Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

With increasing automation of the manufacturing processes, software is becoming—and in fact is for many, many businesses—a critical asset for manufacturers and of core value to their company. On the basis of the information provided by Senator Madigan, I am not able to comment on the applicable law and whether or not it provides a remedy in this situation, and it would not be appropriate to provide legal advice on the options available in such a situation. But, to the extent that the theft of the software involved an exercise of a copyright right, criminal offences may be applicable under the Copyright Act 1968. There may be general criminal law offences that also have some application to the circumstance you describe.

The government has implemented a number of initiatives that assist businesses to protect their data and software. The Defence Signals Directorate has published detailed cybersecurity guidance for management to help advise them on the prevention of loss and theft of information assets in the first place. This is a very comprehensive guide. It comes in the form of an information pack to business, and this is an excellent opportunity for me to reinforce to businesses in Australia that, if they do not have the DSD advice on protecting their information assets, then I suggest they get it because this kind of occurrence is of great concern and it is a growing problem. There is also information available on the business.gov.au website that advises businesses on how to protect information and systems from misuse by employees and contractors, and that may also be of some assistance to the business that Senator Madigan described. (Time expired)