Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Assistance and Access Amendments Review) Bill 2019 [2019] AUSStaCSBSD 136 (13 November 2019)

• Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Assistance and Access Amendments Review) Bill 2019
• Trespass on personal rights and liberties 42

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Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Assistance and Access Amendments Review) Bill 2019

Purpose	This bill seeks to amend the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to defer the legislative deadline for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to report on its third review of the operation of the amendments introduced by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 to 30 September 2020
Portfolio	Home Affairs
Introduced	House of Representative on 17 October 2019

Trespass on personal rights and liberties ^[42]

1.77 This bill seeks to amend the date that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) is to report on its third review of the operation of the amendments introduced by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (the Act) to 30 September 2020.

1.78 In Scrutiny Digest 12 of 2018 and Scrutiny Digest 14 of 2018 the committee made extensive comments about the Telecommunications and Other Legislation (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 (2018 bill).^[43] The committee noted that Schedule 1 to the 2018 bill provided broad discretionary powers to interception agencies to issue a technical assistance request, a technical assistance notice, or a technical capability notice and noted that many of the details in relation to how these powers operated could be provided for in delegated legislation. The committee also raised significant scrutiny concerns regarding the bill's enhancement of the ability of agencies to utilise information gained under existing warrant or authorisation regimes.

1.79 Noting the committee's scrutiny concerns about the amendments introduced by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation (Assistance and Access) Act 2018, the committee leaves to the Senate as a whole the appropriateness of deferring the deadline for the PJCIS to report on its third review of the amendments to 30 September 2020.

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[42] Schedule 1, item 1, proposed paragraph 29(1)(bca). The committee draws senators’ attention to this provision pursuant to Senate Standing Order 24(1)(a)(i).

[43] See Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny Digest 12 of 2018, pp. 12-49; and Scrutiny Digest 14 of 2018, pp. 23 - 82.