Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Annual Report 2005-06 Part 2 Performance Reports

Outcome 1: An equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice

Outcome 2: Coordinated federal criminal justice, security and emergency management activity, for a safer Australia

Reporting basis and approach

Performance reporting in this annual report is based on the outcomes and outputs structure and performance information contained in the 2005–06 Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) and the 2005–06 Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES).

A department's report has a dual role: it is both a key document that is part of the department's accountability to Parliament and an informative record of the department's activities during the year. We therefore aim for a balance between the assessments of our progress towards our outcomes and the descriptions of the Department's diverse activities. The report on our performance this year takes into account feedback on previous annual reports, including the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA)'s assessment of our 2004–05 report.

While the Department is the primary driver of its two outcomes, it does not work in isolation to achieve them. The performance reports describe the extensive cooperative and consultative networks we have developed with other organisations. They also make reference to external factors, including significant domestic and international events or trends.

Performance report structure

At outcome level, each performance report contains:

At output level, each performance report contains:

Outcome 1

An equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice

Overview

In order to achieve Outcome 1, the Attorney-General's Department provides a diverse range of legal services and policy advice.

The Department's responsibilities cover courts and tribunals, alternative dispute resolution, administrative law, bankruptcy, classification, constitutional policy, human rights, evidence and procedure, family law and related services for separated families, legal assistance, international law, information law, Indigenous justice and native title.

It provides specialist support for the Attorney-General as First Law Officer, promotes Australian legal services internationally, and drafts and publishes legislative materials.

In working to achieve this outcome, the Department is also responsible for administering payments for the provision of legal aid, Indigenous law and justice programs, community legal services, financial assistance towards legal costs and related expenses, and expenditure under the Native Title Act 1993. These and other administered items are presented later in this section.

The Department works in cooperation and consultation with many other organisations. These include government agencies (Commonwealth, State and Territory), advisory bodies, task forces, professional associations and community interest groups. It must also be flexible and able to adapt its operations to respond to international events or trends.

During 2005–06, we made significant and substantial progress towards achieving an equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice, with many of our contributions receiving positive comments from the Attorney-General and a variety of stakeholders. The performance reports for each output contributing to Outcome 1, presented later in this section, expand on these achievements.

Resource summary

Outcome 1 — An equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice
Budget* 2005–06 $'000 (1) Estimated actuals 2005–06 $'000 (2) Actual expenses 2005–06 $'000 Variation (column 2 minus column 1) $'000 Budget 2006–07 $'000
Administered Expenses (including third party outputs) 344,098 340,683 326,109 (14,574) 434,446
Special Appropriations 40,677 66,015 28,616 (37,399) 66,015
Total Administered Expenses 384,775 406,698 354,725 (51,973) 500,461
Price of Departmental Outputs
Output 1.1 Legal services and policy advice on family law, federal courts and tribunals, civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution, administrative law and administration of related government programs 14,233 21,173 21,876 703 22,230
Output 1.2 Support for the Attorney-General as First Law Officer, advice on constitutional policy, and promotion of Australian legal services internationally 4,355 4,283 4,261 (22) 4,531
Output 1.3 Legal services and policy advice on information law and human rights 9,069 7,857 8,655 798 8,665
Output 1.4 Legal services and policy advice on international law 5,660 4,814 5,005 191 5,241
Output 1.5 Drafting of legislative and other instruments, maintenance of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI), publication of legislative materials and provision of related legal services 9,633 8,892 9,733 841 10,197
Output 1.6 Legal services and policy advice on native title 5,009 5,557 4,850 (707) 6,090
Output 1.7 Legal services and policy advice on Indigenous law and justice and legal assistance, and the administration of related government programs 21,570 14,364 15,883 1,519 17,561
Total price of Outputs 69,529 66,940 70,263 3,323 74,515
Revenue from Government (Appropriation) for Departmental Outputs 65,803 67,051 65,048 (2,003) 70,699
Revenue from other Sources 3,530 3,530 4,331 801 3,816
Total Departmental Revenue 69,333 70,581 69,379 (1,202) 74,515
Total for Outcome 1 (Total Price of Outputs and Administered Expenses) 454,304 473,638 424,988 (48,650) 574,976
2005–06 2006–07
Average Staffing Level 424 470

* Full-year budget, including additional estimates.

Administered items for Outcome 1

Payments for membership of international bodies

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROVED ARRANGEMENTS

The Hague Conference on Private International Law (Hague Conference) works to progress and promote cooperation between countries on private international law matters. In particular, the Conference's work enhances efficient and effective international cooperation in areas of concern to Australia, including action to assist parents in the recovery of children abducted and taken overseas. In 2005–06, Australia's contribution to the Regular Budget of the Hague Conference was $156,673. The Regular Budget comprises core expenses, including salaries, accommodation, office equipment, publishing and research costs.

The Australian Government also made a voluntary contribution of $100,000 to the Supplementary Budget of the Hague Conference, to assist the Conference to organise an Asia–Pacific regional conference to promote and support the implementation of several Hague conventions, including those on child protection and judicial assistance.

The Department's share of Australia's contribution to the World Intellectual Property Organization for membership of the Berne Union for the protection of the rights of authors in their literary and artistic works was $191,653. The Berne Union comprises member countries of the Berne Convention on copyright — the foundation of and most important treaty on international copyright standards. These standards are reflected extensively in the Copyright Act 1968.

The Department, on behalf of Australia, also contributed $67,343 to the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). UNIDROIT is an independent intergovernmental organisation based in Rome. Its purpose is to study needs and methods for modernising, harmonising and coordinating private law (in particular, commercial law) between countries and groups of countries. It is financed by annual contributions from member countries, fixed by the General Assembly, as well as a basic annual contribution from the Italian Government. Membership of UNIDROIT is restricted to countries acceding to the UNIDROIT Statute.

Mr Ian Govey, Deputy Secretary, attended the annual meeting of the Governing Council of UNIDROIT held from 8 to 10 May 2006. Current projects include the development of an instrument governing transactions in securities held with intermediaries on transnational and connected capital markets and work associated with the implementation of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. These instruments have the potential to assist Australia's trade interests.

Payments for grants to Australian organisations

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROVED ARRANGEMENTS

In 2005–06, the Australian Government provided a grant of $120,000 to International Social Service Australia for a service that established a central contact and referral point for persons requiring counselling as a result of international child abduction. The organisation also conducted specialised training for existing counselling services and raised community awareness of abduction issues as part of a longer-term preventative strategy in Australia.

A $10,000 grant was made by the Australian Government to the Centre for International and Public Law to assist with the first International Tribunals workshop to be held in Australia. The workshop was held on 5 April 2006 at the Australian National University and was attended by 35 delegates from New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Speakers at the workshop included the Attorney-General; Sir Robert Carnwath CVO, Hon. FRAM, Lord Justice of Appeal and Senior President of the United Kingdom Tribunals Service; and the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan.

The purpose of the conference was to enhance links between tribunal participants and the judiciary and to provide a forum for the review and sharing of current practice and development of best practice for tribunals in the four jurisdictions represented at the conference. The conference also provided an opportunity for tribunal practitioners to establish an informal network to enhance the exchange of information and development of tribunal processes across jurisdictions. A follow-up conference in Australia is planned, as is the publication of papers from the first conference.

The Australian Government provided a $50,000 grant to assist with the Peter Nygh Hague Conference Internship. The internship will be managed by the Australian Institute of International Affairs and the International Law Association (Australian Branch). The purpose of the grant is to assist a student or graduate of an Australian law school to undertake an unpaid internship at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The grant promotes Australian involvement with the Hague Conference and supports the principle of international cooperation in the task of harmonising private international law.

A grant of $25,000 was provided by the Australian Government to the Australian Association of Women Judges to assist with the eighth biennial conference of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). The theme was 'An Independent Judiciary: Culture, Religion, Gender, Politics'. The conference was held in Sydney in May 2006 and was attended by 350 delegates from 35 countries. Speakers included the Honourable Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice of New Zealand; the Right Honourable Baroness Hale of Richmond, House of Lords, United Kingdom; the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada; and the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO.

The Australian Government continued to fund the National Judicial College of Australia (NJCA). Our contribution towards the operating costs of the NJCA for 2005–06 was $231,068 (calculated according to a formula agreed to by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General), and an additional grant of $58,150 to supplement this contribution. New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory also contributed to the funding.

The NJCA provides courses relevant to judges and magistrates in all States and Territories. During 2005–06, it organised professional development programs on topics such as judgment writing, social and cultural awareness, judicial conduct and ethics, and maintaining physical and psychological health. It also organised orientation courses for new judicial officers and training programs in which experienced and new judicial officers get together to share ideas and experiences.

In addition, the Australian Government provided funding for specific projects. In 2005–06, we provided $71,555 to develop a national curriculum for professional development of Australian judicial officers, including a national conference on judicial education, and $128,700 to fund online judicial education programs on Commonwealth law.

The Australian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) promotes an equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice by conducting professional skills courses, conferences and seminars on court administration and judicial systems for persons involved in the administration of the justice system, including judicial officers, court administrators and the legal profession. The AIJA receives funding from all Australian jurisdictions through the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General. The Australian Government's contribution to the AIJA in 2005–06 was $165,936.

The Australian Government provided $40,000 to the National Pro Bono Resource Centre to assist with preparations for, and enable the Department to be the principal sponsor of, the Inaugural National Access to Justice and third National Pro Bono Conference, to be held in Melbourne from 11 to 12 August 2006.

Jointly organised by the Law Council of Australia, the National Pro Bono Resource Centre and the Australian Legal Assistance Forum, this biennial conference will be the main legal gathering on issues of access to justice. Key themes will be legal aid, pro bono practice, human rights, crime and punishment, family relationships, and civil justice.

The Department provided $50,000 to the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) to conduct nationwide consultation on the Chair's text of the proposed UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A grant of $1,000 was provided to Blind Citizens Australia to assist with a session on the Disability Standards for Education 2005 at its national convention held in Perth from 1 to 3 October 2005.

A grant of $25,000 was provided to the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) to assist in the development of the Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII). AustLII, a joint facility of the faculties of law of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales, is the largest free-access provider of legal information in Australia and prominent worldwide in this field. The AsianLII initiative aims to provide free access to legal databases in English and other languages from all 27 Asian countries.

A grant of $20,000 was provided to the Law Council of Australia to assist with preparations for the 35th Australian Legal Convention to be held in Sydney in March 2007.

A grant of $4,400 was provided to the Asian Law Centre to assist it in promoting the teaching and awareness of Asian law in Australia and of Australian law in Asia. The objective of the Centre is to encourage greater understanding and knowledge of laws and legal systems in our region.

A grant of $15,000 was made to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to assist with preparation for the 2006 National Native Title Conference 'Tradition and Change, Culture and Commerce', held in Darwin from 24 to 26 May 2006.

A grant of $150,000 was made to the Australian Red Cross to help raise awareness and understanding of international humanitarian law. This has included assistance with awareness raising in the Australian Defence Force, a matter of particular importance given current overseas deployments.

Family Relationships Services Program

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

The Family Relationships Services Program is jointly funded by the Attorney-General's Department and the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA).

Through this program, the Department helps separated families to reduce conflict, focus on the needs of their children and resolve disputes in a non-adversarial environment (outside the courts), where possible. The program also helps parents maintain a relationship with children they no longer live with after separation. FaCSIA administers the program on our behalf under a business partnership agreement.

A very effective service supported by the Department under this program is the Parenting Orders Program (previously known as the Contact Orders Program). The service works with families where conflict has become entrenched and contact between children and a non-resident parent has broken down. In 2005–06, the Department provided additional funding to expand existing services under this program and to establish three new services (in Newcastle, Melbourne and Sydney). This is part of a major expansion of services over four years to support the package of family law reforms announced by the Government in the 2005–06 Budget (see page 41).

Family Court of Western Australia

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

Under an agreement with the Government of Western Australia, the Australian Government contributes towards the operating expenses of the Family Court of Western Australia, ensuring access for all Australians to the civil justice system with regard to family law and child support matters. In 2005–06, the Australian Government provided $12,339,000 to the Court for its operating expenses. The Court was also allocated $1,096,000 in the 2005–06 Budget for court security costs over the next four years.

Payments for services under the Family Law Act 1975 and the Child Support Scheme legislation

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

In accordance with individual agreements with the States, the Australian Government provides funds for the provision of services under the Family Law Act 1975 and federal child support legislation. The funding contributes to achieving an accessible system of federal civil justice for federal family law and child support matters.

Financial assistance for States and Territories under Part 9 of the Native Title Act 1993

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

All States and Territories have been invited to enter into bilateral agreements with the Australian Government to reimburse them for up to 75 per cent of some native title compensation costs and 50 per cent of the cost of tribunals performing native title functions. Funds have been appropriated as a Specific Purpose Payment since 1997–98. No financial assistance agreements have been signed to date and no payments made.

Payments for compensation under Part 2 of the Native Title Act 1993

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

The Native Title Act 1993 provides that, where an act of the Australian Government affects native title, compensation may be payable. Funds have been appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund under section 54 of the Act. No compensation payments have been made.

Publication of Acts and Select Legislative Instruments

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LEGISLATIVE PRINTING PROGRAM

The administered program deals with the printing and publishing of Commonwealth legislation, including numbered Acts, Statutory Rules and Select Legislative Instruments and reprints of these, bound volumes of Acts, and tables and indexes. The program contributes to an equitable and accessible system of federal justice by making legislation available to the Australian community after it is enacted or made.

In 2005–06, $1,093,000 was allocated to the program. The high-volume output of printed material in 2005–06 was 181 numbered Acts; 371 numbered Select Legislative Instruments; 17 titles of reprinted Acts and Statutory Rules (5,695 pages); seven bound volumes of Acts (6,677 pages); and associated tables (500 pages).

With the implementation of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, the authoritative versions of the instruments now appear electronically on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI). A series of Select Legislative Instruments has replaced the Statutory Rules series. This is published in pamphlet form, but not in annual volumes. Acts continue to be published both in pamphlet form and in annual volumes.

The number of reprints will continue to decline as the use of electronic compilations of Commonwealth legislation increases. The electronic compilations of Acts and Legislative Instruments are available through the ComLaw–FRLI web site, <http://www.comlaw.gov.au>, and these are updated much more frequently than is possible with paper reprints.

Payments for the provision of legal aid for Indigenous Australians

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

Our Legal Aid for Indigenous People program provides funding for organisations to deliver legal aid services to Indigenous Australians. There is a network of 16 service providers throughout all States and Territories. In 2005–06, $48,317,998 in funding was provided. Further details about the program can be found under Output 1.7 and on the Department's web site.

We also provided Indigenous test-case funding to promote the review of laws and administrative practices that have the effect of discriminating against Indigenous Australians. Our Indigenous test-case guidelines set out the criteria for obtaining funding, the procedure for applying for funding, and the conditions upon which funding is granted.

Payments for the provision of law and justice advocacy services for Indigenous Australians

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

The Law and Justice Advocacy program (LJAD) provides funding for a range of activities that promote improved law and justice outcomes for Indigenous Australians. A total of $2,600,052 was allocated in 2005–06 in accordance with LJAD's program guidelines. Services funded included Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committees, test cases (which became part of the Legal Aid for Indigenous people program during this financial year), Deaths in Custody Monitoring Units and research. Further details about the Law and Justice Advocacy program can be found on the Department's website.

Payments for the provision of prevention, diversion, rehabilitation and restorative justice services for Indigenous Australians

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

In 2005–06, the Prevention, Diversion, Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice program (PDRR) awarded a total of $7,233,905 in grant funding in accordance with its program guidelines. The program funded 152 activities across Australia that aim to reduce Indigenous peoples' adverse contact with the justice system. The funding was distributed among community night patrol services ($1,955,948); youth initiatives ($2,822,698); prisoner support and rehabilitation ($1,955,420); and restorative justice programs ($499,839).

Payments for the provision of family violence prevention legal services for Indigenous Australians

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

The Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS) program provides funding to a network of FVPLS units to provide legal, counselling and support services to Indigenous adults and children who are victims of family violence and/or sexual assault or who are at immediate risk of such violence. The units operate within rural and remote communities in identified high-need areas to address equity and accessibility issues. The expansion of the network from 13 units to 26 units was completed during the year. As at 30 June 2006, all 26 FVPLS units were fully operational.

In 2005–06, $10,921,000 in funding was provided; the majority of this funding was evenly distributed among all 26 FVPLS units. Funding was also allocated for Indigenous Leadership Certificate IV training for FVPLS unit staff. All funding was allocated in accordance with the program's guidelines.

The Department is developing an internal structure that will provide more support for the FVPLS units and improve departmental governance. Further details can be found under Output 1.7.

Payments for the provision of legal aid — States and territories

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

Funding was provided to legal aid commissions in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia for the provision of legal services for Commonwealth law matters during 2005–06. This funding was paid in accordance with agreements between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories.

Payments for the provision of legal aid

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

Funding was provided to legal aid commissions in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland for the provision of legal aid services for Commonwealth law matters during 2005–06. The funding was paid in accordance with agreements between the Department and the legal aid commissions.

Financial assistance towards legal costs and related expenses

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION OR RELEVANT GUIDELINES

The Department administers statutory schemes for legal assistance under the Native Title Act 1993, the Federal Proceedings (Costs) Act 1981, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 and the Judiciary Act 1903. We also administer non-statutory schemes such as the Overseas Custody (Child Removal) Scheme, the Special Circumstances (Overseas) Scheme and the Commonwealth Public Interest and Test Cases Scheme.

At 30 June 2006, there were 533 current non-native title grants; for native title current grants of financial assistance, there were 1,156 grants under statutory schemes, and two grants under non-statutory schemes.

We have consulted with stakeholders on new draft guidelines for the Native Title Respondent Funding Scheme, a statutory scheme under the Native Title Act that aims to advance our objective of encouraging agreement making in preference to litigation.

The Department implemented the Data and Workflow Grants System (DAWGS) in 2004–05 in order to process and track financial assistance grants more efficiently. The system has already resulted in improved efficiency, and we are upgrading the reporting functions of DAWGS.

Payments for the provision of community legal services

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

In 2005–06, 127 community legal centres (CLCs) were funded under the Commonwealth Community Legal Services Program (CCLSP) to provide assistance on legal and related matters to people on low incomes and those with special needs. CLCs are a key component of Australia's legal aid system and provide a distinctive form of service that complements services provided by the legal aid commissions and the private legal profession.

CLCs are required to provide a range of data so that we can monitor, manage and account for output delivery and the achievement of the program's objectives.

A new Service Agreement was entered into with funded CLCs on 1 October 2005 and is due to expire on 30 June 2008.

Payments for Indigenous interpreter services in the Northern Territory

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

In 2005–06, a total of $900,000 was provided to support Indigenous interpreter services in the Northern Territory.

Payments to Law Courts Limited for contributions to operating and capital expenses

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

Law Courts Limited is a corporation jointly owned by the Australian Government and the New South Wales Government. It was established to manage the joint Australian and NSW Law Courts building in Sydney.

The corporation has a board of six members: three Australian Government directors, who are appointed by the Attorney-General, and three state directors, who are appointed by the NSW Attorney General.

The Australian Government and the New South Wales Government contribute to the operating expenses of the Law Courts building in proportion to the space occupied by each jurisdiction. The Australian Government contributes 47.5 per cent and the New South Wales Government contributes 52.5 per cent.

In addition to the operating expenses, the Australian Government approved $96.7 million in 2004–05 for refurbishment over five years. Following a clearer definition of what is required to refurbish and extend the life of the building for approximately 30 years, $36.4 million in additional funding was announced in the May 2006 Budget. The total Australian Government commitment to the refurbishment project is now $133.1 million. The project, originally to be completed in 2008–09, is now scheduled for completion in late 2011.

All payments in 2005–06 were made in accordance with the agreement between the Australian Government and the New South Wales Government.

Judges' Pensions Act 1968

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION

The Judges' Pensions Act 1968 provides for the payment of pensions to former federal judges and a small number of former statutory office holders. The Attorney-General is responsible for administering the Judges' Pensions Act, and the Department processes payments under the Act.

All payments have been made in accordance with advice provided, entitlements and agreed arrangements.

Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 — Justices of the High Court

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION

The Department administers the remuneration and allowances of Justices of the High Court. Determinations on these matters are issued by the Remuneration Tribunal.

All payments have been made in accordance with advice provided, entitlements and agreed arrangements.

This administered item was listed in previous Portfolio Budget Statements and annual reports under the heading of 'Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990 — Justices of the High Court'.

Output 1.1

Legal services and policy advice on family law, federal courts and tribunals, civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution, administrative law, and administration of related government programs

Performance overview

Output 1.1 is the responsibility of the Civil Justice Division (CJD). CJD is responsible for legal and policy advice on family law (including primary dispute resolution and related services for separated families), administrative law, evidence, service and execution of process, legal practice and procedure and courts and tribunals. It is also responsible for promoting international cooperation on civil legal procedures. In addition, CJD provides research and support services to the Administrative Review Council, the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council and the Family Law Council.

During the year, CJD assisted the Attorney-General and the Government to develop and implement a number of important legislative reforms and policies, and to achieve other significant outcomes, including:

Major achievements

Family law reform

In 2004–05, a major focus of CJD was on assisting the Government to develop a response to Every picture tells a story, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs' report on its inquiry into child custody arrangements following family separation. This year, our focus has moved to implementing that response.

