Reece Kershaw APM as AFP Commissioner and the appointment of Miss Krissy Barrett APM to the role in October 2025. I wish to thank Mr Kershaw for his decades of service and for his engagement with the committee, and I welcome Commissioner Barrett to the role. I note her priorities for the AFP and look forward to engaging with her and her leadership team in this parliament.

Regarding the AFP's annual report for 2024-25, the committee found the AFP's performance and reporting to be highly satisfactory. The AFP met all but one of its performance targets during the year, and, for the target that was not met, the AFP provided a satisfactory explanation in its report. I know key achievements for the AFP during the period included charging 96 people as a result of child-exploitation investigations, restraining over $143.6 million in criminal assets, responding to 22,706 incidents at airports and maintaining a presence across 34 countries. The AFP saw significant results from its operations, including operations Firestorm, Kraken and Tyrrendor. These respectively focused on taking down major scam centres, dismantling an encrypted communication platform before being used by organised crime groups to facilitate crimes and a significant seizure of illicit drugs off the coast of Queensland. The committee commends the AFP for its results from these operations and for maintaining strong relationships with its international and domestic partners.

The committee recently visited the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation to hear how the AFP works to protect children from exploitation. The committee recognises the results of the AFP in this difficult and important area of work. The committee also visited the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre to hear first hand how the AFP works to address cybercrime. The committee commends the achievements of the AFP in this cyber space as well.

The committee acknowledges the AFP's continued focus on staff wellbeing. The AFP operates in a challenging environment that places significant demands on its staff. The AFP have introduced several initiatives to improve recruitment and wellbeing, and has already seen positive impacts from these initiatives. I commend the AFP for continuing to perform well in a complex operating environment. I thank all officers of the AFP for their vital work protecting the safety of Australians. I also wish to thank the senior AFP officers who gave evidence to the committee at its hearing in February for this year's annual report examination, and I commend the committee's report to the House.