Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill 2023 - Commentary on Ministerial Responses [2023] AUSStaCSBSD 130 (2 August 2023)

• Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill 202326
• Broad discretionary powers Privacy27

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Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill 2023^[26]

Purpose	This bill seeks to amend the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Act 2019 by expanding the existing office of the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports to provide an enhanced focus on animal welfare.
Portfolio	Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Introduced	House of Representatives on 24 May 2023
Bill status	Before the Senate

Broad discretionary powers
Privacy^[27]

2.50 Item 12 of Schedule 1 seeks to introduce proposed subsection 10(2A) to the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Act 2019 (the Act), which provides that the Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports (the Inspector-General) has the power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for, or in connection with, the performance of the Inspector-General's functions. Under substituted subsection 10(1), one of the functions of the Inspector-General is to conduct reviews of the performance of functions, or exercise of powers, by livestock export officials under the animal welfare and live animal export legislation and standards in relation to the export of livestock.

2.51 Proposed subsection 10C(2) provides that the Inspector-General is not subject to direction in relation to:

• the conduct of a review including the terms of reference for a review;

• how a review is to be conducted;

• the timing of a review;

• the priority to be given to a review; or

• the content of a report.

2.52 In Scrutiny Digest 6 of 2023, the committee requested the minister's detailed advice as to:

• what criteria or considerations exist that limit or constrain the exercise of the Inspector-General's broad discretionary powers in proposed subsections 10(2A) and 10C(2), including whether these are contained in law or policy; and

• whether the bill can be amended to include safeguards to protect the disclosure of livestock export official's personal information.^[28]

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's response^[29]

2.53 The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the minister) advised that the ancillary powers provided to the Inspector-General under proposed subsection 10(2A) to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for, or in connection with, the performance of the Inspector-General's functions are reasonably and appropriately constrained by the terms under substituted subsection 10(1) of the bill as they may only be exercised if necessary or convenient for the performance of the Inspector-General's functions. The minister advised that these functions are exhaustively delineated in new subsection 10(1) of the bill.

2.54 In relation to the independence conferred on the Inspector-General to conduct a review under proposed subsection 10C(2), the minister advised that the scope of the Inspector-General's independence is necessarily constrained by the limited range of the functions outlined on the face of the bill, which only allows the Inspector-General to conduct reviews in relation to the matters under subsection 10(1).

2.55 The minister further advised that proposed new section 3 of the bill provides expanded objects for the Act with a view to ensuring that the animal welfare and live animal export legislation and standards in relation to the export of livestock are complied with. Therefore, the performance of the Inspector-General's functions and powers are necessarily constrained by the objects of the Act and may only be performed or exercised in pursuance of these objects.

2.56 Finally, the minister advised that it is not necessary to amend to bill to include safeguards to protect the disclosure of livestock export official's personal information because any information or document will be regulated in compliance with the Act and the Privacy Act 1988. The minister also advised that the Act provides a robust framework for the protection of personal information, such as disclosure of personal information only being possible in limited circumstances. These circumstances include:

• for the purposes of performing functions or exercising powers under the Act;

• for the purposes of law enforcement or court proceedings;

• where required to do so by an Australian law;

• if the disclosure is with the consent of the person to whom the information relates; and

• if the disclosure is to the person who gave the information.

Committee comment

2.57 The committee thanks the minister for this response.

2.58 The committee notes the minister's advice that the exercise of the Inspector-General's broad discretionary powers are necessarily and appropriately constrained under proposed subsection 10(1) and proposed section 3 of the bill. The committee also notes the minister's advice regarding the protection of personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Act.

2.59 The committee considers that it would be helpful to include this information in the explanatory memorandum to the bill, noting the importance of these explanatory materials as a point of access to understanding the law and, if needed, as extrinsic material to assist with interpretation.

2.60 The committee requests that an addendum to the explanatory memorandum containing the key information provided by the minister be tabled in the Parliament as soon as practicable, noting the importance of these explanatory materials as a point of access to understanding the law and, if needed, as extrinsic material to assist with interpretation (see section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).

2.61 In light of the detailed information provided, the committee makes no further comment on this matter.

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[26] This entry can be cited as: Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill 2023, Scrutiny Digest 8 of 2023; [2023] AUSStaCSBSD 130.

[27] Schedule 1, Part 1, proposed subsections 10(2A) and 10C(2). The committee draws senators’ attention to this provision pursuant to Senate standing order 24(1)(a)(i) and (ii).

[28] Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny Digest 6 of 2023 (14 June 2023) pp. 19–21.

[29] The minister responded to the committee's comments in a letter dated 23 June 2023. A copy of the letter is available on the committee's website: see correspondence relating to Scrutiny Digest 8 of 2023 available at: www.aph.gov.au/senate_scrutiny_digest.