The reforms outlined in the response are a major overhaul of the family law system. Implementation will take three years and includes major legislative changes, a new network of 65 Family Relationship Centres, a new Family Relationship Advice Line and website and other new and expanded services for families.

A key achievement in 2005–06 was the enactment of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (Shared Parental Responsibility Act). This Act, and a package of associated amendments to Regulations, commenced on 1 July 2006.

Other major achievements were the establishment of the first 15 Family Relationship Centres, the Family Relationship Advice Line and the new website, Family Relationships Online, ready to provide services from 3 July 2006.

Marriage Celebrants Program

Major reforms to the Marriage Celebrants Program came into force on 1 September 2003. Since then, we have focused on aspects of the implementation of statutory obligations under the program, including requirements for registered marriage celebrants to undertake ongoing professional development.

There continued to be great interest in registration as a marriage celebrant. Between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2006, we received 1,086 applications for registration as a marriage celebrant. These applications must be dealt with within three months of their being received. We processed 1,328 applications in the reporting year.

The award-winning Family Law Reform team with Secretary Robert Cornall

The award-winning Family Law Reform team with Secretary Robert Cornall. Left to right: Janet Douglas, Kim Farrant, Alison Playford, Robert Cornall, Dianne Orr, Susan Noad, Michelle Warner, Peter Arnaudo, David Syme, Sabrena Donaldson, and Fermin Lopez

Performance measures

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND THE GOVERNMENT TO MAINTAIN AND DEVELOP INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS THAT DELIVER EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE JUSTICE

Family law reform

The Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP

The Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, inviting organisations to start negotiating funding agreements to operate the first 15 Family Relationship Centres and 50 new services to help families on 4 April 2006

We provided advice to the Attorney-General and the Government on the major package of reforms to the family law system. A key facet of the reform was the enactment of the Shared Parental Responsibility Act, which promotes the right of children to know and have a meaningful relationship with both their parents as well as encouraging parents to continue to share responsibility for their children after they separate. The Act also emphasises resolving post-separation parenting arrangements outside of the courts. For parenting issues that need to proceed to court, changes to court procedures will make the process less adversarial and easier to navigate.

We also provided advice to the Attorney-General on the operational framework and implementation process for establishing the first 15 Family Relationship Centres. These Centres will support healthy family relationships and help separating families to achieve workable parenting arrangements that focus on the needs of their children. The operational framework includes guidelines and key performance indicators to help the centres achieve these objectives.

Following an open selection process, we advised the Attorney-General on the most suitable organisations to operate the new centres in each location as well as organisations to operate new dispute resolution services, children's contact services and services under the Parenting Orders Program (previously referred to as the Contact Orders Program). The Attorney-General accepted all our recommendations. We provided advice to the Attorney-General on a wide range of issues concerning the implementation of the new family law system, including advice on:

We also provided advice to the Attorney-General on developing a community education campaign to inform the community of the changes to the law and of the new services. Together with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA), we developed the education campaign, which began in June 2006.

Family Law Violence Strategy

The Department advised the Attorney-General and the Government on the development of the Family Law Violence Strategy, announced on 26 February 2006. The strategy aims to improve the way in which the family law system deals with cases involving allegations of family violence or child abuse. Under the strategy, the Government is working collaboratively with the States and Territories to ensure that allegations of family violence and child abuse that arise in family law proceedings are investigated promptly and thoroughly.

As part of the strategy, the Attorney-General has requested the Family Law Council to consider the effectiveness of existing protection mechanisms and to identify ways to improve coordination between Commonwealth and State and Territory agencies.

Trans-Tasman Working Group on Court Proceedings and Regulatory Enforcement

In August 2005, the Trans-Tasman Working Group on Court Proceedings and Regulatory Enforcement released a public discussion paper in Australia and New Zealand. The discussion paper discussed recurrent problems with trans-Tasman court process, suggested solutions and sought views. The Working Group (including officers from CJD) received and considered public submissions in response to the discussion paper. The Working Group held its third meeting, in Wellington, New Zealand, in March 2006. It expects to report, with recommendations for streamlining process and enhancing cooperation, to both governments in the near future.

Appointments to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal

In 2005–06, CJD provided assistance to the Attorney-General in relation to the appointment of eight new members to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and the re-appointment of eight members. These included three Deputy Presidents and two Senior Members.

Migration litigation reform

CJD assisted the Government in making significant reforms to the system of migration litigation by the enactment of the Migration Litigation Reform Act 2005 which commenced on 1 December 2005. The Act amends the Migration Act 1958 and other legislation to increase the overall efficiency and timeliness of migration litigation and to deter unmeritorious cases. The Act directs migration cases to the Federal Magistrates Court for more efficient handling and establishes uniform grounds of review and time limits.

Expansion of Federal Magistrates Court's jurisdiction

CJD played a key role in developing amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 which gives the Federal Magistrates Court concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Court in workplace relations matters. The amendments commenced on 27 March 2006.

The Jurisdiction of the Federal Magistrates Court Legislation Amendment Act 2006 commenced on 4 May 2006. The Act confers new jurisdiction on the Federal Magistrates Court in a range of new matters under the Trade Practices Act 1974, matters transferred to it by the Federal or Family Court, in personam matters under the Admiralty Act 1988 and appeals against departure prohibition orders under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

From 1 July 2006, when Schedule 7 to the Shared Parental Responsibility Act came into effect, the Federal Magistrates Court was vested with concurrent jurisdiction with the Family Court in property matters without consent where the property in dispute is worth more than $700,000. This amendment is contained in Schedule 7 to the Shared Parental Responsibility Act.

Funding for new federal magistrates

Ongoing funding of more than $4 million was provided in the 2005–06 Additional Estimates for six additional federal magistrates to handle the Federal Magistrates Court's new workplace relations jurisdiction. The Government announced in the 2006–07 Budget that the Federal Magistrates Court would receive further funding of $14.6 million over four years for five additional magistrates to deal with existing and new jurisdiction.

More-efficient arrangements in relation to family law in Western Australia

The Jurisdiction of Courts (Family Law) Act 2006 commenced on 1 July 2006. The Act provides the Magistrates Court of Western Australia with substantially the same jurisdiction and appeal structure as the Federal Magistrates Court in relation to family law and child support matters. The increased jurisdiction will provide litigants with a simple and accessible alternative to litigation in the Family Court of Western Australia and will enable that court to concentrate on hearing more complex family law and child support matters.

POLICIES THAT RECOGNISE NEEDS, RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES, HAVE AN APPROPRIATE BALANCE OF COMPETING COMMUNITY INTERESTS, AND RECOGNISE LEGITIMATE BUSINESS AND OTHER ECONOMIC INTERESTS, ARE DEVELOPED IN A TIMELY AND SOUND MANNER

Family law reform

In assisting the Government to implement the package of family law reforms, we consulted community groups, service providers, the courts, government agencies, the legal profession, legal aid commissions and community legal centres.

These consultations enabled us to advise the Government on policies that appropriately balance competing community interests and take into account the diverse views in the community about the proposed reforms.

In implementing the new services in the family law system, in partnership with FaCSIA, it was necessary to ensure a balance between the needs of intact families and the needs of families experiencing relationship breakdown or who have separated. The new Family Relationship Centres and Family Relationship Advice Line will provide assistance not only to families who have separated but also to those who have relationship difficulties or simply want to strengthen their relationships.

The Family Relationship Centres and Family Relationship Advice Line will provide a wide range of information and referral to services that can help families stay together, including early intervention services funded by FaCSIA.

For separated families, the Centres and the Advice Line will provide information, referral and advice, including advice on options and on parenting after separation. They will provide dispute resolution services, including three free hours, to help separated families reduce conflict and develop workable parenting arrangements outside the courts, where possible. They will also refer people to other counselling and dispute resolution services if longer term or more specialised services are required.

Providing an entry to the wider service system is an important role of the Centres and Advice Line. People can find out about other services in their area that provide help with issues that arise when entering relationships, going through relationship difficulties or separating.

Although people will be able to go direct to other services if they already know about them, the Centres and the Advice Line will be important sources of referral to many existing government and non-government services.

Helping families — the new Family Relationship Centres

The Family Pathways Branch within Civil Justice Division achieved a major milestone in 2005–06, establishing the first 15 Family Relationship Centres and a range of other new services that will help change the culture surrounding family breakdown and improve outcomes for children.

A completely new service, Family Relationship Centres are the centrepiece of the Government's package of family law reforms, with 65 Centres to be established over three years. Family Pathways Branch has worked closely with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA) in establishing the first 15 Centres.

To help develop the model for the Centres, the Branch conducted workshops with family mediators and other experienced practitioners. These consultations helped the Branch develop a draft operational framework that sets out the scope of services offered by Centres and guidelines on how the Centres will operate. An information paper was then released and industry representative bodies were consulted.

A competitive selection process to operate the first 15 Centres was advertised nationally in October 2005, with a December deadline. After spending much of January and February assessing applications, the Department provided the Attorney-General with recommendations on the preferred applicants in March. The Attorney-General accepted all of the recommendations.

On 4 April 2006, the Attorney-General announced the organisations selected to operate the Family Relationships Centres and other services.

While FaCSIA negotiated the funding agreements, Family Pathways Branch assisted these organisations to get ready to open, providing a range of information and guidelines and bringing all the Centre operators together to discuss establishment issues. In June, staff of the Centres and the new Family Relationships Advice Line attended orientation training conducted in Canberra by the Department. A national advertising campaign began to inform the public of the changes to the law and of the new services that would be appearing in local communities.

All 15 Family Relationship Centres opened on schedule in the first week of July 2006.

Family Law Reform community consultation

Family Law Reform community consultation in Cranebrook, Sydney, 31 July 2005

Photo courtesy of Bill Devine

In view of the importance of the referral role of the Family Relationship Centres and the Advice Line, we held workshops in each capital city and several regional areas in May 2006 to consult existing service providers on referral issues. The workshops attracted over 700 participants, including private practitioners, staff of government and non-government service providers, and representatives of voluntary organisations. We also met with key State and Territory agencies and professional bodies and asked peak bodies representing the legal profession for input on the question of referral to legal advice.

Through the workshops and other consultations, we were able to take into account the interests and views of other services providers when developing referral guidelines for the Centres and the Advice Line.

International family law

The Department is the Commonwealth Central Authority for a range of Hague Conventions:

Adoption

In accordance with the Commonwealth–State Agreement for the Implementation of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption (concluded 29 May 1993), the Department cooperates with the States and Territories to facilitate the operation of existing arrangements and development of new arrangements with countries that are party to the Convention.

During the year the Department was also charged with developing the Government's response to the House of Representatives Standing Committee Report on that Committee's Inquiry into the Adoption of Children Overseas. That Report recommends a significantly expanded role for the Commonwealth in the future of this program. That response is expected to be considered by the Government early in 2006–07.

Abduction

In accordance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and in cooperation with State Central Authorities the Department provides assistance to applicants to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any country party to the Convention. In 2005–06 70 children were returned to Australia (47 following court orders and 23 voluntarily) and 60 children were returned from Australia to other countries (42 following court orders and 18 voluntarily).

The Department is liaising with the Lebanese Government on the final stages of an agreement that aims to promote cooperation between the two countries in cases involving the protection of the welfare of children. This agreement is modelled on the bilateral Agreement regarding Cooperation on Protecting the Welfare of Children between Australia and Egypt (which came into effect on 1 February 2002).

Child protection

The Department oversees the implementation of the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. The Convention provides simple solutions to jurisdictional problems arising when parents and children travel from one country to another. It also facilitates the mutual recognition and enforcement of parental responsibility orders and child protection orders made under the Convention.

Overseas maintenance

The Department continues to work closely with the Child Support Agency to ensure that child support liabilities and proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 are pursued effectively and in a timely fashion.

Regulation of therapeutic products in Australia and New Zealand

The Department contributed to legislative proposals to establish the Australia — New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority and a joint scheme for regulation of therapeutic products in Australia and New Zealand. The scheme will help to safeguard public health and safety in Australia and New Zealand and foster trans-Tasman trade and relations.

Uniform evidence laws

The Australian Law Reform Commission presented its joint report with the New South Wales and Victorian Law Reform Commissions on uniform evidence laws to the Attorney-General in December 2005. The report, containing 63 recommendations, was tabled in Parliament on 8 February 2006.

The report culminated an 18-month inquiry into the operation of the uniform evidence legislation ten years after the commencement of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) and the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW).

The report confirmed that the uniform evidence Acts are working well and there are no major structural problems in the legislation or its underlying policy. Recommendations were made for finetuning the legislation, introducing new types of privilege and promoting harmonisation.

The Australian and State Attorneys-General have established a joint working group to advise them on amendments arising from the report and to prepare model provisions for consideration through the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG). CJD has been centrally involved in this process.

The report presents a major opportunity for harmonising evidence laws throughout Australia, reviewing and updating these laws, and reducing burdens on business, law enforcement agencies, the legal profession and the courts through standardised provisions.

Statute Law Revision Act

The Statute Law Revision Act 2006 commenced on 23 March 2006. The Act improves the quality and accuracy of Commonwealth legislation and facilitates the publication of consolidated versions of Acts by amending 33 Acts to correct minor technical and drafting errors, and repealing 27 obsolete Acts that have no current or future operation.

Legislative Instruments Act

The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA) established a comprehensive regime for the management of Commonwealth legislative instruments, including the creation of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments as an easily accessible database of legislative instruments, explanatory statements and compilations.

The Acts Interpretation Amendment (Legislative Instruments) Act 2005 was passed on 3 November 2005 and commenced on 15 November 2005. It inserted a definition of 'legislative instrument' to prevent the need to define the term every time it is used in other legislation, and made consequential amendments to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Three sets of regulations were made under the LIA in 2005–06. Two provide exemptions for certain instruments from all or part of the LIA. Another regulation extended the deadline for 'back-capture' of legislative instruments made in the five years before the commencement of the LIA from 31 December 2005 to 30 September 2006. This was to ensure that agencies could comply with the Act and to reduce the risk of error and automatic repeal of instruments that were not lodged in time.

Federal Court Criminal Jurisdiction

The Commonwealth Treasury is preparing a Bill that will introduce criminal penalties for serious cartel offences into Part IV of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The Bill will give concurrent jurisdiction to the Federal Court of Australia and to State and Territory supreme courts to hear prosecutions of serious cartel offences.

We progressed preparation of a Bill that will give the Federal Court the powers to exercise indictable criminal jurisdiction to hear prosecutions of the proposed serious cartel offences. It will address issues such as committals, bail, sentencing, appeals, jury trials, and practice and procedure.

Both Bills are expected to be introduced into Parliament in 2006–07.

Reforms to the Marriage Celebrants Program

The reforms to the Marriage Celebrants Program require all marriage celebrants to undertake ongoing professional development, comply with a Code of Practice and be subject to performance reviews and a complaints process.

In implementing the reforms we consulted with marriage celebrants and other interested parties. The program takes account of the needs of marriage celebrants registered under previous systems through a transitional five-year period. This is the third year of that period, during which limited numbers of new marriage celebrants may be registered (10 per cent of the year's total, in defined geographic regions).

The National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council

The National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council (NADRAC) provides independent expert advice to the Attorney-General on alternative dispute resolution issues. We provide secretariat support to the Council.

During 2005–06, NADRAC continued to provide advice to the Attorney-General and published a report, Indigenous dispute resolution and conflict management. NADRAC also worked with the Family Law Council to provide advice to the Attorney-General on the legal accountability of family counsellors and family dispute practitioners as part of the family law reforms.

The Council publishes its own annual report. More information is available at <www.nadrac.gov.au>.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ARE EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINED, IMPLEMENTED AND APPLIED

Family law reform

An important part of the implementation of the reforms to the family law system is to ensure the community is aware of the changes to the law and of the new services that are available to assist them. For this reason, we have developed a community education campaign, in partnership with FaCSIA. The first stage of the campaign began in June 2006, focusing mainly on the changes to the law and promoting new services at a local level.

As new services come into operation around the country over the next three years, the campaign will focus on raising community awareness of the new Family Relationship Centres and other family relationship services and on encouraging people to get help with relationship difficulties.

Disallowance of the Civil Unions Act 2006 (ACT)

An Instrument of Disallowance was signed by the Governor-General in Council on 13 June 2006. The Instrument disallowed the Civil Unions Act 2006 (ACT). The Instrument effectively repealed that Act and was undertaken to defend the institution of marriage.

Regular meetings on intercountry adoption and international child abduction

The Department encourages debate and exchange of ideas in the areas of intercountry adoption and international child abduction by organising biennial Commonwealth–States and Territories meetings on intercountry adoption and biannual Commonwealth–States and Territories meetings on international child abduction. Meetings on intercountry adoption took place in November 2005 and May 2006.

Challenges

As this was the first year of implementation of the family law reforms, the main challenge for CJD was developing and rolling out a brand-new type of service by the July 2006 deadline. We developed new operational and performance requirements and a range of guidelines and undertook an open competitive selection process in 15 locations.

Once the outcome was announced, successful applicants worked within tight time frames to obtain premises, recruit staff and prepare the Centres for opening, at the same time as they were negotiating funding agreements with FaCSIA staff. (FaCSIA administers the program, including the funding agreements, on behalf of the Attorney-General's Department.) We also developed and delivered training for Centre staff before the Centres opened.

Despite the challenging time frames, all Centres were ready to open on schedule.

Substantial and significant reform has been introduced to the family law system in the past year. A key challenge for CJD will be ensuring these reforms are implemented appropriately while continuing to respond effectively to new Government reform proposals.

Significant challenges to CJD will also arise from the continued implementation of the reforms to the Marriage Celebrants Program and in planning for the end of the cap on appointments in 2008. Some of these challenges will arise particularly in the areas of performance reviews and the development of ongoing professional development programs.

Outlook

In 2006–07, a major focus for CJD will be preparing for the establishment of 25 more Family Relationship Centres due to start operating in July 2007.

We will also be advising the Attorney-General on the selection of organisations to operate nine new children's contact services and eight new services under the Parenting Orders Program.

As part of the preparation for introducing compulsory dispute resolution for separating parents wishing to take a dispute to court, in July 2007 we will be developing an accreditation system for family dispute resolution practitioners, using competency standards referred to at page 42.

Implementing the Family Law Violence Strategy will involve analysing the results of the research conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Family Law Council into allegations of family violence and child abuse, and working closely with the courts and relevant State and Territory agencies to ensure that cases involving family violence or child abuse are dealt with quickly, fairly and properly.

In the area of Family Law a priority will be to amend the Family Law Act to confer federal jurisdiction in de facto financial matters on the Family Court of Australia, the Federal Magistrates Court, and State and Territory courts of summary jurisdiction. The Act presently provides only for financial matters for married couples. This will extend the jurisdiction of the Act to provide a financial adjustment regime for separated heterosexual de facto couples, similar to that already applying to married couples, by implementing references of legislative powers from all States except South Australia, and legislating for the Territories (which do not refer powers).

Model provisions to amend the uniform evidence Acts will be prepared for consideration by SCAG.

Ongoing work on administering the Marriage Celebrants Program and further development in areas such as performance reviews and non-compliance with statutory obligations will continue to be significant priorities.

A Bill to give the Federal Court of Australia the requisite powers to exercise indictable criminal jurisdiction to hear prosecutions of proposed serious cartel offences is expected to be introduced to Parliament during the Spring 2006 sitting.

Output 1.2

Support for the Attorney-General as First Law Officer, advice on constitutional policy, and promotion of Australian legal services internationally

Performance overview

Output 1.2 is the responsibility of the Legal Services and Native Title Division. We have provided responsive, pro-active and well received services to stakeholders, such as the Attorney-General and his office, other Commonwealth Departments and agencies and providers of legal services to the Australian Government.

Major achievements

In 2005–06, we improved processes to deal with counsel fee applications made under the Legal Services Directions 2005, enabling us to resolve more than twice the number of applications within stakeholders' time frames.

We helped agencies and legal services providers to understand the Legal Services Directions through a wide range of outreach activities, including conducting discussion groups with agency contacts, publishing guidance notes and other explanatory materials on our web site, <www.ag.gov.au/olsc>, and conducting well-received seminars in Canberra and Sydney.

Through our direct involvement in free trade agreement and World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, we continued to play a significant role in improving market access conditions internationally for Australian legal services providers. Our legal cooperation initiatives, particularly in the People's Republic of China and Indonesia, are contributing to capacity building in law and promoting cooperation and more open and transparent regulation of trade in cross-border legal services.

We continued to pursue national approaches to key law and justice issues through the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG).

We worked with States and Territories in an extensive process of reviewing and updating the Model National Legal Profession Bill and subsequently worked to advance their efforts to implement it.

The Division has taken a leading role in classification policy and administration, starting several major classification policy projects as part of the National Classification Scheme and beginning the process of integrating the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) into the Department, as decided by the Government.

Working with the Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia, we contributed to the development of legislation to strengthen existing laws that allow for the recovery of property disposed of before bankruptcy, or owned by a third person but acquired by that person using the bankrupt's resources.

We continued to work closely with the Department of Finance and Administration on behalf of the two shareholder ministers of the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) to help the AGS to meet the needs of the Attorney-General and government while operating in an increasingly competitive legal services market.

