Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2017 (CTH)

Friday 31 March 2017 @ 12.06 p.m. | Crime

The Commonwealth Parliament has introduced the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2017 into the Legislative Assembly. The Bill aims to provide a range of amendments to improve and clarify Commonwealth criminal justice arrangements. Among other amendments, the Bill will primarily address the following listed issues.

Australian Federal Police

The Bill will amend the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth) to better clarify the functions of the Australian Federal Police to enable cooperation with international organisations and non-government organisations. The Bill will amend section 8 to enable the AFP to provide assistance and cooperation to these organisations in relation to the provision of police services or police support services. According to the Minister for Justice Michael Keenan:

“The amendments will ensure that the AFP is able to share information with a range of organisations, depending on the types of investigations on foot and the changing criminal threat environment. International partnerships allow the AFP to meet operational challenges and threats and progress Australia's national interests.”

Custody Notification Obligations

The Bill amends the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) to clarify the custody notification obligations of investigating officials when they intend to question an indigenous person. Essentially, the amendment would require the investigating officer to notify an Aboriginal legal assistance organisation prior to the questioning of an indigenous person. The amendment is a result of a contrary ACT Court decision that frustrated the original intention of the custody notification obligations.

Controlled Operations Disclosure Offence

The Bill seeks to provide separate offences for the disclosure of information relating to controlled operations by ‘entrusted persons’ and ‘outsiders’. According to Mr Keenan:

“Under these new regimes, the disclosure of information made by members of the community, except those who received information in their capacity as an entrusted person, will only constitute an offence if the information will endanger the health or safety of a person or prejudice the effective conduct of a controlled operation.”

General Dishonesty Offences

The Bill will amend the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) to increase the maximum penalties for the general dishonesty offences from five years' imprisonment to ten years imprisonment. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill justifies the increase by highlighting the discrepancy in the current five years’ maximum sentence with the penalty for offences covering similar types of conduct. This amendment will allow judges to sentence appropriately, while also retaining their discretion to impose lesser penalties for less serious conduct.

Fighting Corruption

Schedule 7 of the Bill tackles fraud and corruption by permitting the collection, use and disclosure of personal information to assist police in the investigation and prevention of such behaviour. Mr Keenan stressed that “the measures will assist Commonwealth bodies to stamp down on corrupt officials and those who are seeking to defraud the Commonwealth.” He also assures that safeguards would be in place to protect privacy by limiting information sharing to circumstances that are necessary for an integrity purpose. 

The Bill is awaiting Second Reading Debate in the Legislative Assembly.

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Sources:

Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2017, Bill, Explanatory Material and Second Reading Speech as published on LawOne

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