Performance measures

A NATIONAL LEGAL PROFESSION IS ADVANCED

By working closely with all Australian jurisdictions, the project secretariat in New South Wales and the Law Council of Australia, the Division assisted in the transition of the national legal profession project from a review of the National Legal Profession Model Bill to a focus on consistent implementation by those States and Territories still to pass legislation.

Legislation based on the National Legal Profession Model Bill was passed in the Australian Capital Territory (the Legal Profession Act 2006) and commenced on 1 July 2006. The remaining jurisdictions (Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory) are expected to follow later in 2006 or early 2007.

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND THE GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN AN INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE EFFICIENT AND TIMELY DELIVERY OF HIGH-QUALITY LEGAL SERVICES TO THE COMMONWEALTH

We assist the Attorney-General to administer the Legal Services Directions 2005 issued under the Judiciary Act 1903. The Directions provide a framework for the delivery of legal services to the Australian Government and its agencies.

During the year, we investigated 38 possible breaches. The substantiated breaches related to performance of tied legal work without approval, the engagement of counsel above the threshold rates without approval, and failure to comply with the Commonwealth's obligation to act as a model litigant.

Table 1: Investigation of breaches of the Legal Services Directions 2004–05 and 2005–06
2004–05 2005–06
Established breaches 21 6
Examined and found not to involve breaches 10 22
Still under investigation at year end 10 (all now completed) 10

Note: The figures for 2004–05 breaches differ from those reported in the 2004–05 annual report. One investigation was inadvertently omitted from the statistics in that report. The figures shown above for completed 2004–05 investigations include the outcomes of the 10 investigations that were still under investigation at the end of 2004–05 but that have since been completed.

During the year, we also considered 172 individual applications for approval of counsel fees as required under the Directions.

Table 2: Counsel fee applications
2005–06
Number of applications resolved 172
Initial rate set below threshold 35
Ongoing increase approved 64
One-off rate approved 34
Above threshold increase declined 39

The number of applications resolved by the Division in 2005–06 was more than double the number resolved in 2004–05.

The Division also continued to process claims by ministers for legal assistance under the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997. There were 10 applications for assistance in 2005–06, relating to seven matters. The Attorney-General was the decision maker under the Regulations in relation to six matters and he sought approval from the Prime Minister to provide assistance on the remaining matter. One application was unsuccessful.

The Division continued to respond consistently and accurately to questions concerning Government legal services expenditure, and also to assist other Departments and agencies in answering questions put to them on this topic. We have published guidance on our web site, <www.ag.gov.au/olsc>, and advised a large number of agencies on a case-by-case basis.

The Division provided administrative support to the Department on its legal services tender, following which the Secretary appointed the Australian Government Solicitor and Blake Dawson Waldron to the legal services panel.

LEGAL SERVICES AND COOPERATION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE ASIA–PACIFIC AND OTHER REGIONS ARE DEVELOPED AND ADVANCED

The Division provided secretariat support for the International Legal Services Advisory Council. ILSAC's main objectives are to:

At ILSAC's initiative, funding from Australian Education International (AEI) was arranged for the Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) to produce a revised edition and a web version of the publication Studying law in Australia. The role played by this Department and ILSAC received positive feedback from CALD.

The Hon Sir Laurence Street AC KCMG QC

The Hon Sir Laurence Street AC KCMG QC, Chair of the International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC) (left), the Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, and The Hon John Lockhart AO QC (now deceased), Deputy Chair of ILSAC 2004–06 (right) at the 25th meeting of ILSAC, Canberra, 16 November 2005

We continued to work with ILSAC and other stakeholders on market access barriers and regulation, legal cooperation, legal education and training, and international commercial dispute resolution. Some of our more significant achievements this year:

TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE COORDINATION OF THE COMMONWEALTH'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF ATTORNEYS-GENERAL

We coordinate the Australian Government's participation in SCAG and support the Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice and Customs at the meetings. There were three meetings of SCAG in 2005–06, during which the Australian Government continued to pursue its objectives for appropriate, consistent and uniform legislation:

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE PROVIDED TO GOVERNMENT ON CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES IN LITIGATION AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

The Constitutional Policy Unit (CPU) provided assistance and advice on constitutional policy development, litigation and public law issues of federal significance. In relation to constitutional policy development, we continued our work on harmonising federal legal arrangements, including developing a proposal for a national defamation law. The CPU has also provided advice concerning possible constitutional amendments and the development of Commonwealth policy in areas such as terrorism and industrial relations.

In relation to constitutional litigation, the CPU, in consultation with the Solicitor-General and the Australian Government Solicitor, has made recommendations to the Attorney-General on whether he should intervene in cases raising constitutional issues and has had a role in developing the arguments made by the Commonwealth in constitutional cases. These cases, often in the High Court, have frequently concerned issues of great significance for the Commonwealth such as the constitutional challenge to the Work Choices legislation.

The CPU has also provided technical advice in relation to the Cole Commission of Inquiry into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme. This has included advising on the establishment of the Inquiry, making amendments to the terms of reference for the Inquiry, and developing amendments to the Royal Commissions Act 1902.

COMMONWEALTH CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLICATIONS, FILMS AND COMPUTER GAMES POLICIES RECOGNISE THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PUBLIC AND INDUSTRY

Throughout the year we had joint responsibility for classification policy with the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC). We work closely with the States and Territories, the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, and the Australian Communications Management Authority.

During the year, we began implementing the Government's decision to integrate the policy and administrative functions of the OFLC into the Attorney-General's Department. We took an increasing role in managing the Australian Government's contribution to classification policy and administration as part of the National Classification Scheme. We continued a review of the fee-waiver principles under that scheme and consulted widely to determine whether and how to amend the fee-waiver principles.

We assisted in finalising the OFLC's significant cost-recovery review during 2005–06 and putting in place the new Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Regulations 2005 from 1 December 2005.

In response to industry requests, we began a policy project to streamline and simplify the classification of DVDs with additional content. Already classified material with additional content such as subtitles and captions, interactive menus, additional scenes, documentaries and interviews would not require a new classification.

The Attorney-General announced a review of the rules governing advertising under the National Classification Scheme. We are at an early stage of preparations for the review.

We also assisted the Government to make appointments to the Classification Board and Classification Review Board to ensure those boards continue to be broadly representative of the Australian community.

IN CONSULTATION WITH INSOLVENCY AND TRUSTEE SERVICE AUSTRALIA REGARDING PERSONAL INSOLVENCY LAWS:

In September 2005, the Australian Government released a consultation paper on the recovery of superannuation contributions made before bankruptcy. The 24 submissions received informed proposals to achieve a fair balance between the interest of bankrupt superannuants and their creditors. These proposals were announced by the Attorney-General at the Sixth ITSA Bankruptcy Congress on 27 July 2006.

The Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment (Anti-avoidance) Act 2006, targeting practices that undermined the integrity of the bankruptcy system, was passed by Parliament on 30 March 2006. The Act strengthened existing laws allowing for the recovery of property disposed of before bankruptcy, or owned by a third person but acquired by that person using the bankrupt's resources. The Act was developed with the benefit of extensive public consultation.

In March 2006, the Australian Government released for public comment proposals to improve the current arrangements for debt agreements. The aim of the improvements is to ensure that the debt agreement system meets community expectations. The responses received to those proposals have been considered in developing legislative proposals.

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE IS PROVIDED TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL IN RESPECT OF HIS ROLE AS A SHAREHOLDER MINISTER OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SOLICITOR

The Division assisted AGS to enhance its reporting to ministers on its activities in support of the Attorney-General as First Law Officer.

We also assisted the Government in identifying new appointees to the AGS Advisory Board. Ms Irene Moss AO and Mr Jeffrey Browne were appointed in May 2006.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ARE EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINED, IMPLEMENTED AND APPLIED

During 2005–06, the Division made significant gains in its work to create an effective network for Australian Government legal units, through Internet and email communication, and by convening discussion forums. Forums were held in August and November 2005 and in May 2006. The topics were 'ANAO report recommendations', 'Advancing the sharing of relevant legal information (advices, templates and other material) between agencies' and 'The New Legal Services Directions and draft Guidance Notes on Legal Expenditure and Compliance Reporting'.

Challenges

The Division worked throughout the reporting year to ensure that implementation of the national legal profession model laws remained a priority in all Australian jurisdictions. At the April 2006 meeting of SCAG, ministers endorsed a work plan for the joint working party that will assist jurisdictions to focus on implementing the model laws over the next six months.

One important challenge was the development of a collective request on legal services through negotiations with a key group of WTO members in the Doha Round of negotiations. The WTO members who received the request have noted that the request on legal services, while being the most ambitious of all collective requests, was the best understood request and clearly identified what the demanding members were seeking. Other co-sponsors of the request acknowledged and thanked Australia for its coordinating role in developing the request.

Another key challenge was the development of a project proposal on a pilot legal professional development program with the People's Republic of China expected to be funded under AusAID's China–Australia Governance Program. The objective of the initiative is to provide a focused training and placement program for a number of Chinese lawyers to enable them to make a contribution to law reform on their return to the People's Republic of China. The development of the program included extensive dealings with professional bodies and government agencies in the two countries as well as with Australian law firms. The main challenge was designing the project to satisfy the strict requirements for funding while ensuring that the objectives of all stakeholders were met.

A challenge the Division faces is ensuring a smooth transition of the policy and administrative functions of the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) into the Attorney-General's Department. A steering committee of senior departmental officers is working closely with the Executive of the OFLC. During the transition, we are focused on continuing to provide high-quality legal and policy advice to the Attorney-General while implementing in a timely and effective manner the Government decision to integrate the OFLC into the Department.

Outlook

The Division will work with agencies to comply with obligations, imposed for the first time in 2006–07, to report on compliance with the Legal Services Directions 2005 and to publish information about expenditure on legal services.

The Division will continue to work closely with DFAT in promoting the interests of Australia's legal and related service providers through active involvement in free trade agreement and WTO negotiations.

The Division will continue to take a leading role in managing Australia's classification policy and administration as part of the National Classification Scheme. We will work to finalise the passage of legislation to integrate the OFLC into the Attorney-General's Department and to implement a number of classification policy initiatives.

We will promote the harmonisation of laws by working with the States and Territories through SCAG, in particular by securing agreement for a national system for the regulation of personal property securities and encouraging uniformity in evidence laws.

Output 1.3

Legal services and policy advice on information law and human rights

Performance overview

Output 1.3 is the responsibility of the Information Law and Human Rights Division. The Division provides legal and policy advice relating to privacy and freedom of information, as well as parliamentary privilege, defamation and electronic commerce. The Division also gives policy advice to the Government about copyright and related rights on a range of new technology and enforcement issues. The Division provides advice on domestic human rights policy, including anti-discrimination legislation, the implementation of Australia's international obligations and policy issues arising in relation to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Major achievements

Information law

The Working Party on Residential Tenancy Databases was jointly established by SCAG and the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (MCCA). The Department, as chair of the Working Party, played a major role in finalising the Working Party's report and associated Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). SCAG ministers accepted the report and RIS at their 11–12 April 2006 meeting. The MCCA is expected to consider the matter in the third quarter of 2006. The Department will continue to participate in work to develop relevant model uniform laws by the States and Territories.

The Government's response to the report by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Australian Health Ethics Committee — Essentially yours: the protection of human genetic information in Australia — was released on 9 December 2005. The Department consulted extensively in coordinating the response to the report. We are involved in implementing the recommendations accepted by the Government.

The Privacy Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 was introduced in the House of Representatives on 22 June 2006. The Bill makes amendments to the National Health Act 1953 and the Privacy Act 1988 and deals with the collection of health information and the handling of genetic information.

The Bill implements some recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission — Australian Health Ethics Committee (ALRC–AHEC) report on the protection of human genetic information. It amends the definitions of health information and sensitive information in the Privacy Act to expressly refer to genetic information, and allows the disclosure of genetic information to a genetic relative where there is a serious, but not necessarily imminent, threat to the life, health or safety of the genetic relative.

Copyright

Last year, the Government initiated a review of whether Australia should enact a 'fair use' exception or other new exceptions to copyright. In May 2006, the Attorney-General announced the outcome of that review, indicating that, while an open-ended fair-use exception would not be adopted, other specific exceptions would be adopted to ensure that the law is fairer for consumers and cultural and educational institutions. New exceptions will permit consumers to time-shift television and radio programs and copy legitimately purchased copyright material into a different format.

While both exceptions will be subject to restrictions, they will permit more flexibility for consumers to use technology and enjoy copyright material they have legitimately purchased or accessed. As a result of the review, there will also be new flexible-dealing exceptions for non-commercial uses of copyright material. The exception will apply to libraries, museums and archives, to educational institutions for teaching purposes, and to people with disabilities. There will also be an exception permitting use of copyright material for parody and satire.

Human rights

The Muslim Community Reference Group developed a national action plan to address intolerance and extremism following the Prime Minister's summit with Muslim community leaders on 23 August 2005. We participated in the Improving Crisis Management Subgroup.

We were also involved in initiatives that promoted human rights education consistent with the UN World Program for Human Rights Education.

We provided advice to the Government in relation to the development and passage of the Age Discrimination Amendment Act 2006.

Performance measures

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND THE GOVERNMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES THAT RECOGNISE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF STAKEHOLDERS AND PROVIDE APPROPRIATE BALANCE AND RECOGNITION OF COMPETING INTERESTS

Information law

Privacy Act

On 29 November 2005, the Attorney-General announced that the Government would amend the Privacy Act 1988 to enhance information exchange between Australian Government agencies, State and Territory agencies, non-government organisations and the private sector in an emergency or disaster situation. The amendments will provide the required clarity and certainty to allow agencies and others to exchange personal information in such situations. Legislation is being developed to make the amendments to the Privacy Act.

Feedback to the Department suggested that some agencies regarded the Privacy Act as an impediment to the proper discharge of their functions and disclosed a perception in some quarters that the law has not kept pace with changing community attitudes. On 22 November 2005, the Department convened an interdepartmental committee to allow agencies to discuss their concerns about the impact of the Privacy Act on their activities. We are currently analysing the issues raised and expect to report to the Government shortly.

Responses to reports

We worked on coordinating the Government's responses to the Privacy Commissioner's report Getting in on the Act: the review of the private sector privacy provisions of the 'Privacy Act 1988', and the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee report The real Big Brother: inquiry into the 'Privacy Act 1988'. The draft responses are being considered by government.

Building upon the work of these reports, on 30 January 2006, the Attorney-General gave a wide-ranging reference to the ALRC on privacy. The ALRC is due to report to the Government by 31 March 2008.

Customs Passenger Name Record

The Department continued to be involved in treaty negotiations with the European Commission on the processing and transfer of Customs Passenger Name Record (PNR) data by air carriers. Negotiations have been complicated by a decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). On 4 August 2004, the European Parliament brought an action before the ECJ against the European Council and Commission seeking annulment of the decision granting adequacy to the United States protection of PNR data transferred under the European Council – United States agreement. On 30 May 2006, the ECJ handed down its decision, which found against the Council and Commission. The ECJ did not identify an alternative legal basis for the EC–US PNR agreement but has granted the Council and the United States a period of grace to 30 September 2006 to make a new arrangement.

The Department continued to pursue an adequacy determination from the European Union (EU) for Australia's Privacy Act in its application to the private sector. However, our primary focus has been on the PNR exercise, given that the European Commission advised that it will not progress the general adequacy bid any further until the Customs PNR proposal had been finalised.

International issues

The Department continued to participate in the APEC Privacy Subgroup, which has developed APEC Privacy Principles and domestic implementation guidelines with a commentary. The Subgroup's current work agenda focused on international implementation issues.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Information Security and Privacy (WPISP) is currently preparing a paper on cross-border privacy issues. The paper will focus on the enforcement aspects of privacy protection as well as measures that countries are taking to address international privacy issues. The Department is participating in this work.

The Department has been, and continued to be, involved in Australia's FTA negotiations in relation to the electronic commerce chapters of agreements. Our role is to negotiate provisions on the legal framework for e-commerce and provisions on the protection of personal data.

Do Not Call Register

The Department participated on an interdepartmental committee established by DCITA to consider issues relevant to the establishment of a Do Not Call Register.

Privacy Legislation Amendment Bill 2006

We consulted extensively in preparing the Government response to the ALRC–AHEC report on the protection of human genetic information. The Privacy Legislation Amendment Bill 2006, developed in consultation with the Privacy Commissioner and the Department of Health and Ageing, implements some recommendations of that report.

The Bill also amends the National Health Act 1953 and the Privacy Act 1988 to allow the continued operation of Medicare Australia's Prescription Shopping Information Service by permitting an organisation to collect health information for the purposes of providing a health service, without initially obtaining consent of the patient, where the collection is authorised by law.

SCAG working group

The Department participated in the SCAG working group that is considering options for improving the consistency of privacy regulation. The working group will also consider options for harmonising workplace privacy regulation.

We worked closely with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in making Regulations to support the use of Centrelink's Confirmation eServices, and with the Commissioner's office and with industry on much of our international work (for example, the work of the APEC Privacy Subgroup). The Centrelink Regulations were made on 22 June 2006.

Industry was also consulted during the development of the Working Party's report on residential tenancy databases and related Regulation Impact Statement.

E-commerce issues

The Department undertakes general administration of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (the ETA), including the provision of advice on its operation and application. The Department has an international profile in this area, forming part of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) working group on e-commerce, which recently completed the Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts. The Convention focuses on international contracts and is intended to overcome obstacles under existing trade law instruments. The Convention was adopted at the 38th Annual Session of UNCITRAL in July 2005 and was subsequently adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 2005. The Convention is open for signature until January 2008.

Surveillance issues

In September 2005, COAG agreed to the development of a National Code of Practice for Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Systems in the Mass Passenger Transport Sector. A COAG working group, chaired by the Victorian Department of Infrastructure, was established to develop the code. The Attorney-General's Department is represented on the working group and chairs the legal issues subgroup.

The code will include protocols and minimum requirements for the use of CCTV systems to enhance counter-terrorism arrangements. It will also contain national guidelines for the collection, storage, access, use, privacy, disclosure, protection and retention of CCTV information. The code will allow each jurisdiction, based on an appropriate risk analysis, to determine its own requirements for using CCTV for local counter-terrorism purposes.

In February 2006, COAG endorsed a draft framework for the code. Following consultation with stakeholders, the code was endorsed by COAG in July 2006. The working group will continue to monitor application of the code over the next 12 months.

Copyright

In addition to the Fair Use and Other Copyright Exceptions Review, we completed a number of other reviews on copyright matters. In all cases, the advice we provided to the Government comprised an appropriate balance and recognition of competing interests based on wide consultation with stakeholders.

FTA on copyright

We continued our work on implementing the obligations in the Australia – United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) in relation to copyright material protected by technological protection measures (TPMs). The Department made written and oral submissions to the inquiry by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs into TPM exceptions. An officer of the Copyright Law Branch was seconded to the Committee's Secretariat to assist with the inquiry.

Australia – US Free Trade Agreement — the first 18 months

The Australia – United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), which entered into force on 1 January 2005, has given rise to important flow-on copyright reform. As recommended in the parliamentary committee reports on AUSFTA in 2004, and as promised in the Government's 2004 election policy, Attorney-General's Department completed a review in 2005–06 of whether Australia should adopt a broad 'fair use' exception to copyright such as exists in US copyright law.

The 'fair use' review began in May 2005 when the Copyright Law Branch published an issues paper — Fair use and other copyright exceptions — which prompted over 160 submissions. In November 2005, the Attorney-General foreshadowed his preferred response in an important speech, which was followed by further consultations with key stakeholders. In May 2006, the Government approved a major package of copyright reforms, including new exceptions to copyright for private 'time-shift' recording of television programs and making of legitimate copies of music in different formats. Further exceptions will provide for uses by libraries, archives and educational institutions, by persons with disabilities, and for parody and satire.

The Attorney-General indicated that one of the guiding principles in approving the new exceptions was to ensure that Australian consumers were not worse off than consumers in similar countries. He pointed to the review as evidence that Australians did not want a broad US-style fair-use exception, preferring instead the approach of having more specific exceptions.

This intensive work by the Copyright Law Branch was a collaborative effort with the Office of International Law and the Criminal Justice Division in the Attorney-General's Department.

The review of the implementation of Australia's remaining copyright obligations under AUSFTA — supporting technological protection of copyright — also commenced during the year. This obligation is to be met by 1 January 2007.

Human rights

Draft UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

One of our significant ongoing projects has been the negotiations on the draft United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Department coordinated the consultation process (with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA)) on behalf of the Australian Government.

Australian delegations have attended all seven sessions of the UN's Ad Hoc Committee, which is negotiating the Convention. During the reporting year, the Department was represented at the sixth and seventh sessions. A representative of the disability sector and a representative of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) were also included in the official Australian delegation at both sessions. Other delegations commented favourably on this inclusiveness, and it has also resulted in positive feedback from peak disability organisations.

To prepare for the seventh session we undertook a comprehensive round of consultations with other Australian Government agencies, State and Territory government officials, and organisations from the disability, human rights, legal and business sectors. In special recognition of the need for input from the disability sector, the Attorney-General approved a grant of $50,000 in October 2005 to the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) to undertake nationwide consultations with the disability sector on the draft text.

The AFDO's report was very helpful in providing the perspective of the non-government organisation disability sector before the seventh session, and it will inform the Australian Government delegation's position at subsequent meetings. A delegation – comprising representatives of the Department, FaCSIA, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA), HREOC and the disability sector – will attend the eighth session during August 2006.

Premises standards

Significant work was also undertaken with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR) and with HREOC in examining proposals for possible Disability Standards for Access to Premises. Extensive work has been undertaken by the Australian Building Codes Board in further developing its proposal for consideration by the Government. In March 2006, the Board provided further material to the Attorney-General. The Department is providing advice to the Attorney-General to assist in his consideration of proposals, including the costs and benefits likely to accrue from them, and to provide appropriate balance and recognition of competing interests.

The proposed Standards would harmonise the requirements of the Building Code of Australia with industry's existing obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). If a person acted in accordance with the Standards once they are in place, that would be a defence to a complaint in relation to access under the DDA.

Productivity Commission's review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992

The Government's response to the Productivity Commission's report on its review of the DDA was tabled out of session on 27 January 2005. It accepts, either in full, in part or in principle, 26 of the 32 recommendations of the report and seeks to balance the needs and rights of people with disability with the interests of industry and service providers.

Since the Government's response was tabled, the Department has worked toward implementation of the recommendations. Work has included developing legislative amendments, working with HREOC on guidelines and clarifying the operation of the DDA, and liaising with other Australian Government agencies and with the States and Territories on matters requiring their cooperation.

Age Discrimination Amendment Act 2006

The Age Discrimination Amendment Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 22 June 2006. It amends the Age Discrimination Act 2004 by inserting more limited exemptions for specific pieces of legislation that are inconsistent with the Age Discrimination Act. Previously these exemptions were preserved by the operation of a temporary exemption under sub-section 39(2), which expired in June 2006. The new exemptions provide certainty for selected laws and programs where the scope of existing exemptions was judged by the Government to be unclear.

The Age Discrimination Amendment Act was drafted following an extensive consultation process coordinated by the Department across all government portfolios.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ARE EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINED, IMPLEMENTED AND APPLIED

Information law

The Department maintains a freedom of information (FOI) web site at <www.ag.gov.au/foi> that contains a range of useful FOI information for agencies and the community.

To promote greater consistency in decisions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, we worked on updating the guidelines, known as the FOI Memoranda, to guide FOI decision makers. New memoranda will be written in plain, non-technical English, incorporating developments in FOI policy and law since the memoranda were first published. The memoranda are being progressively rewritten and published on the web site.

Copyright

Copyright Amendment (Film Directors' Rights) Act 2005

The substantive provisions of the Copyright Amendment (Film Directors' Rights) Act 2005 came into force by proclamation on 19 December 2005. The Act amends the Copyright Act 1968 to give, for the first time, film directors a copyright in the films they direct. It provides rights to directors to share, as copyright owners, in remuneration for the re-transmission of films included in free-to-air broadcasts. A fact sheet on the Act is available from the Department's website at <http://www.ag.gov.au/filmdirectors>.

Copyright enforcement

Our response to the increasing prominence of copyright enforcement issues has included a number of initiatives:

On 14 May 2006 the Government announced its decision to introduce significant copyright reforms, including new copyright exceptions and further measures to target copyright piracy. These measures include making it easier for copyright owners to prove ownership and subsistence of copyright, new penalty measures including on-the-spot fines, and enabling access to profits made by copyright pirates. The Government also announced that it would remove the legislative licence fee cap applicable to broadcasters for playing sound recordings on radio. Explanatory material about the reforms accompanied the Government's announcement.

Copyright piracy

We participated in international groups concerned with copyright piracy, such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Advisory Committee on Enforcement and the APEC Intellectual Property Experts Group. We provided copyright expertise in Australia's free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the People's Republic of China, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and New Zealand.

Whole-of-government approach

The Department, IP Australia, DCITA and the Department of Finance and Administration advanced a whole-of-government approach to the management of intellectual property by government agencies. The objective is to assist agencies in managing their IP and to encourage the adoption of good practice in its creation, procurement and use. The whole-of-government framework will include a Statement of IP Principles, as well as an IP better-practice manual, providing practical advice on making decisions affecting ownership of IP.

More information about the whole-of-government approach to IP management can be found at <www.ag.gov.au/cca>.

The Department chairs the SCAG working party on Crown Copyright, which reported to ministers in July 2006 with a response to the Copyright Law Review Committee report on government ownership of copyright material.

Commonwealth Copyright Administration

The Commonwealth Copyright Administration (CCA) manages Australian Government copyright in published text-based materials on behalf of Australian Government agencies. The Department assumed responsibility for the CCA on 1 March 2005.

The CCA received 1,773 written requests and inquiries to reproduce copyright material in 2005–06. The CCA responded to 1,762 inquiries and requests, with 34 per cent of requests answered within one working day, and 68 per cent of all requests answered within five days.

Information on copyright

We provide information on copyright on the Department's website and in hard copy. In addition to publications such as e-News and our Short guide to copyright in Australia, we engaged in a number of activities to ensure that government policies are effectively explained. For example, in order to address the problem of Australians returning from holiday and bringing large numbers of infringing copyright materials into the country, the Division arranged for information about pirated and counterfeit goods to be included in Hints for Australian travellers, published by DFAT.

Members of the Department presented papers and took part in consultations on copyright law and IP issues at national and international conferences and workshops.

Human rights

Disability Standards for Education

The Disability Standards for Education, formulated by the Attorney-General under the DDA, came into effect on 18 August 2005. The Education Standards clarify and elaborate the obligations of education providers in five key areas: enrolment; participation; curriculum development, accreditation and delivery; student support services; and elimination of harassment and victimisation. The Standards set out a process to be followed to ensure that students with disabilities are provided with opportunities to participate in education and training on the same basis as other students. In doing so, they seek to recognise rights and responsibilities of schools, students with disabilities, other students and other stakeholders, and to provide appropriate balance and recognition of competing interests.

Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport

The Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Transport Standards) formulated by the Attorney-General under the DDA enable public transport operators and providers to remove discrimination from public transport services.

We attended the biannual meetings of the Accessible Public Transport Jurisdictional Committee (APTJC) which provides advice to HREOC to assist its consideration of applications from bodies for temporary exemptions from obligations in the Transport Standards under s 55 of the DDA.

We also attended the biannual meetings of the Accessible Public Transport National Advisory Committee (APTNAC) which provides a consultative framework to progress specific national accessible transport issues.

International visits

People's Republic of China — In November 2005, the Department held two days of discussions with a visiting delegation from China to assist it with implementation of obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The discussions covered a range of topics associated with Australia's implementation of human rights obligations. The Chinese delegation gave the Department feedback that it found the discussions lively and helpful, and that it hoped to have more opportunities for discussions in the future.

Laos — In June 2006, departmental representatives met with a delegation from the Government of Laos. The Department provided information to the delegation on Australia's experience in ensuring that international human rights obligations are implemented domestically.

Vietnam — The most recent Australia–Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue was held on 19 December 2005 in Canberra. It covered a range of issues such as criminal justice matters, including the death penalty and prison management, freedom of religion and expression, women's rights and reform of the UN human rights machinery.

The delegations also discussed the introduction of a program of technical cooperation on human rights (the Australia–Vietnam Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program). The program will provide opportunities to foster practical cooperation between agencies such as the Vietnam Women's Union and the Ministry of Justice and Australian institutions with human rights responsibilities. Areas of cooperation include support for raising awareness of human rights treaty obligations, dissemination of legal information, enhancement of access to justice, women's rights and postgraduate studies in Australia in subjects related to human rights.

The next round of the Australia–Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue is scheduled to take place in Vietnam in late 2006.

The visiting Chinese delegation

The visiting Chinese delegation in front of the Robert Garran Offices, Barton

Human rights education

UN World Program for Human Rights Education — On 10 December 2004, the UN General Assembly proclaimed a World Program for Human Rights Education structured in phases from 1 January 2005. The first phase (2005–07) focuses on the primary and secondary school systems. On 14 July 2005, through a resolution introduced by Australia, the General Assembly adopted the Plan of Action for the first phase of the World Program.

Civics and Citizenship Forum — The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) held its annual national Civics and Citizenship Forum for teachers, principals, pre-service educators, State and Territory officials, and parents from 1 to 2 June 2006. This year's theme was 'What is quality in human rights education?' Speakers included Mr Julian Burnside QC, the Reverend Tim Costello, Ms Pru Goward (Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner) and Mr Tom Calma (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner) as well as officers from the Attorney-General's Department and HREOC.

Muslim Community Reference Group

The Prime Minister's summit with Muslim community leaders was held on 23 August 2005. The development of a national action plan to address intolerance and extremism by a reference group of Muslim leaders was endorsed by COAG in September 2005 and it is expected that the plan will be considered by COAG in mid 2006.

The Muslim Community Reference Group is consulting with Muslim communities and has established subgroups on engaging with youth; engaging with women; schooling; family and community concerns; education and training of Muslim clerics, teachers and leaders; improving employment outcomes for Muslims; and improving crisis management for the Muslim community. Officers from the Attorney-General's Department, including officers from the Human Rights Branch, are members of the Improving Crisis Management Subgroup. Officers from HREOC participate in the Improving Crisis Management Subgroup and the Engaging with Youth and Women subgroup.

DIMA provided funding for initial crisis-management measures, which will form part of the national action plan, to be undertaken by HREOC, the Protective Security Coordination Centre (PSCC) and Emergency Management Australia (EMA) (see page 147 for further details).

HREOC's measures focus on working with law enforcement agencies and Muslim communities to address discrimination and vilification issues as well as facilitating a dialogue with Australian Muslim women on a number of pertinent issues and needs.

The PSCC's measures focus on pilot national security workshops and counter-terrorism discussion exercises for Muslim community groups, and participation of Muslim leaders at the 2006 Security in Government conference.

EMA's measures focus on workshops and material for emergency management personnel and Muslim participants, on cultural awareness and emergency management procedures.

Attorney-General's NGO Forum on Domestic Human Rights

The 14th Attorney-General's Non-government Organisation (NGO) Forum on Domestic Human Rights was held in Canberra on 2 June 2006. The forum was attended by representatives of over 30 NGOs and Australian Government departments and agencies (the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Office for Women, DFAT and DIMA).'

The Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, John Dowd and Shafiq Khan

The Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, John Dowd and Shafiq Khan at the Non-Government Organisation Forum on Human Rights

A range of issues were discussed, including customary law, disability discrimination issues, anti-terrorism legislation, human rights education, and Indigenous issues.

Updates were provided by HREOC, and by the Department (represented by the Office of International Law and the Human Rights Branch). The evaluation by participants was generally positive. There was considerable appreciation for the time the Attorney-General was able to spend addressing the forum.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography requires ratifying countries to criminalise serious violations of children's rights, including the sale of children for sexual exploitation, organ transfer, forced labour and certain adoptions, as well as certain offences relating to child prostitution and pornography. The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties reported to Parliament on 5 December 2005 and recommended that binding treaty action be taken. We worked on coordinating the process to obtain the necessary approvals so that ratification can be considered by the Executive Council.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Australia's combined fourth and fifth reports were considered by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 30 January 2006. A representative of the Human Rights Branch formed part of the delegation that met the Committee in New York.

The Committee's concluding comments on Australia's combined periodic reports were released on 3 February 2006. CEDAW acknowledged the wide range of measures taken by Australia to advance the status of women since 1997, and noted its appreciation of the priority accorded to women's human rights in Australia. The Committee also congratulated Australia for our high ranking in international surveys assessing gender-related progress and achievements at the national level — in particular, the fact that Australia was ranked second in the world in the 2005 UN Human Development Report's Gender Related Index.

The Government will consider carefully the 19 recommendations included in CEDAW's concluding comments. A number of the issues raised are already a priority for the Australian Government, including violence against women, addressing disadvantage among Indigenous women, and combating human trafficking.

Evaluations/reviews

Information law

Reviews of airport security and policing

In September 2005, Sir John Wheeler provided the Australian Government with his report, An independent review of airport security and policing for the Government of Australia (the Wheeler report). Recommendation 1 of the Wheeler report proposed a thorough examination of legislation and regulations with the aim of identifying and removing elements that prohibit or inhibit the flow of information needed to counter crime and terrorism within the aviation sector.

At its special meeting on counter-terrorism, held on 27 September 2005, COAG strongly supported the findings in the Wheeler report. It agreed to conduct, through the National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NCTC), a review of information- and intelligence-sharing processes between Australian Government and State and Territory agencies to facilitate information flow to counter crime and terrorism in the aviation sector.

The Department engaged a consultant, Mr Peter Ford, to lead the regulatory review proposed by Sir John Wheeler and to contribute, via the NCTC, to the COAG review. The review began in January 2006, and a wide range of stakeholders from both the private and public sectors were consulted.

The final report was presented to the Department in June 2006. The final report makes 37 recommendations.

Copyright

Review of 2001 Digital Agenda copyright reforms

We have completed the Government's review of the 2001 Digital Agenda copyright reforms. The review included consideration of recommendations made by consultant Phillips Fox in its 2004 report and other issues raised by stakeholders. As a result of the review, amendments will be introduced to the Copyright Act 1968 to enable libraries and archives to conduct their functions more efficiently but without unreasonably prejudicing the legitimate interests of copyright owners. The proposed changes to the educational statutory licences recognise the needs of educational institutions and copyright owners when dealing with online material. Drafting of the proposed amendments had not been completed by the end of the reporting period.

Review of legislative cap on royalties for broadcast sound recordings

The review initiated in 2005 of the one per cent statutory cap on royalties payable for broadcasting sound recordings was also completed. The Government decided to remove the legislative cap on payments made by commercial radio stations but to retain it for community radio broadcasters. The Government's decision will require amendment to the Copyright Act.

Review of the criminal offence provisions in the Copyright Act

Finally, the Department conducted a review of the criminal offence provisions in the Copyright Act. The main purpose of the review was to identify what was required to bring the offences into compliance with the Criminal Code Act 1995. The review identified that many changes to the criminal offence provisions in the Copyright Act are required. Drafting of the proposed legislative amendments to implement the outcome of the review had not been completed by the end of the reporting period.

The Government also concluded its examination of a possible resale royalty scheme for Australia. On 9 May 2006 the Government announced a $6 million initiative over four years to support visual artists as an alternative to a resale royalty scheme. It was assessed that a resale royalty scheme would not provide a meaningful source of income for the majority of Australia's artists. By comparison, the Government's initiative will directly address the needs of individual visual artists.

Challenges

Information law

The Department is currently considering the implications of the European Court of Justice decision for our PNR (passenger name records) negotiations. At this stage we expect that the European Commission will focus its attention on the European Council – United States agreement, and this is likely to delay progress in Australia's negotiations.

Copyright

The pace of technological change continues to be a challenge for all facets of copyright law and policy. The ease with which people can infringe copyright in the online environment requires consideration at many levels in order to develop appropriate responses to this problem.

Human rights

The process of developing the proposed Disability Standards for Access to Premises is complex and must seek to address the needs of many different sectors. Any Premises Standards must strike the right balance between ensuring access to people with disability and not imposing prohibitive costs on industry. The development process has been ongoing since 2001 and there is a need for reasonable mutual compromise between stakeholders in the interests of finalising a Standard. The Department will seek to work with DITR to resolve remaining areas of concern to assist ministers in their decision making.

Outlook

Information law

Amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 will be introduced to enhance information exchange between Australian Government agencies, State and Territory agencies, non-government organisations and the private sector in an emergency or disaster situation. We will report to the Government on issues of concern raised by agencies about the impact of the Privacy Act on their activities.

We will continue with the project of progressively updating the guidelines on the operation of the FOI Act.

Australia continues to lead the development of mechanisms for the international implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework that are consistent with Australia's privacy regime. Australia is hosting APEC 2007. The first Privacy Subgroup meeting has been scheduled for January 2007 in Canberra. The Department also proposes to hold a privacy seminar supported by APEC funding before the first meeting of the subgroup.

The Department's aim in its approach to international privacy issues is to build support for the APEC Privacy Framework. In our view, increasing our participation in international forums, particularly the OECD, will help to raise the profile of the APEC Privacy Framework and continue to present it as a developing alternative to the EU approach to privacy as set out in the Data Protection Directive.

The Department expects to prepare a submission responding to the ALRC's issues/discussion paper on the review of the extent to which the Privacy Act and related laws continue to provide an effective framework for the protection of privacy in Australia.

The Department will continue to liaise closely with DCITA and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in relation to the issues of 'do-not-call' and 'do-not-contact' lists as well as the issue of 'opt-out' versus 'opt-in' regimes for direct marketing.

The Department continues to represent the Commonwealth on the SCAG working party examining the unauthorised use of photos on the Internet and related issues (in consultation with the Office of Film and Literature Classification and DCITA). Timing for the final report is a matter for Victoria, as the Chair, to determine. It is not possible at this stage to say what, if any, action will be required by the Commonwealth or the States.

The Department will continue to work with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in considering workplace privacy issues, including whether there is a need for further measures to enhance the privacy of employee records.

We will continue to participate in the National Code of Practice for CCTV Systems working group to monitor application of the code and examine legal and procedural issues that require further consideration.

Copyright

The coming year will be a busy one for legislative reforms to the Copyright Act. Amendments will be introduced to implement the outcomes of various reviews conducted in 2005–06 including the subscription broadcast review, the review of fair use and other copyright exceptions, the review of the 1 per cent cap on royalties, the Digital Agenda review and the review of criminal offence provisions. It is proposed that stakeholders will have an opportunity to comment on the draft amendments before they are introduced into the Parliament.

The proposed amendments will also include other copyright enforcement measures, provisions to extend the jurisdiction of the Copyright Tribunal and amendments to ensure Australia's law is consistent with obligations under the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). Following the passage of the amendments, steps will be made to accede to these WIPO Treaties.

Legislative amendments are also required by 1 January 2007 to implement Australia's remaining copyright obligations under the AUSFTA. The amendments will further restrict prohibitions on the circumvention of technological protection measures used to protect copyright material.

Human rights

The Department continues to take an interest in monitoring progress toward compliance with the Transport Standards as the target date — 31 December 2007 — for compliance in relation to a number of areas draws near. Progress toward compliance by most States and Territories is well advanced, although some further work will need to be done by providers and by States and Territories in budgeting resources to ensure milestones can be met.

The Transport Standards require that the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, in consultation with the Attorney-General, review the efficiency and effectiveness of the Standards within five years after they take effect, and every subsequent five years thereafter. The Department is negotiating with the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) on the process and time frame for the review. DOTARS will have primary carriage of the review.

Output 1.4

Legal services and policy advice on international law

Performance overview

Output 1.4 is the responsibility of the Office of International Law. The Office provided legal services and advice on international law that contributed to the welfare, and promoted the interests, of the Australian community directly and through the implementation of international law in Australian domestic law.

We provided legal advice on the broad spectrum of international law. We represented Australia in the negotiation of a wide range of treaties and other legal instruments and provided advice on the domestic implementation of treaties. The advice we provided during the year contributed not only to achieving the outcomes for the Department but also to achieving the outcomes of other departments.

In February 2006, the Office of International Law took over the function of the Trade Measures Review Officer, which is central to the implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Anti-dumping Agreement and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Since February 2006, there have been three dumping duty assessment reviews.

Major achievements

We led the Australian delegation to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf where Australia is seeking the Commission's recommendations supporting an extended continental shelf of some 3.3 million square kilometres.

Together with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), we successfully negotiated with East Timor a Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea.

We provided advice in relation to Australia's engagements overseas, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Solomon Islands.

We assisted DFAT and other departments and agencies in the negotiations for bilateral free trade agreements with China, Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

As chair of the drafting committee, we played a key role in the diplomatic conference held at London in October 2005 to adopt amendments to conventions that will assist in enhancing Australia's maritime security. The conference adopted the protocols to the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation as well as the associated protocol dealing with fixed platforms. The Attorney-General signed the Convention in March 2006.

We coordinated the appearance of Australia on 13 September 2005 before the Committee on the Rights of the Child established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Performance measures

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND THE GOVERNMENT ON INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES

The Office of International Law continued to provide advice to the Government on a broad range of international law issues:

The provision of advice to the Government on international law is done in close consultation with DFAT and as a matter of high priority. As events can unfold quickly on a particular issue, that advice is frequently provided in a short time frame. Less urgent matters are dealt with in a time frame negotiated with the client. Feedback from clients is that the advice provided is timely, meets their needs and is of a high quality.

POLICY ADVICE ON INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES IS EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINED, IMPLEMENTED AND APPLIED

The Office of International Law shares policy responsibility on a range of international law issues, including human rights, offshore maritime security, law of the sea and aspects of international trade. There has been significant progress in a number of these areas.

The treaty body system dealing with human rights issues has adopted a number of the reforms that were put forward by Australia, including circulation of questions before country reports are considered and requirements for more focused reporting. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has presented a proposal to amalgamate the six treaty committees in order to reduce the burden, both on States and on the UN Secretariat.

Good progress has been made in Australia's interaction with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Australia has proposed a continental shelf of some 3.3 million square kilometres and expects to receive the Commission's recommendations in 2007.

We provided policy advice in a timely manner and contributed to achieving the outcomes sought by Australia.

CHALLENGES TO AUSTRALIA'S INTERESTS AND RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL COURTS ARE RESPONDED TO EFFECTIVELY

The Office of International Law is responsible for the conduct of litigation in international courts and tribunals such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). There were no cases involving Australia in either the ICJ or ITLOS in 2005–06.

The Office of International Law works with DFAT in advancing Australia's national interest in the conduct of WTO dispute settlement.

In May 2005, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body made recommendations and rulings in favour of Australia, Brazil and Thailand in a dispute taken by the three countries concerning the sugar regime of the European Communities (EC). Australia is currently engaged in implementing those recommendations and rulings. During the year, we provided assistance in preparing Australia's written submission in the WTO arbitration concerning the implementation period to be granted to the EC.

CASE STUDY

The Proliferation Security Initiative — addressing the threat of weapons of mass destruction

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) remains a significant threat to the international community, and Australia has a key role to play in addressing this threat.

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is an important component of Australia's multidimensional strategy to tackle WMD proliferation. The aim of the PSI is to prevent and impede trafficking in weapons of mass destruction as well as their delivery systems and related material to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern.

In order to maintain and refine capabilities for interdicting WMD-related trade, Australia hosted the PSI exercise Pacific Protector 06 (PP06) in April 2006. Twenty PSI countries attended the exercise and 15 more countries participated in a concurrent PSI outreach program.

The scenario for PP06 involved the Australian Government receiving intelligence that an aircraft flying over Australia was carrying illicit cargo of proliferation concern. The aircraft was flying to the fictitious state of Kamaria, where intelligence suggested that a front company would re-export the goods to a state-based WMD program in a nation of proliferation concern.

The Office of International Law (OIL) provided advice on the international legal aspects of aerial interception, including the circumstances under which a foreign aircraft can be required to land while transiting Australian airspace, and what action can be taken once the aircraft has landed.

PSI countries aim to operate within national and international law to combat WMD proliferation and to work together to strengthen these laws. A recent example of the strengthening of international law is the adoption by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in October 2005 of a protocol to each of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation 1988 and its fixed platforms protocol. The 2005 Protocols establish offences for transporting by ship biological, chemical or nuclear weapons as well as transporting persons by ship who have committed such offences. OIL led the Australian delegation in negotiations on the protocols. The Attorney-General signed both protocols for Australia, subject to ratification, on 7 March 2006.

We continued to work with DFAT and other relevant agencies on the challenges by the EC and by the Philippines to aspects of Australia's quarantine regime. Panellists have not yet been appointed to the WTO panels for either of these disputes.

In WTO disputes in which Australia participated as a third party — the dispute brought by the United States against the EC over the operation of the EC's customs regime, for example — we contributed to the preparation of written submissions lodged by Australia.

We also provided assistance in a number of domestic cases involving international law, including cases relating to the external affairs power.

International and domestic litigation have set time frames. We provided advice within those time frames and of a quality appreciated by the client.

TREATIES AND ARRANGEMENTS ARE NEGOTIATED, CONCLUDED AND ADMINISTERED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH AUSTRALIA'S INTERESTS

We played a key role in the Diplomatic Conference to adopt amendments to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts on Board Ships and the associated protocol dealing with fixed platforms. An officer from the Office of International Law chaired the Drafting committee at the Diplomatic Conference, and the Attorney-General signed the convention in March 2006.

We also played a key role in providing legal advice and drafting assistance in the negotiations leading to the adoption of the treaty with East Timor that was signed in January 2006. The Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea would provide East Timor with additional benefits from the exploitation of the Sunrise deposit and put to one side the issue of the negotiation of a permanent boundary. The Treaty, together with the Agreement relating to the Unitisation of the Sunrise and Troubadour Fields, upon entry into force, will provide significant benefits to both countries.

We continued to engage in negotiations in the UN Commission on International Trade Law of an instrument on the carriage of goods by sea.

We participated in negotiations for bilateral free trade agreements with China, Malaysia and ASEAN and played a continuing role in the implementation of Australia's existing bilateral free trade agreements.

Officers were also involved in the negotiation of an investment protocol to the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement.

The advice and assistance that is provided in the negotiation of treaties and arrangements with other countries met negotiation time frames and made a valuable contribution to the outcomes sought by Australia in those negotiations.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND APPROPRIATE RESPONSES TO INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEES ARE MET

Australia's fifth report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is well advanced following extensive consultations with government and non-government stakeholders. That report will be prepared in accordance with the harmonised guidelines issued by the United Nations in 2005. It accompanies the preparation of a new expanded Australian core document that includes a broad range of information relevant to all human rights treaties in order to reduce duplication and the overall length of reports.

During the year, four new communications were received under the ICCPR. Australia submitted responses in 26 communications under the ICCPR, and one under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The Human Rights Committee, which monitors implementation of the ICCPR, adopted views in five cases involving Australia; three were ruled inadmissible and violations were found in two other cases. In one case, the Committee found a violation of a right to an effective remedy even though it found there was no violation of any substantive right. The Government has responded that it does not accept the finding. In the other case, the Committee found violations relating to the treatment of a person in a State prison.

We presented Australia's report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; the Committee released its concluding observations on 30 September 2005. It noted a number of positive developments, including the establishment of a stronger family and community strategy and steps taken to address child pornography and trafficking. However, the Committee did express concern over Indigenous disadvantage and a number of other matters. Australia's report and the Committee's concluding observations are to be found on the Department's website.*

Challenges

International law has an ever increasing role, both in relation to Australia's interactions with other countries and in relation to domestic activities. This means that new issues requiring both legal and policy advice frequently arise and there is a need to meet the demand for that advice while also maintaining progress in longer term projects.

Outlook

We will continue to provide advice on international law across a wide area of government activity. Endeavours receiving high priority will be:

* At http://www.ag.gov.au/publications, under 'Publications issued in 2003', 'Australia's Combined Second and Third Reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child'.

Output 1.5

Drafting of legislative and other instruments, maintenance of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI), publication of legislative materials and provision of related legal services

Performance overview

Output 1.5 is the responsibility of the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing. Through the Office, the Department provides a high-quality legislative drafting service for Commonwealth legislative and non-legislative instruments. Drafting is in plain English to make the legislation easy to understand and consistent in style.

The Department publishes up-to-date Commonwealth legislation on the ComLaw web site, and manages the registration of legislative instruments and compilations of legislative instruments on the new Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (which is also published on ComLaw). It arranges commercial printing and publishing of Commonwealth legislative materials at reasonable cost to the public, and produces and distributes the Government Notices series of the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.

These activities make a significant contribution to ensuring an equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice.

Major achievements during the year

The Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which commenced on 1 January 2005, introduced a modern regime for managing Commonwealth legislative instruments. It established the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, which provides the public with quick and easy access to legislative instruments and related material through the Internet. All Commonwealth rule-making agencies are required to lodge new legislative instruments for registration as soon as practicable after making, and to register ('back-capture') all existing instruments by the end of 2007.

The Department has worked with other agencies to ensure that they fulfil their registration and back-capture obligations. It has also further developed the IT system that manages lodgment and registration, and provides the ComLaw web site. ComLaw is progressively replacing SCALEplus, although that web site still holds a large amount of historical Acts and other instruments that have yet to be transferred to ComLaw.

A large number of instruments were drafted. Major projects included Regulations for the workplace relations package, Regulations for occupational health and safety reforms, Regulations and court rules relating to bankruptcy reform, Regulations and rules for the Australia — New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority, and Regulations made under the Migration Act 1958.

OLDP provided international assistance on several occasions during the year. These included coordinating a two-week visit by drafters from Thailand, a visit to Indonesia to prepare for a probable program of assistance in legislative drafting, and preparation for the first of a series of workshops for South Pacific drafters.

OLDP contributes to Australia — New Zealand cooperation

The Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing (OLDP) has been working on behalf of the Australian Government to prepare for the implementation of the Australia — New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority (ANZTPA).

Australia and New Zealand agreed to establish ANZTPA under a treaty that was signed in December 2003. The purpose of the ANZTPA is to regulate the safety, quality and effectiveness of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, and herbal and complementary medicines as well as medical devices and blood products in both countries.

In accordance with the treaty, each country will pass legislation that confers the appropriate responsibilities on ANZTPA. One responsibility will be that of producing the Rules, with the character of regulations, which are to apply in both countries. ANZTPA will administer the Rules, which must not only harmonise the practice of both countries but also adopt more modern approaches in many areas.

A Joint Agency Establishment Group has been set up to prepare for ANZTPA. OLDP is drafting the proposed new rules on behalf of the group. The first set of drafts was released for public consultation in May 2006, with two more releases planned for September 2006 and March 2007.

Since the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement entered into force in 1983, there have been a series of projects to harmonise aspects of Australian and New Zealand law. The therapeutic products project is the most ambitious so far, and depends heavily on the work of OLDP.

Globe

Performance measures

SATISFACTION OF CLIENTS AND/OR USERS WITH ADVICE AND SERVICES PROVIDED

Demand for the Department's drafting and advising services remained high in 2005–06 (see Table 3). The Department's traditional and non-billable work includes drafting Regulations and court rules, published in the Select Legislative Instruments series.

The drafting workload included an increasing number of instruments for the Attorney-General's portfolio. They included both legislative instruments and non-legislative instruments such as appointments, delegations, authorisations and agreements.

Other agencies for which large volumes of instruments were drafted included the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Family Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and the Department of Transport and Regional Services.

THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON REGULATIONS AND ORDINANCES EXPRESSES THE VIEW THAT THE REGULATIONS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS DRAFTED BY THE DEPARTMENT ARE OF A HIGH QUALITY

The Department regularly receives positive comments from clients about the quality of its legislative drafting services. A letter of commendation was received from the Department of Health and Ageing.

Of the 367 Statutory Rules made during 2005–06, none was disallowed by the Senate. No instrument contravened the scrutiny principles of the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances.

LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS ARE REGISTERED ON FRLI AND LODGED FOR TABLING IN PARLIAMENT IN A TIMELY MANNER

The Department complies with the registration and tabling requirements set down in the Legislative Instruments Act and generally delivers registered legislative instruments to the respective tabling offices within one to two working days after registration.

From July 2005 to June 2006, Register staff have assessed and registered 3890 new instruments and 1088 existing instruments. All new instruments have been registered in time for them to be enforceable. All instruments are published on ComLaw–FRLI within two hours of registration.

Table 3: Demand for drafting and advising services, 2004–05 and 2005–06
2004–05 2005–06 Percentageincrease/decrease
Total draft instruments 677 682 +7%
Billable draft instruments 191 141 –26%
(Billable draft instruments as percentage of total draft instruments) 28% 21% –7%
Total billable revenue for drafting services $728,438 $941,014 +29%
Statutory Rules and Select Legislative Instruments drafted 354 367 +4%
Total number of pages of Statutory Rules and Select Legislative Instruments made 5,067 6,294 +24%

COMPILATIONS OF LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS ARE PREPARED AND REGISTERED ON FRLI IN A TIMELY MANNER

Under the Legislative Instruments Act, compilations of legislative instruments are required to be registered as soon as practicable after commencement of an amending instrument. Generally, it is the responsibility of Commonwealth agencies to lodge compilations of legislative instruments for registration. The Department prepares and registers compilations of Regulations as amended.

COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATION, COMPILATIONS OF COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATION AND RELATED MATERIALS ARE PUBLISHED ELECTRONICALLY IN COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLISHING STANDARDS AND IN A TIMELY MANNER

Our objectives are to load new numbered Acts to ComLaw within one business day of receipt, and compilations within three business days. These targets are generally met or bettered. During 2005–06, the Department made available more than 1,857 items of new and compiled Commonwealth legislation on ComLaw and responded to numerous enquiries from the public seeking information about legislation.

The new ComLaw site is recording an increasing number of hits and visitor sessions. A large and increasing volume of email is received on the ComLaw feedback link, with many users expressing gratitude for the assistance provided by the Department and useful feedback on the site.

The Department prepares electronic compilations of all Acts, Regulations and a small number of other instruments. In 2005–06, 19,796 amending items were incorporated, and the Department continued to meet its performance and publishing standards. The Department usually has amendments incorporated and loaded to ComLaw within one to two days of receipt of the electronic copy, depending on the volume of legislation received.

COMMONWEALTH REPRINTS (ACTS AND SELECT LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS) ARE PUBLISHED IN COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLISHING STANDARDS AND THE REPRINT PROGRAM IN A TIMELY MANNER

Twenty-six reprinted Acts, Select Legislative Instruments and other instruments were made available in response to public demand. This continues the trend of recent years (excluding 2003–04), in which electronic publication has generally been replacing hard copy.

Challenges

Some important challenges for the Office include improvements and enhancements to the new ComLaw web site (including FRLI) and managing the back-capture of existing legislative instruments, some of which are due to be lodged for registration on the FRLI by 30 September 2006. The Office also has a high proportion of comparatively inexperienced drafters who require training.

Outlook

The Department will continue to bed down the ComLaw system, monitor public feedback on the site, and make further improvements and enhancements to assist users of legislation. Another important goal will be the successful back-capture of those existing legislative instruments due to be lodged by 30 September 2006. The Office expects to increase its involvement in providing training and drafting services to other countries in the region.

Output 1.6

Legal services and policy advice on native title

Performance overview

Output 1.6 is the responsibility of the Legal Services and Native Title Division. By providing legal and policy advice to the Attorney-General, and Government, we contributed to ensuring an equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice.

The Native Title Unit is part of the Division and provides legal and policy advice to the Government on native title as well as assisting the Attorney-General to administer those parts of the Native Title Act 1993 that are not administered by the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Before 27 January 2006, these parts of the Native Title Act were administered by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.

Major achievements

The Division actively contributed to the shaping of the native title system. We were closely involved in the development of the Government's package of six integrated reforms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the native title system.

We continued to manage the Australian Government's involvement in responding to native title claims. The Government was a party to the consent determination recognising native title in Wotjobaluk and it continues to seek negotiated agreements, where possible. We also participated in litigation in a number of native title matters in order to protect Australian Government interests and to assist in further developing judicial precedent in native title.

We played an active role in the whole-of-government effort to create opportunities for economic development, including home ownership and business creation, which will contribute to supporting healthier Indigenous communities.

We are working closely with other Australian Government departments and agencies to support the work of the Secretaries' Group on Indigenous Affairs. This included chairing a cross-portfolio subgroup on land issues, which developed a package of home ownership measures to promote Indigenous home ownership on Indigenous land.

As part of the 2006–07 Budget, the Australian Government committed $107.4 million over four years to the new home ownership on Indigenous land programs.

We continued to assist Australian Government departments and agencies, through advice and education, to comply with their native title obligations and conclude native title agreements.

State and Territory ministers with native title responsibilities are due to meet again in 2006, following the success of the first Native Title Ministers' Meeting on 16 September 2005. The Attorney-General convened the initial meeting, which provided an opportunity for jurisdictions to exchange information and discuss the challenges facing the native title system, including the need to promote agreement making to resolve native title disputes. At the meeting, jurisdictions agreed to a set of desired outcomes to improve the native title system, including a renewed commitment to work together to achieve better outcomes for all stakeholders in the native title system.

Performance measures

TIMELY AND SOUND ASSISTANCE TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND THE GOVERNMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES THAT MAINTAIN, DEVELOP AND DELIVER EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE JUSTICE IN RELATION TO NATIVE TITLE FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS

Native title determination applications

We help the Attorney-General and the Government to communicate and implement native title policies through the Government's participation in the native title application process. The policies promote the equitable and efficient resolution of native title claims.

Most native title determination applications are mediated before the National Native Title Tribunal. If mediation is successful, a consent determination of native title may result. The Government seeks to resolve matters through mediation, where possible.

In consent determination negotiations, the Government seeks to secure determinations that are certain, transparent, consistent with the common law and in compliance with the requirements of the Native Title Act 1993. This approach helps promote fair, effective and enduring outcomes for the native title system and for all Australians.

During the year, the Government became a party to two of the three consent determinations that resulted in the first formal recognition of native title in Victoria. The Native Title Unit, on behalf of the Australian Government, with the assistance of the Australian Government Solicitor, worked closely with the claimants, the Victorian Government and other respondent parties towards a negotiated resolution of the claims over the Wimmera region of Victoria. These negotiations culminated in three consent determinations on 13 December 2005 at an on-country ceremonial sitting of the Federal Court before Justice Merkel, in Little Desert National Park. Native title was recognised along the banks of the Wimmera River while native title was determined not to exist in the rest of the claim area.

We continued working with all parties concerned towards a resolution in the Gunditjmara, Kuuku Ya'u, Ngarla and Ngarla No 2 claims and the Torres Strait Regional Sea claim. The Australian Government's consideration of the strength of the Gunditjmara and Ngarla claims was assisted by position papers from the respective State governments (Victoria and Western Australia) outlining the reasons they were satisfied that the requirements of the Native Title Act 1993 had been met. Position papers are one element in the Government's current reforms to promote transparent practices in the resolution of native title issues.

Where agreement cannot be reached on all issues, the application may be litigated before the Federal Court. In 2005–06, we participated in a number of hearings, including the final hearings in Blue Mud Bay No 2, Bardi and Jawi, and Rubibi, the hearing of the metropolitan portion of the Single Noongar claim and the appeal in Ngarluma Yindjibarndi.

A determination was made recognising native title through the Blue Mud Bay No 2 claim area on 11 October 2005 before Justice Mansfield. Justice French recognised native title through the mainland part of the Bardi and Jawi claim area and limited areas of sea. Native title was determined not to exist over the outlying islands and significant areas of sea.

Judgment in Yulara was delivered on 31 March 2006, with further reasons for judgment and final orders made on 3 May 2006. Yulara had been expected to be a test case on the issue of native title compensation. The application, lodged by the Yankunytjatjara people of the Western Desert, sought compensation for the extinguishment of native title over the area on which the Yulara township, near Uluru in the Northern Territory, was established in the 1970s and 1980s. Justice Sackville found the applicants had not established that they held native title rights over the claim area and that the compensation application should be dismissed. The judgment provides significant guidance as to the circumstances in which compensation may be payable for the extinguishment of native title. An appeal has been lodged by the applicants and it will be heard by the Full Federal Court in November 2006.

An appeal also was commenced in Blue Mud Bay No 2 and is set down for hearing before the Full Federal Court in Darwin starting on 14 August 2006. While appeals can lead to delays in final resolution of native title claims, decisions by the Full Federal Court and the High Court may bring greater clarity and certainty to the native title system. Greater certainty can in turn assist parties to negotiate settlements in other matters relying on an increased body of judicial precedent.

In the later part of the reporting period, for the first time, two matters involving claims over metropolitan areas were determined. In Larrakia, a claim over areas in Darwin, Justice Mansfield found that the Larrakia did not hold native title, while Justice Merkel determined in relation to the Rubibi claim that the Yawuru hold native title over significant areas in and surrounding Broome. Both claims are on appeal. Larrakia is to be heard before the Full Federal Court sitting in Darwin starting on 30 October 2006. In another matter involving a claim over a metropolitan area, judgment in the Single Noongar claim over Perth is reserved.

During the reporting period, the High Court considered two applications, De Rose Hill and Alyawarr, for leave to appeal from decisions of the Full Federal Court. Leave to appeal was refused in each case. The Government was not a party to either of these matters.

Through its participation in native title matters, the Government seeks to ensure that determinations are certain and transparent. This assists in developing a native title system that delivers efficient and effective justice for all Australians in native title matters.

Reforms to the native title system

The Government announced a package of reforms in September 2005 to improve the performance of the native title system. During the year, we oversaw the reform process to ensure that a coordinated package of measures is developed to meet the Government's objective of achieving better outcomes for all parties in the native title system, without undermining existing native title rights. The reforms comprise:

Native title reform consultations

In September 2005, the Attorney-General announced a package of reforms to the native title system aimed at ensuring that the processes for recognising and protecting native title work in an effective and efficient manner. Following the announcement, officers from the Native Title Unit (NTU) undertook consultations with a range of stakeholders throughout Australia about aspects of those reforms, seeking input on their experiences with various aspects of the native title system. The consultations were both face-to-face and by written submission.

The consultations were open-ended, and first-hand information was received from a broad range of stakeholders, including Native Title Representative Bodies, native title holders, State and Territory governments, legal practitioners and industry representatives. Input from stakeholders included their perspectives on the practical concerns facing participants in the native title system. The consultations highlighted the challenges involved in balancing competing interests within the native title system.

Meetings took place in most capital cities as well as in remote locations such as Alice Springs, Broome, Cairns and Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. These meetings provided NTU officers with important opportunities to meet native title holders in areas where their native title rights have been recognised and gave an insight into the challenges faced by stakeholders located in regional and remote areas. Officers also gained a better understanding of the motivations and interests of native title claimants and holders, who are critical players in the native title system.

Further information about the native title system reforms can be found at: <http://www.ag.gov.au/nativetitlesystemreform>.

Steven Marshall and Lisa Corbellini from the Native Title Unit

Steven Marshall and Lisa Corbellini from the Native Title Unit undertook consultations with a range of stakeholders throughout Australia during the year, including in Alice Springs, Perth, Broome, Cairns and Thursday Island in the Torres Strait

Legislation to give effect to the various elements of the reform package is expected to be introduced into Parliament towards the end of this year. Exposure draft legislation will be released for public comment early in the new reporting period. In developing the legislation, we have consulted extensively, including:

Native title system coordination and consultation

We contributed to the effective coordination of the native title system by participating in a range of forums to discuss native title issues with key stakeholders.

We chair the Native Title Consultative Forum, an important consultative mechanism that ensures that a broad range of views can be considered in policy formulation. It comprises representatives of the Federal Court, OIPC, the National Native Title Tribunal, the Attorney-General's Department, State and Territory governments, Native Title Representative Bodies, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the Australian Local Government Association, and representatives from pastoral, fishing, mining and petroleum industries.

We also chair the Native Title Coordination Committee (NTCC). The Committee comprises representatives of the Federal Court, OIPC, the National Native Title Tribunal and the Attorney-General's Department. The NTCC monitors the performance of the native title system and advises Government on improving its overall operation.

This year saw a particular emphasis on consultation to encourage stakeholders to contribute their suggestions and feedback on the Government's proposed package of native title reforms. The engagement of all parties will greatly assist the success of the Government's reforms to promote effective and efficient outcomes.

Advice on future acts and native title agreements

We continued to provide legal policy advice to the Attorney-General and other departments and agencies on a range of native title matters. This included participating in major projects such as the negotiation of Indigenous Land Use Agreements by the Department of Defence and the Wet Tropics Management Authority. It also involved providing advice on legislative projects as diverse as legislation addressing the management of radioactive waste, and proposals to address traditional Indigenous fishing.

We also participated in significant policy development processes, enhancing the creation of effective, achievable policies that take into account native title issues. For example, we participated in the work of the Uranium Industry Framework, which was established by the Government to identify opportunities for, and impediments to, the sustainable development of the Australian uranium industry.

We also participated in groups considering access to land for mineral exploration purposes generally. In addition, we played a role in groups considering a range of issues with potential impact on native title including inter-departmental committees considering the establishment of carbon geosequestration facilities, the creation of marine protected areas and the management of land in the Jervis Bay Territory.

POLICIES THAT RECOGNISE THE NEEDS, RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS (INCLUDING FAMILIES) AND LEGITIMATE BUSINESS AND OTHER ECONOMIC INTERESTS, ACHIEVE AN APPROPRIATE BALANCE OF COMPETING INTERESTS AND FACILITATE THE EQUITABLE RESOLUTION OF NATIVE TITLE ISSUES, ARE DEVELOPED IN A TIMELY AND SOUND MANNER

Wotjobaluk consent determination

In seeking to resolve native title claims, Australian Government policy aims to bring certainty as to the rights of native title and other rights holders. Through the determination of the Wotjobaluk native title claims, third parties wishing to carry out economic activities such as mining now have certainty whether native title exists or not over significant parts of the Wimmera. The native title holders may benefit from development that could lead to employment opportunities or financial payments. As is now common practice, the determinations operate alongside an ILUA that addresses issues such as funding, future acts and compensation. Under the ILUA and other side agreements negotiated with the consent determinations, the Wotjobaluk received a number of benefits, including freehold land, and provision for funding of the Prescribed Body Corporate that manages their native title.

Consultation on reforms to the native title system

The native title system reform process has been undertaken against a framework of extensive consultations.

We provided information on the reforms at a purpose-designed page on the Department's web site, which assists stakeholders to understand the purpose and process of the reforms.

We held bilateral consultations with Native Title Representative Bodies, Prescribed Bodies Corporate, peak industry bodies, State and Territory governments, the Federal Court and the National Native Title Tribunal. We also took the opportunity to discuss and seek feedback on the reforms at a number of wider forums. Most elements of the proposed reforms involved public consultations.

Consultations were held with stakeholders on measures to improve the effectiveness of Native Title Representative Bodies (conducted by OIPC) and the examination of Prescribed Bodies Corporate.

Promotion of agreement making

A key focus of the Australian Government's native title system reforms is to promote the use of agreement making as the most effective and equitable means to resolve native title issues.

As a model for that objective, we provide assistance to the Australian Government to resolve matters to which it is a party by agreement, to the extent possible, in preference to litigation.

Economic development — promoting Indigenous home ownership on Indigenous land

We continued to play an active role in the whole-of-government effort to increase economic opportunities for Indigenous Australians through greater utilisation of Indigenous land.

Home ownership can be an important contributor to generating economic independence and intergenerational wealth. In addition to home ownership, long-term leases can also be used to provide tenure to businesses, thereby further assisting economic development.

Indigenous communities interested in taking up home ownership options may also be motivated by a desire to provide better living conditions for families. Family members may have sufficient income to afford private housing but finance and suitable leaseholds may not available.

We were part of a cross-portfolio subgroup responsible for developing a package of home ownership measures that will address specific barriers faced by Indigenous Australians in achieving home ownership. The measures include:

These measures were announced as part of the 2006–07 Budget. The Government has committed $107.4 million over four years to assist Indigenous people living in Indigenous community townships to achieve individual home ownership. The programs will be implemented by Indigenous Business Australia and FaCSIA.

As part of our ongoing role in addressing barriers to home ownership, we will continue working with OIPC to consult with State and Territory governments about possible land tenure reform.

APPROPRIATE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKS (COMMONWEALTH LAWS AND STATE AND TERRITORY LAWS WITH WHICH THEY INTERACT) ARE DEVELOPED AND MAINTAINED

Native title determination applications

The Australian Government is participating in approximately 160 native title determination applications. This involvement is one method by which the Government seeks to maintain a system consistent with the legislative framework. We ensured that the native title mediation and litigation to which the Government is a party proceeded in accordance with developing legal precedents.

Commonwealth legislation

The following Regulations were made during the reporting year:

We worked on the development of proposals associated with the package of native title reforms announced by the Government that will lead to the introduction of a Bill later this year.

We provided extensive advice in the development of the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Facility Act 2005, which will enable the establishment of a radioactive waste management facility in the Northern Territory.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ARE EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINED, IMPLEMENTED AND APPLIED

Consultation and liaison with other bodies

Extensive consultation was carried out as part of the process of developing the Government's package of reforms to the native title system.

We are committed to improving cooperation between jurisdictions on native title issues to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the native title system. We have been actively expanding our dialogue with other jurisdictions on native title matters.

Over the past year, we engaged with States and Territory governments, the National Native Title Tribunal, the Federal Court, Native Title Representative Bodies, Prescribed Bodies Corporate and industry representatives.

Officers from the Native Title Unit participated in a number of forums that provided opportunities to discuss current issues in native title with a broad range of stakeholders (see Table 4 below).

Table 4: Participation of Native Title Unit in forums, 2005–06
Forum Date
Native Title Consultative Forum August 2005, December 2005, April 2006
Native Title Officers' Meeting August 2005, June 2006
Native Title Ministers' Meeting September 2005
State & Territory Native Title Officers' Meeting November 2005, June 2006
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) National Native Title Conference May 2006
National Forum of ILUA Negotiation Teams August 2005
National Farmers Federation Native Title Taskforce September 2005
Attorney-General's NGO Forum on Domestic Human Rights June 2006

We continued our successful series of training seminars for Australian Government officers whose work involves dealing with native title. We conducted seminars for the Department of Defence, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Australian National Audit Office and the Bureau of Meteorology.

Participation in international forums

We monitor and contribute to Australian Government responses on international instruments that involve aspects of Australia's native title system. We assisted in preparing the Australian Government's response to a request for additional information from the 66th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We continued to liaise with Government agencies on the Government's position on the draft United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Challenges

There are currently just over 600 native title claims in progress. Over the past three years, our performance in achieving outcomes has improved, as measured by the number of determinations of native title: up from six in 2003–04 and 16 in 2004–05, to 21 in 2005–06.

While resolution of native title applications has improved, progress remains slow. To overcome this challenge, the Australian Government is looking to promote realistic approaches to resolving applications. This includes increased emphasis on negotiated outcomes beyond or outside native title as one way to resolve cases where it is unlikely that native title will be determined to exist.

We will continue to engage with the States and Territories and other parties to native title claims to develop practical options for resolving such claims. In addition to the work currently under way towards reforming the system and the developing body of native title law, we have built up our expertise and experience. All these factors indicate that further improvements can be made.

In his speech delivered to the AIATSIS Native Title Conference in May this year, the Attorney-General outlined a number of challenges to finding secure outcomes in the native title system. Those included:

Measures resulting from the Government's reform package to the native title system are directed at meeting many of those challenges. The legislation that is expected to be introduced to Parliament later this year will bring together measures from a number of the reform elements. In that endeavour, we are mindful of the Attorney-General's statement upon announcing the reform package that we must take a coordinated and balanced approach to ensure that bottlenecks are not simply moved from one part of the system to another part.

The proposed legislation will not resolve all the challenges in the native title system. We will need to continue ongoing and effective consultation, particularly with States and Territories, and with other stakeholders.

In the course of the reporting year, the Prime Minister firmly placed Indigenous land and economic development on the national agenda. The Prime Minister has asked the Attorney-General to report to him on the relationship between Indigenous title to land and economic development. We are continuing to examine this issue and, in consultation with other agencies, investigating ways to promote opportunities for economic development and maximise the economic benefits for Indigenous communities. This includes identifying existing barriers to effective exploitation of Indigenous-held land, and exploring options to overcoming them.

Outlook

We continue to monitor the performance of the native title system and work to ensure that Australian Government departments and agencies understand and comply with their native title obligations. We will raise awareness of native title issues among departments and agencies through our education activities, including training seminars tailored to the needs of particular agencies. Through membership of the NTCC, we will continue to monitor the performance of Australian Government agencies.

Finalising and implementing the package of reforms to the native title system will be a priority.

To improve the resolution of native title issues, we will continue to work with parties and institutions to encourage cooperation so that efficient and enduring outcomes can be achieved for all stakeholders in the native title system.

We will continue to work with other Australian Government departments and agencies to identify barriers to economic development and increased utilisation of Indigenous land. This will include canvassing options to overcome these obstacles.

Output 1.7

Legal services and policy advice on Indigenous law and justice and legal assistance, and the administration of related government programs

Performance overview

Output 1.7 is the responsibility of the Indigenous Justice and Legal Assistance Division. The Division's two branches contribute to ensuring an equitable and accessible system of federal civil justice. The Indigenous Law and Justice Branch does this by administering the delivery of programs that benefit Indigenous Australians, and by providing policy advice on Indigenous law and justice issues. For its part, the Legal Assistance Branch develops, implements and delivers government policy and programs for legal assistance services provided by legal aid commissions, community legal services and financial assistance schemes. See Figures 3 and 4 at pages 98–99.

Major achievements

The Indigenous Law and Justice Branch has responsibility for administering the Legal Aid for Indigenous People program. The program supports the provision of high-quality and culturally appropriate legal services to Indigenous Australians via three-year contracts with service providers.

In 2005–06, we finalised the tendering process for legal aid services for Indigenous Australians. New policy directions for legal aid services have set clearly defined priorities for assistance, service standards, eligibility requirements and means testing to ensure services are provided to those most in need. The application of the new funding allocation model, which is based on relative need, is expected to result in a more equitable national distribution of Indigenous legal aid funding.

These changes, including the commitment to contestability and competitive tendering for Indigenous legal aid services, will improve both the quality and efficiency of service delivery, to the ultimate benefit of Indigenous clients.

The Branch is also responsible for the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS) program. The program provides specialist legal, counselling and community promotion services to assist Indigenous adults and children who are victims of family violence and/or sexual assault or who are at immediate risk of such violence.

During 2005–06, the 13 FVPLS units announced in 2004–05 became fully operational (see Table 5 for details). The network of 26 FVPLS units now servicing rural and remote high-need areas assisted approximately 6,200 Indigenous Australians by providing 10,700 legal, counselling and community promotion service activities. This figure will increase throughout 2006–07 as the 13 new FVPLS units that started service delivery during 2005–06 become more established within their communities.

On 9 November 2005, 18 out of the 22 Indigenous FVPLS unit staff who started the Indigenous Leadership Certificate IV training in 2004–05 graduated. The Attorney-General presented the graduates with their certificates.

Indigenous Leadership Certificate IV graduates with the Attorney-General

Indigenous Leadership Certificate IV graduates with the Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, at their graduation ceremony on 9 November 2005

Table 5: New Family Violence Prevention Legal Services service providers, February to June 2005
Date (number of service providers) Region/locality
25 February 2005 (7) Bourke/Brewarrina
Rockhampton
Kununurra, Halls Creek, Kalumburu, Wyndham and Oombulgurri
Dubbo Local Government Area / Binaal Billa region
Mildura Local Government Area / Wentworth
Melville Island, Bathurst Island and Nhulunbuy
Carnarvon, Meekatharra, Mount Magnet, Cue, Wiluna and Burringurrah
2 May 2005 (4) Port Hedland Local Government Area
Ceduna Local Government Area
North Queensland ATSIC region
Palm Island, Hughenden, Richmond and Charters Towers
20 May 2005 (1) Cunnamulla, Quilpie, Charleville, Goondiwindi, Murgon and Cherbourg (service provider: Roma Town Council (Working against Abuse Service))
21 June 2005 (1) Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands region (service provider: Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council (Aboriginal Corporation))

The Legal Assistance Branch has responsibility for the legal aid program. The Government allocated $53 million in additional funding over four years in the 2004–05 Budget for the program. This was the first full year of operation for the 2004–08 legal aid agreements.

The 2004–05 Budget included an allocation of $3.3 million over four years for the new Duty Lawyer Scheme for family law. The service became fully established in all States and Territories in this financial year. Reports indicate that the Family Court of Australia, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Family Court of Western Australia find the service useful. Legal aid commissions have indicated that services are operating well in providing information, advice and simple assistance to mostly low-income self-represented litigants at the courts. From 1 July to 31 December 2005, 591 people were assisted through the scheme.

The Tennant Creek Legal Resource Centre was opened by the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission in May 2006. Its purpose is to provide improved access to legal information and resources in Tennant Creek and the Barkly region, which have been identified as disadvantaged. It provides a coordination point for legal advice and assistance and will conduct community legal education programs.

Initially, it will operate as a pilot for two years with $200,000 in Commonwealth funding as part of the legal aid agreement with the Northern Territory Government. The Northern Territory Government has also provided funding for the premises and for video conferencing.

We have implemented a new data collection and reporting system, the Legal Aid Reporting Initiative (LARI). It provides for both statistical and financial reporting, enhancing our capacity to monitor program performance and identify trends in legal aid service provision. We worked closely with legal aid commissions to review and streamline data requirements.

Community legal centres (CLCs) continued operations under a new three-year Service Agreement, which will expire on 30 June 2008. Under the Service Agreement, community legal centres are required to provide a range of data, including financial data, which enables us to monitor, manage and account for the Community Legal Services Program's achievements. Guidelines that support the Service Agreement were revised and approved by the Attorney-General in September 2005.

A new agreement was signed between the Department and Legal Aid New South Wales, Victoria Legal Aid, Legal Aid Queensland, the South Australian Attorney-General's Department, Legal Aid Western Australia and the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania for the provision of State Program Manager services. State Program Managers assist us to manage and monitor the Community Legal Services Program in those States. A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was also signed with those States that have a community legal services funding program. The purpose of the MOU is to facilitate the planning, management and ongoing development of the joint program.

In addition to legal aid, the Legal Assistance Branch administers a range of schemes of financial assistance. For further details, see under the performance measure 'Applications for assistance …' at page 97.

Performance measures

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND THE GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES WITHIN A WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT CONTEXT THAT RECOGNISE THE NEEDS, RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

We advised the Government on the successful operation of the network of 26 FVPLS units and the steps taken to expand the FVPLS policy and program. The Government announced funding in the 2006–07 Budget to increase the number of FVPLS units from 26 to 31, to increase the legal assistance for civil and family law matters and to increase the focus on early identification and prevention.

Family violence outreach unit helps remote Indigenous communities

The Townsville family violence outreach unit is working to foster trust and understanding in remote Indigenous communities. Funded by the Attorney-General's Department, it has been actively working to reduce the level of family violence and child abuse in the culturally diverse and remote areas of Palm Island, Charters Towers, Hughenden and Richmond.

While the locations served are physically remote — Palm Island can be accessed only by air or boat, and Richmond is found at the end of 500 kilometres of the Flinders Highway — it is crossing the cultural divide that presents more of a challenge, according to unit coordinator, Isobel Jones.

'We can work around the remoteness and the weather, but gaining trust and understanding takes time', she said.

'We need to maintain a presence by participating in community activities that not only increase awareness of our service but quite clearly support the concept of saying “NO” to family violence.

'Many of our clients face the dilemma of not knowing who or where to turn to in cases of family violence. Because family violence is not openly discussed, our clients often feel marginalised or “at fault” about the reasons for the abuse', Isobel said.

Each week as many as 68 clients are helped with services including legal advice, counselling, referral to other service providers, program promotion and community education.

Clients become more aware of their rights and have a better ability to make informed decisions.

Community issues are also identified and addressed by developing local strategies with an emphasis on increasing community awareness and education.

'It's important for the whole community to take responsibility', Isobel said.

A community management committee has been established, consisting of Indigenous representatives from the four designated regions, to provide direct links to each community and to contribute to community-informed decision making.

Activities such as family fun days and Indigenous family violence forums are also conducted to improve the level of community awareness and promote the range of services available.

Indigenous Family violence Legal Outreach Unit banner

The sites for the five additional FVPLS units were identified by research conducted by the Crime Research Centre at the University of Western Australia and by stakeholder feedback. The new FVPLS units will be located in Broome, south-west Western Australia, Port Lincoln, Broken Hill and Tennant Creek.

AGREEMENTS/CONTRACTS WHICH REFLECT THE COMMONWEALTH'S REQUIREMENTS ARE SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED

Legal Aid for Indigenous People program

Over the past two years, we have moved from traditional grants-based funding to contracted legal aid services, established through a competitive tendering process. The tendering process aims to ensure that Indigenous Australians have access to high-quality, professional and culturally sensitive legal services, while also ensuring value for money. In 2005–06 the process was completed, with Legal Services contracts being established with Indigenous organisations in three more States and the Territories. The successful providers were:

New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory — Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Ltd

South Australia — Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc

Tasmania — Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre

Northern Territory (North zone) — North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Ltd

Northern Territory (South zone) — Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service Inc

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

Program Funding Agreements for all 26 FVPLS units were assessed and negotiated to enable them to meet their performance outcomes.

PERFORMANCE OF PROGRAMS IS EFFECTIVELY MONITORED

Legal Aid for Indigenous People

Under the Legal Services Contracts, service providers are required to provide a range of reports to the Department to monitor their performance and accountability. We receive progress reports, data reports, and income and expenditure reports on a quarterly basis. Service providers must also provide an annual accrual budget and an annual report and audited financial statements. We also assess the quality of service delivery through formal reporting tools such as client satisfaction surveys and service standards audit reports.

In 2005–06, we provided additional funding to each service provider to upgrade their computer systems and enhance their data reporting capacity. In addition, we developed a new system, Indicator Reporting Information System (IRIS), to import electronic data from service providers and produce useful summary reports for contract managers.

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

The majority of the 26 FVPLS units provided their quarterly performance and financial reports within the designated time frames. Our staff worked closely with FVPLS unit staff to encourage and help facilitate the provision of timely and accurate data for reporting purposes.

We worked with FVPLS unit staff to identify and provide opportunities to develop skills, build capacity and increase accountability within the FVPLS program. We developed the accounting for non-accountants training, and carried out a formal evaluation of the training. The evaluation demonstrated that the course had overwhelming success in increasing FVPLS unit staff's capacity on budgets and funding.

We also provided a level IV Certificate in sexual assault training, facilitated the National FVPLS Solicitors Workshop and undertook an operational framework induction at each FVPLS unit.

We carried out a comprehensive review of the operational framework and the performance indicators for the FVPLS program. This process was conducted in consultation with the FVPLS unit staff, through a steering committee consisting of Departmental staff and unit staff in collaboration and partnership. By increasing transparency and accountability, the revised framework and indicators will enhance the monitoring of the FVPLS program.

Community legal services program

Following comprehensive negotiations between the Australian Government, States and the National Association of Community Legal Centres, CLCs signed new service agreements in September 2005 for the provision of community legal services to disadvantaged people in the community. These replace the previous agreements and are due to expire on 30 June 2008.

Legal aid program

We continued to monitor and evaluate the data supplied by legal aid commissions. The commissions provide quarterly financial and statistical reports that are uploaded into our Legal Aid Reporting Initiative system. LARI generates a suite of standard financial and statistical reports, as well as specific management reports. We also conducted six-monthly performance meetings with each of the State and Territory legal aid commissions.

NEW OR ENHANCED PROGRAMS/PROJECTS ARE SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

The 13 new FVPLS units became fully operational in the course of 2005–06.

Legal aid services

The Tennant Creek Legal Resource Centre is co-located with the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service and will complement services for Indigenous Australians by providing quality legal information services to all residents of Tennant Creek and the Barkly region.

Financial assistance schemes

We implemented a new scheme of financial assistance for witnesses before the Inquiry into certain Australian companies in relation to the UN Oil-For-Food Programme conducted by Commissioner Cole. Individuals entitled to receive assistance were those whose personal interests could be exposed to prejudice as a result of appearing before the Inquiry, who were likely to be a central figure in the proceedings, or whose cross-examination was likely to assist the Inquiry in its task.

APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE OR PAYMENTS MADE, UNDER SPECIAL SCHEMES, ARE ASSESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AGREED ARRANGEMENTS OR GUIDELINES FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The Legal Assistance Branch administers a range of schemes of legal assistance, funding for which contributes directly to Outcome 1 by enabling larger number of individuals and representative bodies to access federal civil justice system.

Statutory schemes include those under the Native Title Act 1993, Federal Proceedings (Costs) Act 1981, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986, and the Judiciary Act 1903. Non-statutory schemes include the Overseas Custody (Child Removal) Scheme, the Special Circumstances (Overseas) Scheme, and the Commonwealth Public Interest and Test Cases Scheme.

As at 30 June 2006, there were 1,156 current grants of financial assistance under the Native Title Act 1993, and two grants of financial assistance under non-statutory native title schemes. In addition, there were 533 current grants of financial assistance for other than native title matters.

(click on an image to open the full size version in a new window)

Assessment of consistency in decision making:

Decisions in financial year in relation to native title matters 491
Decisions in financial year in relation to non–native title matters 467
Native title decisions subject to request for internal review 5
Decisions upheld (2)
Non–native title decisions subject to request for internal review 17
Decisions upheld.Note: The decisions changed on review upon receipt of further information from the applicants. (6)
Decisions upheld 1

The Legal Assistance Branch also assesses applications for assistance made under the Expensive Commonwealth Criminal Cases Fund (ECCCF). Legal aid commissions may apply for reimbursement to the fund for the cost of expensive cases (over $40,000). Applications are assessed against criteria set out in the legal aid guidelines. During 2005–06, 17 applications for the ECCCF were assessed.

PARTNERSHIPS AND CONSULTATIVE ARRANGEMENTS WITH STAKEHOLDERS ARE EFFECTIVELY MAINTAINED

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

We have maintained a close working relationship with the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination in the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA) in developing effective partnerships for collaborative projects. We provide comments on all funding applications for FaCSIA's Family Violence Partnership Program grants.

We have worked closely with the Department of Health and Ageing and the Office of Indigenous Program Coordination to develop a joint conference paper on family violence to be presented at the World Conference on Family Violence and Prevention 'Healing our Spirits' in Canada. The three departments have jointly funded 12 Indigenous representatives to present the paper.

A consultation process with staff and committee members of the 26 FVPLS units was developed for the review of the operational framework and the performance indicators in relation to FVPLS (see page 97 above).

We organised the National FVPLS Conference and the National Solicitors Workshop. We consulted with FVPLS unit staff at both conferences. These consultations informed the development of training that will increase FVPLS staff unit capacity and accountability.

During the year, we produced the first edition of our new quarterly national FVPLS newsletter, Our Family News.

Community Legal Services program

The Community Legal Services program is managed as a partnership between the Australian Government and the State government in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, where there is a State community legal services funding program. We fund State legal aid commissions (or, in South Australia, the South Australian Attorney-General's Department) to employ program managers in each State on behalf of the Australian Government. The State program managers also undertake program management functions on behalf of the State. This arrangement provides funded organisations with a single reporting framework for combined Commonwealth and State funds.

We regularly consult with CLCs on program management issues through State program managers and through the sector's industry group, the National Association of Community Legal Centres.

Legal aid program

We attended three meetings with National Legal Aid during the year and consulted with commissions through its subsidiary working parties. For example, we consulted with legal aid commissions on improvement to the consistency of legal aid statistics and financial reporting, and on issues relating to the legal aid means test through meetings with the National Legal Aid Statistics Working Party and the National Legal Aid Grants Working Party.

We attended the National Legal Aid Best Practice Conference held in Adelaide from 14 to 16 September 2005. Consultations also took place at each of the 16 performance meetings held with commissions during the year.

We chair a reference group that was established in April 2006 to oversee the study into the participation of private legal practitioners in legal aid. National Legal Aid and the Law Council of Australia are represented on the reference group.

Financial assistance program

We engaged in extensive consultation with stakeholders around Australia on draft new guidelines for the Native Title Respondent Funding Scheme. The guidelines aim to advance the Government's objective of encouraging agreement making in preference to litigation.

Regular consultations were held with key stakeholders for the Native Title Respondent Funding Scheme through face-to-face meetings and participation in the Native Title Consultative Forum.

Purchaser/provider arrangements

Funding for the provision of legal aid services under the Commonwealth legal aid program was distributed to legal aid commissions under the legal aid agreements. Performance has met the criteria specified under the performance indicators as described under the 2005–06 Portfolio Budget Statements.

Evaluations/reviews

Review of New South Wales community legal centres

The review is currently being finalised.

The review committee comprised Australian Government and New South Wales Government officials as well as representatives from the New South Wales community legal services sector, New South Wales Council of Social Services and the Law Society of New South Wales.

The committee called for public submissions and conducted a series of consultations with service providers, including specialist centres, rural and regional community legal centres and other relevant stakeholders.

Review of Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program's operational framework and performance indicators

We developed a process to review the effectiveness and accuracy of the FVPLS program's operational framework and performance indicators and to assess how 'user-friendly' they were for the FVPLS unit staff in helping to achieve our objectives.

The process involved the establishment of a steering committee comprised of departmental as well as FVPLS unit staff who provided expert advice, guidance and information. The revised framework and performance indicators have been substantially improved and will help facilitate unit performance.

Evaluation of the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program's accounting for non-accountants training

We contracted CPA Australia to develop and conduct training in accounting for non-accountants from March to May 2006. The course was well received and provided the FVPLS unit participants with an increased knowledge of accounting to help them with their work.

We evaluated the training by using a telephone questionnaire. Each respondent was asked a predetermined series of questions to enable us to ensure future training is relevant and appropriate. An evaluation report is available on request.

Study of the participation of private legal practitioners in the legal aid market

In March 2006, we commissioned a study by TNS Social Research into the participation of private legal practitioners in the legal aid market in Australia. The purpose of the study is to examine the validity of the anecdotal evidence that private practitioners are withdrawing from the legal aid market.

The study should enable us to evaluate the impact on legal aid services of any substantial and continuing withdrawal of private practitioners — in particular, on the availability of services in regional and rural Australia. The study is scheduled for completion in October 2006.

Challenges

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

The Division has encountered challenges in finding suitable, well functioning organisations that can provide support for the five new FVPLS units.

We are streamlining and restructuring the FVPLS section to provide greater support to the units and governing bodies so that they can develop skills, and to ensure that they are sustainable. This will provide the units with a better understanding of the Government's requirements of them as service providers, and a clearer understanding of financial management, accountability and governance.

Family law reform implementation

Legal aid commissions have had to address the changes arising as a result of the Government's family law reforms. In particular, they have had to consider arrangements for working with the new Family Relationship Centres and changes to the Family Law Act 1975 that came into effect on 1 July 2006.

Commissions will continue to be consulted by the Department about the changes and they will establish working arrangements with the new centres.

The Division's new data collection and reporting system, LARI, will facilitate the monitoring of impacts on commissions in the longer term.

Outlook

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program

We will be working towards the identification of suitable organisations to implement the five new FVPLS units at Broome, south-west Western Australia, Port Lincoln, Broken Hill and Tennant Creek. All new FVPLS units will be operational during 2006–07. A call for applications through an open and competitive procurement process will invite organisations to deliver services on behalf of the Department.

The increased service delivery emphasising early identification and prevention activities will be a focus during 2006–07 for our staff working in partnership with FVPLS unit staff. A new community promotion focus will broaden the community awareness activities previously undertaken. This will allow an increase in community development and capacity building for individuals and communities.

Legal aid program

The first of a series of changes to child support took effect on 1 July 2006 and may impact on the provision of legal assistance in child support matters. We are consulting with commissions to monitor the situation.

We are also working to ensure greater consistency in access to legal aid nationally, and considering issues affecting private legal firms participating in legal aid service delivery.

Financial assistance program

The Government will implement new guidelines for the Native Title Respondent Funding Scheme. We will also enhance the data and workflow grants systems (which were developed to manage the processing of applications for assistance under the various statutory and non-statutory financial assistance schemes managed by the Legal Assistance Branch) to improve functionality and reporting capacity.

The number of applications under the Special Circumstances (Overseas) Scheme is expected to continue to increase as a result of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade program to strengthen the Government's ability to provide consular assistance to Australians overseas. Funding was allocated in the 2006–07 Budget for additional staffing to process applications under the Special Circumstances (Overseas) Scheme.

Outcome 2

Coordinated federal criminal justice, security and emergency management activity, for a safer Australia

Overview

The Attorney-General's Department contributes to the achievement of Outcome 2 by providing policy advice and operational coordination and services — in the areas of national security (including counter-terrorism and security law), emergency management, criminal justice, crime prevention, critical infrastructure protection and protective security — and by undertaking a range of activities to meet obligations and responsibilities in international and domestic circumstances.

The Department administers payments to the National Community Crime Prevention Programme, the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and the National Emergency Volunteers Support Fund as well as payments for Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation security arrangements. These and other administered items are presented later in this section.

The Department works in consultation and cooperation with many other organisations to achieve Outcome 2. These include Australian government agencies (Commonwealth, State and Territory) as well as non-government and foreign institutions, and include advisory bodies, law enforcement agencies, emergency services and commercial businesses. In addition to maintaining these interrelationships with other organisations, the Department operates in a complex environment where international as well as domestic events or trends can play a significant role.

During 2005–06, we made significant and substantial progress towards achieving Outcome 2, with many of our contributions receiving positive comments from the Attorney-General, the Minister for Justice and Customs and a variety of stakeholders.

Performance reports for each output contributing to Outcome 2, which expand on these achievements, are presented later in this section.

The Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator The Hon Chris Ellison

The Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator The Hon Chris Ellison, addressing staff at the departmental awards ceremony in August 2005

Resource summary

OUTCOME 2 — COORDINATED FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE, SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY, FOR A SAFER AUSTRALIA
Budget* 2005–06 $'000 (1) Estimated actuals 2005–06 $'000 (2) Actual expenses 2005–06 $'000 Variation (column 2 minus column 1) $'000 Budget2006–07 $'000
Administered Expenses (including third party outputs) 74,318 58,718 31,960 (26,758) 126,384
Special Appropriations – 5,100 65 (5,035) 1,950
Total Administered Expenses 74,318 63,818 32,025 (31,793) 128,334
Price of Departmental Outputs
Output 2.1 Policy advice on, and program administration and regulatory activities associated with, the Commonwealth's domestic and international responsibilities for criminal justice and crime prevention, and meeting Australia's obligations in relation to extradition and mutual assistance 46,883 36,151 35,701 (450) 49,232
Output 2.2 National leadership and coordination of legal and policy advice on national security and counter-terrorism laws and critical infrastructure protection 16,695 14,505 14,501 (4) 16,432
Output 2.3 Provide national leadership in the development of emergency management measures to reduce risk to communities and manage the consequences of disasters 30,651 28,517 31,317 2,800 29,615
Output 2.4 Development and promotion of protective security policy advice and common standards and practices; the coordination of protective security services, including counter-terrorism and dignitary protection; the provision of security for special events; the development of counter-terrorism capabilities; and the coordination of national security crises and information through the Watch Office and National Security Hotline 48,579 43,947 33,743 (10,204) 50,188
Total price of outputs 142,808 123,120 115,262 (7,858) 145,467
Revenue from Government (Appropriation) for Departmental Outputs 124,571 123,323 125,327 2,004 137,298
Revenue from other Sources 8,453 8,453 9,191 738 8,169
Total Departmental Revenue 133,024 131,776 134,518 2,742 145,467
Total for Outcome 2 (Total Price of Outputs and Administered Expenses) 217,126 186,938 147,287 (39,651) 273,801
2005–06 2006–07
Average Staffing Level 564 656

* Full-year budget, including additional estimates.

Administered items for Outcome 2

Payments for membership of international bodies

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROVED ARRANGEMENTS

Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering

In 2006, Australia contributed $51,000 to the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The FATF is an international body that develops and promotes policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Australia was a founding member of the FATF. The Department's contribution to the secretariat meets Australia's annual membership commitment to the FATF.

National Community Crime Prevention Programme

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

Crime and the fear of crime consistently rate among the highest concerns of the Australian public. The Australian Institute of Criminology has estimated that crime costs Australia around $32 billion per year.* The Australian Government shares the community's concern about the impact of crime on people's lives. While criminal justice responsibilities mostly rest with State and Territory governments, the Australian Government is determined to do all it can to protect Australians from crime and the fear of crime.

The Government has committed $64 million to the National Community Crime Prevention Programme (NCCPP), which features a national program of community grants and another specifically for the Greater Western Sydney region. This includes the $6 million funding announced by the Prime Minister on 30 September 2005 for security-related infrastructure, including closed circuit television (CCTV) systems.

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH MINISTERIAL DECISION

The NCCPP provides funding for grassroots projects designed to enhance community safety and crime prevention by preventing or reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, improving community safety and security, and reducing the fear of crime. The program is designed to provide the additional resources often needed by communities to develop their own projects and find ways of working together for the shared goal of enhancing community safety.

NCCPP grants are advertised nationally and provide practical and flexible support for local projects and enable community groups to trial new crime prevention approaches to:

* Pat Mayhew (with assistance from Glenda Adkins), 'Counting the costs of crime in Australia', Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 247, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2003

Priority areas for funding include: property crime; early intervention projects with families, children and schools; youth crime; violent crime, including domestic and family violence; drugs and crime; alcohol-related violence; fraud and scams; crime prevention initiatives for seniors; fear of crime and anti-social behaviour; and security infrastructure. Grants are available for projects of up to three years' duration and are not recurrent.

Applications are assessed against published selection criteria by an Advisory Group that includes representatives from justice and community service agencies and from the community. The Minister for Justice and Customs makes the final decisions on the applications, based on the recommendations of the Advisory Group.

PERFORMANCE OF PROGRAM IS EFFECTIVELY MONITORED

Multi-year grants are subject to the Australian Government's requirements for the administration of discretionary grants, including the prior approval of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration of all discretionary grants that exceed one year.

The Department negotiates individual funding agreements for each grant awarded. The agreements specify project milestones and an evaluation plan.

OUTCOMES OF GRANT PROJECTS ARE APPROPRIATELY COMMUNICATED

In the first two rounds of the NCCPP, 86 grants to the value of to $14.6 million were awarded by the Minister for Justice and Customs for a wide range of projects. Three projects are now concluded.

Information on all grants is available at <www.crimeprevention.gov.au>.

NEW OR ENHANCED PROGRAMS/PROJECTS ARE SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED WITHIN AVAILABLE BUDGET

Multi-year grants are subject to the Australian Government's requirements for the administration of discretionary grants, including the prior approval of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration of all discretionary grants that exceed one year.

On 26 June 2006, the Minister for Justice and Customs announced the first grants in the third funding round. These were the first of the security-related infrastructure grants, with 18 projects being awarded some $2.1 million. Further announcements are expected shortly.

National Funding for Crime Stoppers

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM

Crime Stoppers Australia Ltd (CSA) is the national representative body of the eight State and Territory government-based Crime Stoppers organisations. It aims to deliver strategic direction, national coordination of State-based initiatives, facilitation of networking and national advice on good practice in crime prevention.

The Australian Government provided $1 million over four years (2002–06) to support the work of CSA. The Government has now committed $2 million in further funding. This will enable CSA to continue its positive results through support of the State and Territory Crime Stoppers programs and further develop its national strategic function, and its investigation and advisory roles.

Since 1987, when Crime Stoppers started in Australia, tips to the organisation have been responsible for more than 38,000 arrests and have led to the seizure of almost $880 million in stolen property and illicit drugs.

Australia's contribution to the International Criminal Court

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION AND ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which Australia is a party, requires States Parties to provide annual assessed contributions towards the operation of the ICC. The Statute's obligations have been implemented in domestic law by the International Criminal Court Act 2002.

The Australian Government provided $4,154,978 towards the operation of the ICC in 2005–06. The budget of the ICC is set by the ICC Assembly of States Parties. The contribution of each State Party is determined by reference to the UN Scale of Assessment. The Scale of Assessment is calculated according to each member state's share of aggregated world gross national product. Australia's share of the total of the required contributions for 2005–06 was 3.17 per cent.

National Handgun Buyback Act 2003

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION

The National Handgun Buyback Program involved reimbursing States and Territories for compensation paid for newly prohibited handguns and handgun parts surrendered under the program and the administrative costs associated with operating the program. The program was conducted in all jurisdictions between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004.

As at 30 June 2006, approximately 70,000 handguns and more than 278,000 parts and accessories had been surrendered and $96.6 million paid out in compensation. The Government has provided $70,148,650 in reimbursement to jurisdictions, in accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement governing the accountability and administrative procedures for the program (the IGA).

During the year, we continued to work with States and Territories to finalise administrative costs in accordance with the IGA.

National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996 — Administration

EXPENDITURE WAS MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM

The program provided for payments to States and Territories for compensation for the purchase of newly prohibited semi-automatic firearms surrendered under the program and for associated administration costs. Since the program began in 1996, the Commonwealth has provided:

Expenditure was made in accordance with the objectives of the program. Some jurisdictions retain unspent funds that will be required to meet outstanding claims. During 2005–06, we continued to monitor progress with these claims.

'Working Together to Manage Emergencies' initiative

The Australian Government believes that engaging local communities in emergency management and promoting involvement and awareness at a grass roots level is critical for improving national preparedness for disasters of all types. Local government is at the frontline of both risk management and consequence management and is often best placed to determine and respond to local needs and priorities.

The Government also recognises that, with changing demographics, emergency services agencies with a large volunteer component are facing significant pressures in recruitment, retention and training of their volunteers.

To address those issues, the Government committed $49 million over four years from 2004–05 to the 'Working Together to Manage Emergencies' initiative. The initiative included establishment of two funding programs: the National Emergency Volunteer Support Fund and the Local Grants Scheme. The programs are intended to:

The 2005–06 application round was launched in July 2005 and attracted 720 applications across both funding programs. State and Territory selection committees assessed all projects with regard to their compliance with program guidelines and taking account of the emergency management priorities of the States and Territories and relevant agencies. Following extensive discussions, the selection committees established a list of recommended projects. On the basis of these recommendations, the Attorney-General announced on 8 December 2005 the approval of 463 individual projects with a combined value of $14.4 million.

Together the two funding programs have brought into being a range of initiatives aimed at building safer, sustainable communities. It is intended that the positive outcomes of the projects funded through the initiative will continue to be felt for many years.

Details on both programs and the projects funded are set out below.

National Emergency Volunteers Support Fund

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

In 2005–06, 255 projects valued at $6.539 million were funded through the National Emergency Volunteer Support Fund. They covered a wide range of work to support the efforts of emergency management volunteers, including:

Local Grants Scheme

FUNDS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY RELEVANT AGREEMENT OR ARRANGEMENT

In 2005–06, 208 projects valued at $7.844 million were funded through the Local Grants Scheme. The most common work to be undertaken through successful projects included:

National Counter-Terrorism Committee — operating expenses

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT DECISION AND AS APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE

The National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NCTC) Special Fund provides funding to the NCTC program to develop and maintain a nationwide counter-terrorism network through the provision of a basic viable capability in each State and Territory commensurate with the general level of threat to Australia. The NCTC Special Fund provides for:

In 2005–06, successful training programs and counter-terrorism exercises were held in a number of States and Territories. The NCTC exercises extended the overall nationwide counter-terrorism capability by involving all relevant federal, State and Territory government departments and agencies with responsibility for preparedness, prevention, response and recovery. In particular, the exercises included the largest and most successful multi-jurisdictional exercise held to date, Mercury 05, held in October 2005.

The exercises are an important means of evaluating the nationwide counter-terrorism capability. They provided the opportunity to successfully evaluate specialist equipment purchased on behalf of State and Territory police. Lessons learnt from the exercises also identified several opportunities to improve Australia's counter-terrorism arrangements, and reviews of the National Counter-Terrorism Plan and Handbook were consequently carried out.

The 2005–06 NCTC budget was $14.097 million, of which $1.351 million was transferred from the 2004–05 appropriation. The current year's funds included:

The funding covers a number of counter-terrorism scenarios and was committed as part of the Government's election commitment 'National security — The first responsibility of Government'.

Funding of $4.483 million was allocated for a communication upgrade of ASNET to enhance the transmission of secure information among relevant agencies.

Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week

EXPENDITURE IN ACCORDANCE WITH AGREED ARRANGEMENTS

Funding for the security arrangements for APEC Leaders' Week was provided in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the Australian Government and the New South Wales Government to cover APEC-specific security costs incurred by the NSW Police, provided such costs were agreed by both governments to be APEC-specific.

Funding of $22.7 million was provided in the 2005–06 Additional Estimates. Of this, $18.1 million was allocated for 2005–06, and $4.6 million for 2006–07.

Of the funding allocated for 2005–06, only $3.4 million was spent, and we are accordingly seeking to re-phase $14.7 million from 2005–06 to 2006–07. The reasons for the underspend include delays in determining the capabilities required to secure APEC; difficulties in determining the most effective and efficient way to deliver those capabilities; the lag time between order and delivery of major equipment purchases; and the timing of the release of the Additional Estimates funds (late in the financial year).

Output 2.1

Policy advice on, and program administration and regulatory activities associated with, the Commonwealth's domestic and international responsibilities for criminal justice and crime prevention; and meeting Australia's obligations for extradition and mutual assistance

Performance overview

Output 2.1 is the responsibility of the Criminal Justice Division. The Division provided advice on policy and legislation as well as program management in support of the Government's objectives for a nationally coordinated criminal justice system, integrated law enforcement and effective international legal cooperation.

Major achievements

The reporting year 2005–06 was characterised by review activity, both completed and commenced. The highlights include:

n completion of the mutual evaluation of Australia's anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime by Australia and by the Financial Action Taskforce on Money Laundering*

The Division has delivered on all of its priority activities for the reporting period. All of the matters outlined under the Outlook heading of Output 2.1's reporting in the Department's 2004–05 annual report have either been completed or substantially progressed.

We continued to have strong relationships with key stakeholders — including the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), the Australian Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the Australian Customs Service, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, the Australian Institute of Criminology — and also with other agencies, including AusAID, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. We have built on these relationships to ensure regular liaison and communication and coordinated contribution to whole-of-government outcomes in people trafficking, drug legislation, anti-corruption strategies, development of new anti–money laundering legislation and management of extradition and mutual assistance casework. The draft anti–money laundering legislation has also required extensive consultation with the financial services sector.

* Australia is a member of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an intergovernmental body that aims to combat money laundering and terrorist financing

Strong relationships with State and Territory agencies were a key part of the successful piloting of the document verification service, continuing development of the identity security strategy, implementation of cross-jurisdictional DNA-matching arrangements and management of international transfer of prisoners casework.

We continued to provide expert policy advice to other departments on the Commonwealth criminal law policy. This has assisted the Minister for Justice and Customs to carry out his role as minister responsible for approving criminal law aspects of all federal legislation.

In addition to the review activity noted above, other achievements worthy of note included:

Performance measures

GOVERNMENT'S LEGISLATION REQUIREMENTS MET

The Division developed the following legislation that was enacted during the reporting period:

Policy advice

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE PROVIDED TO MEET THE MINISTER'S AND THE GOVERNMENT'S TIMETABLE

The Division continued to provide timely and sound policy advice on a wide range of criminal justice matters. There is a strong international and regional assistance component to the work of the Division. Key outcomes included:

Management of programs

AGREEMENTS/CONTRACTS NEGOTIATED WHICH REFLECT THE COMMONWEALTH'S REQUIREMENTS

PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTUAL AND AGREEMENT OBLIGATIONS MONITORED, REPORTED AND EVALUATED

SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW OR ENHANCED PROGRAMS/PROJECTS WITHIN AVAILABLE BUDGET

During the year, we developed national strategic approaches through our effective management of a number of programs, including:

The Prime Minister with the National Community Crime Prevention Programme team

The Prime Minister with the National Community Crime Prevention Programme team: (left to right) Grant Jay, Rebecca Olsen, Neil Head, Dianne Heriot, Anne Beresford (Public Affairs), Vivienne Breen and Justine Allan (Public Affairs)

Financial intelligence in the Pacific: Combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism

The Anti–Money Laundering Assistance Team (AMLAT) is a team of advisers providing technical advice, training and mentoring to Pacific island countries to help combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

In 2006, AMLAT held workshops to raise awareness of the issue in the Solomon Islands and Tonga. The workshops involved participants from government agencies, reporting bodies and law enforcement agencies. The interaction of key stakeholders at these workshops set a solid platform for further initiatives to address money laundering and terrorist financing in each country.

Since the Solomon Islands workshop in February 2006, a financial intelligence unit (FIU) has been established in Honiara. AMLAT has provided ongoing assistance to the FIU, including the installation of a database, IT training, and in-country mentoring for staff. This involved helping to develop forms, procedures and guidelines as well as providing practical advice on the analysis of suspicious transaction reports. The Solomon Islands FIU has now received and analysed over 50 suspicious transaction reports, and disseminated a number of these to law enforcement agencies.

In June 2006, AMLAT held a regional workshop for Pacific FIUs that was attended by representatives of 13 Pacific island countries. The workshop encouraged regional skill sharing by drawing on the experience of some of the more established FIUs within the Pacific. By the end of the workshop, each representative had developed a plan to establish or enhance their FIU.

The AMLAT legal adviser also assisted in Fiji by reviewing draft Regulations for new financial transaction reporting legislation.

In 2006–07, AML AT will continue to build on its work in the Pacific, with bilateral and regional training for law enforcement to complement AML AT's ongoing legal advice and assistance with financial transaction reporting arrangements.

Anti–Money Laundering Assistance Team (AMLAT)

Anti–Money Laundering Assistance Team (AMLAT) Regional Workshop for Pacific financial intelligence units

Casework

APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE OR DECISIONS UNDER DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE, EXTRADITION, FEDERAL PRISONERS, FIREARMS IMPORTATION AND CRIMINAL LAWS PROACTIVELY MANAGED AND PROPERLY DETERMINED

Federal prisoner administration, including international transfer of prisoners, continued to be undertaken in accordance with statutory requirements.

We issued 149 firearms import permits and 19 embryo export permits, in accordance with legislation.

We worked extensively to advance bilateral treaties on mutual assistance, extradition and international transfer of prisoners. These treaties will play a vital role in improving international legal cooperation in the region. Cases involving extradition, mutual assistance and international transfer of prisoners dealt with during the year included several high-profile cases, including Operation Wickenby and terrorism prosecutions. Significant resources had to be diverted both to manage the cases and to provide ministerial and media briefing.

Detailed statistics on extradition and mutual assistance casework, and on criminal justice certificates, are at Appendix 11.

Evaluations/reviews

The review of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 required under section 327 of the Act was completed. The review report will be presented to government in 2006–07.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission completed its review of the operations of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 and the Government has finalised its response to that report.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) presented its report on a review of Part 1B of the Crimes Act 1914. A response to the report will be prepared in 2006–07.

The review of Part 1D of the Crimes Act, required to be conducted in 2004–05, was deferred pending commencement of cross-jurisdictional DNA data matching. The review is expected to be conducted in 2006–07.

Challenges

Our major challenge for 2006–07 will be to recruit sufficient experienced staff to undertake the work required on the National Identity Security Strategy.

There is continued growth in casework, particularly in mutual assistance and international prisoner transfers. We are meeting this challenge by implementing operational reforms to improve the way we undertake this casework. We have launched a public awareness strategy for mutual assistance and extradition, the centrepiece of which is a new web site. We are also working on a major project to give targeted training to key stakeholders, such as the AFP and State and Territory law enforcement agencies, on mutual assistance and extradition.

A growing legal reform policy agenda in the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) will also require additional resources. The agenda includes a nationally agreed uniform spent convictions scheme and the work of the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee (now called the Model Criminal Law Officers Committee).

New agendas are also developing on international legal cooperation, regional assistance, anti-corruption measures, and the promotion of an effective international response to the diversion of precursor chemicals, all of which will require the development of new areas of expertise.

Extradition — a vital tool in fighting crime

Fighting crime is a high priority for governments around the world. Governments must work together to combat transnational crime. Extradition and mutual assistance are vital tools that Australia uses to cooperate with other countries to fight crime.

Extradition ensures that criminals cannot evade justice by crossing borders. Mutual assistance means they cannot escape prosecution (or proceeds of crime action) simply because the evidence (or proceeds of their crime) is in a different country.

An example of a key extradition case for a domestic crime is that of Mr Michael McCrea, a British national living in Australia who was wanted for murder in Singapore.

Singapore requested that Australia provisionally arrest Mr McCrea. We ensured that the requirements in the Extradition Act 1988 were met and, on 13 June 2002, the Australian Federal Police arrested Mr McCrea in Melbourne and he was remanded in custody. Singapore then formally requested Mr McCrea's extradition.

In Singapore, murder attracts the death penalty. However, Australia's Extradition Act does not allow extradition for death penalty offences unless the country provides an undertaking that the death penalty will not be carried out. Singapore provided a death penalty undertaking in a diplomatic note.

After considering our advice on Singapore's extradition request, the Minister for Justice and Customs decided to receive the request. A magistrate then found Mr McCrea eligible for extradition. Mr McCrea made representations against his extradition. Taking this into account with the matters in the Extradition Act, we advised the Minister and he decided that Mr McCrea should be extradited.

Mr McCrea appealed the Minister's decision, arguing that Singapore could not give the death penalty undertaking. This was rejected by the Federal Court and the Full Court of the Federal Court. The High Court refused Mr McCrea special leave to appeal. On 27 September 2005, Mr McCrea was extradited to Singapore.

On 29 June 2006, Mr McCrea was sentenced to 24 years' imprisonment following his conviction for manslaughter.

This case shows the importance of extradition as a tool to fight crime. It ensures that criminals cannot seek safe haven in other countries to avoid prosecution and gaol.

For more information about extradition and mutual assistance, please see our web site at <www.ag.gov.au/extraditionandma>.

Progressing both the AMLAT work and the proposed whole-of-government law and justice sector anti-corruption strategy will need careful coordination to ensure consistency with Australian Government policy priorities and the work of other stakeholders.

We made significant progress during 2005–06 on mapping business processes to develop streamlined, well-documented decision-making processes and improve public understanding of international legal cooperation arrangements. We need to complete this work in 2006–07 to improve delivery of casework outcomes and our ability to train people quickly to do this work.

Work needs to continue with States and Territories on DNA legislation, including completing the Government's responses to the ALRC report no. 96: Essentially yours: protection of human genetic information in Australia.

Outlook

Over the next year, we expect to complete a number of major projects.

The reviews of the Extradition Act, the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, and the Proceeds of Crime Act will require policy proposals to be developed for government to consider. Following decisions on those proposals, we will need to prepare legislation to implement the outcomes of the reviews.

We expect to finalise new anti–money laundering legislation for introduction into the Parliament in 2006. Assuming the legislation is passed, we will need to develop education and public awareness strategies in the lead-up to the commencement of the new laws.

We also expect to implement a major piece of work undertaken by SCAG and the Australasian Police Ministers' Council on model laws for assumed identities, controlled operations and witness identity.

Initial research has been commissioned on community expectations for the review of Commonwealth criminal penalties. This initial research will determine whether further, more extensive research is required. The review is expected to be completed during 2006–07.

Development of the Government's response to the ALRC report on Part 1B of the Crimes Act is expected to be completed in 2006–07.

Bilateral treaty negotiations, for extradition, mutual assistance and the international transfer of prisoners, will continue during 2006–07, and we expect also to attend the first meeting of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption.

Progress on implementing the National Clandestine Laboratory Database has been slower than planned, due to the need to negotiate the involvement and contribution of State and Territory stakeholders as well as the arrangements for hosting the database. Subject to these matters being satisfactorily resolved, we expect to complete the database in 2006–07.

Work will commence to expand the pilot Document Verification Service (DVS) into a national system.

With the passage of the ACLEI Act in June 2006, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity will be established early in 2006–07.

We will be managing, in conjunction with Victoria, the development of the business case for a national firearms management system.

Output 2.2

National leadership and coordination of legal and policy advice on national security and counter-terrorism laws and critical infrastructure protection

Performance overview

Output 2.2 is the responsibility of the Security and Critical Infrastructure Division. Through the Division, the Department drafts legislation and provides high-quality and timely legal and policy advice on national security and counter-terrorism issues, and on the protection of critical infrastructure. During the reporting period, the Division continued to work closely with other areas of the Australian Government as well as with agencies of other governments, both in Australia and overseas.

The Division has delivered on its priority activities for the year and has received positive feedback from stakeholders. The July 2005 bombings in London presented unexpected challenges that required very close work with many agencies and the State and Territory Governments. Successful State, Territory and international cooperation were very significant features of the performance in 2005–06, whether to do with critical infrastructure protection or legal frameworks.

At the same time very important groundwork was completed to ensure the Division is able to meet the challenges of the coming year. Most notable was Budget funding for an expanded capacity in the area of telecommunications and surveillance law, where technological and industry changes and international standards have added to the challenges involved in appropriately regulating this area of activity.

Major achievements

The anti-terrorism legislation was prepared in time to enable the Government to meet its pre-Christmas timetable. We worked with the States and Territories to provide for complementary, consistent and timely legislation under their laws. All States and Territories had prepared relevant legislation at the time of reporting.

We developed the Critical Infrastructure Protection Modelling and Analysis capability to the stage where it was able to be launched by the Attorney-General in February 2006. The capability is based on a set of linked computer models to support business and government decision making for critical infrastructure protection, counter-terrorism and emergency management. Proof of concept demonstrations under the program attracted participation by 150 senior business and government representatives.

We assisted and contributed to important reviews, namely the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) relating to the terrorism-related questioning and detention powers of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the Security Legislation Review Committee (the SLRC), and the Review of the Regulation of Access to Communications (the Blunn Review).

We provided support on cooperative Government and business initiatives focused on the protection of mass gatherings. This included a property CEO security forum organised by the Property Council of Australia where the Mass Gatherings Infrastructure Assurance Advisory Group launched its business plan.

We assisted with the development of new counter-terrorism and international legal cooperation legislative projects in the south-east Asian region, working with officials in Cambodia and Vietnam and assisting with the drafting of counter-terrorism legislation.

We continued to provide policy advice on security-related matters, including specific terrorism cases within and outside Australia.

We facilitated industry briefings on the terrorist threat, including providing Risk Context Statements which are an authoritative guide on how to incorporate terrorism into security planning. In collaboration with other Australian Government departments and agencies, briefings on the terrorist threat and accompanying Risk Context Statements have been completed for the telecommunications and postal; aviation, maritime, surface transport; oil and gas; water storage, treatment and distribution and waste water; and health laboratories sectors.

We developed a funding agreement with Standards Australia to produce an integrated security standards framework which will support the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to secure their assents.

Performance measures

TIMELY AND SOUND ADVICE PROVIDED TO MEET THE MINISTER'S AND THE GOVERNMENT'S TIMETABLE

The Division provided legal advice and numerous briefings to the Government on developments in domestic and international counter-terrorism, including the bombings in London in July 2005 and developments in counter-terrorism of international partners, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Europe.

We provided timely advice on developments on terrorism cases and national security related laws both within and outside Australia. This has included a very considerable amount of information for the community, international bodies and members of Parliament.

The Division participated in a review of the E-Security National Agenda. The review was undertaken to ensure that Australia's policy and operational framework is responsive to the changing e-security environment now and well into the future and will be an important source of advice to Government.

We advised on the development of a Security Cooperation Program between the Australian Government and Microsoft that was signed in April 2006. This agreement also allows State and Territory governments to participate and has assisted the Australian Government in developing better IT security relationships with the State and Territory governments.

We also advised on the development of and signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) outlining the relationship between the two organisations. This was an important step towards strengthening relations between the Australian Government and AusCERT and is expected to enable arrangements for future work to be settled.

We provided legal and policy advice to the Government on a number of reviews of national security and counter-terrorism legislative frameworks. These were:

We provided timely advice in submissions to the Australian Law Reform Commission's Review of Sedition Laws, which commenced on 2 March 2006 and has since reported. The report is expected to be tabled in September 2006.

We advised on the development of a funding agreement between the Department and Standards Australia to produce an integrated security standards framework which will support the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to secure their assets. We also finalised and distributed the NCTC National Guidelines for Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Terrorism to stakeholders and members of the Trusted Information Sharing Network.

GOVERNMENT'S LEGISLATION REQUIREMENTS MET

We achieved very significant changes to national security and counter-terrorism related laws and met the requirements of the Government.

Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 and Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005

As mentioned above, these Bills were unscheduled and prepared over a short period of time. This legislation was endorsed as a concept by the Council of Australian Governments on 27 September 2005, introduced into the House of Representatives on 2 and 3 November 2005 and enacted on 3 November and 14 December 2005 respectively. The legislation introduced new concepts such as control orders and preventative detention for people who have not been arrested or charged for offences but are proven to constitute a risk to the community. It also included improvements to terrorism offences and national security offences like sedition and enhanced some police and ASIO powers.

UN Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection

In October 2004, the Government announced its intention to sign and implement the UN Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection (Montreal, 1 March 1991). To implement the Government's obligations under the Convention, we drafted the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (Marking of Plastic Explosives) Bill 2006. We also appeared before the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) and prepared a National Interest Analysis on the Convention's impact upon Australia. We consulted with and provided advice to private- and public-sector stakeholders on the Convention and the impact of implementing it. JSCOT is expected to table its report on the Convention in the second half of 2006.

ASIO terrorism-related powers

We ensured that the Government's response to the PJCIS report on ASIO's terrorism-related questioning and detention powers was implemented by relevant and timely legislation. The ASIO Legislation Amendment Act 2006 ensures that rights are protected and safeguards are enhanced in a way that does not undermine the regime's fundamental purpose.

This legislation also ensures that the questioning and detention powers will continue for 10 years beyond the July 2006 sunset period. This was important in view of the Committee's recognition, and the Government's view, that the powers have yielded valuable information and are proving to be a useful tool in the fight against terrorism.

Telecommunications interception

The Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment (Stored Communications) Act 2004, which exempted stored communications (such as emails or SMS messages) from the prohibition against interception, was originally due to expire on 14 December 2005. To allow us to take into consideration the recommendations of the Blunn Review, the Act was amended to extend the sunset clause until 14 June 2006.

Within the extended time frame, we were able to draft amending legislation that implements many of the Blunn Review recommendations, and the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Act 2006 became law on 3 May 2006. The amendments in this Act strengthen the role of intercepting agencies and prohibit accessing stored communications from a telecommunications carrier, subject to a new stored communications warrant regime.

The Department is considering and consulting on other recommendations from the Blunn Review and further legislative amendments.

POLICIES RECOGNISE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF STAKEHOLDERS

We continued to expand the comprehensive legislative regime to combat terrorism and strengthen Australia's national security. Each piece of legislation was subject to extensive parliamentary scrutiny, offering stakeholders the opportunity to make public submissions.

As part of providing secretariat support to the Blunn Review, the Department ensured that all key stakeholders were consulted. This included law enforcement and national security agencies, members of the telecommunications industry, privacy advocates, oversight agencies (including the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security) and other interested government agencies, including the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority. These groups were also consulted during the implementation of the Blunn Review recommendations.

In developing counter-terrorism laws and particularly the Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 and the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005, the Security Law Branch consulted with States and Territory governments to ensure that the principles and objectives of agreements made by COAG were met. We also addressed many issues raised by the community in submissions to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee. The Security Law Branch prepared three substantial submissions to the Committee and appeared before the Committee on two occasions.

We worked in close partnership with industry on critical infrastructure protection issues. The objective of this partnership was to ensure that the owners and operators of critical infrastructure could meet their responsibility to protect their employees, customers and shareholders from the impact of an incident — be it a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, criminal activity, or from human error. The strong relationship of mutual trust and cooperation that has been established raised awareness of security matters, provided businesses with better information on risk management and business continuity issues, and removed impediments to good security practice. As a result of this work, business has become an integral part of the national response to the new security environment. Examples are as follows:

POLICIES PROVIDE SOLUTIONS FOR, AND RECOGNISE AN APPROPRIATE BALANCE OF, COMPETING INTERESTS

In its work on Australia's counter-terrorism and national security legislative framework, the Department continued to be conscious of the need to protect the community from the threat of terrorism without unnecessarily encroaching on the rights and liberties of individual Australians.

Working with Criminal Law Branch, we provided legal and policy input into the formulation of appropriate secrecy provisions in new legislation. We ensured that such provisions were necessary and applied to identifiable persons and information, and that they were consistent with policy requirements in relation to burden of proof, penalties and access to information through court proceedings.

In providing the Government with advice on listing of a terrorist organisation, the Security Law Branch considered the strict legal criteria under the Criminal Code Act 1995 as well as the implications and impacts of such a listing on the community and, in particular, on certain groups of Australians.

The Department recognises the many conflicting interests surrounding agency access to telecommunications content. It is committed to consulting with all relevant parties to ensure that its policies represent a balance between the needs of agencies and the privacy of Australians, as well as a balance between agencies' ability to effectively perform their functions and any obligations on the telecommunications industry.

The Division was also involved with the NCTC Working Group that developed the National Approach for the Protection of Places of Mass Gathering from Terrorism.

In March 2006, the Attorney-General announced a review of Australia's e-security arrangements. The online landscape has changed significantly since the last review was undertaken in September 2001. This review will contribute to new policies and better security e-strategies to ensure that Australia can deal with constantly evolving cyber threats.

COMMONWEALTH INTERESTS IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC FORUMS ARE EFFECTIVELY LED, COORDINATED AND REPRESENTED

During 2005–06, we advised a range of clients on the operation and interpretation of other legislation related to national security and counter-terrorism. We provided numerous briefs to the Ministers and officers of the Department for domestic and international discussions and forums in the areas of counter-terrorism and national security, in particular on Australia's legislative reforms and the David Hicks matter.

We represented the Government at domestic forums in major cities and regional centres to explain the provisions of the 2005 anti-terrorism legislation and the amendments to the 'call-out' provisions of Part IIIAAA of the Defence Act 1903.

We assisted the International Commission of Jurists during their review of Australia's counter-terrorism laws as part of their global examination of counter-terrorism measures and provided support to the Government's consultations with the COAG on the development and implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 and the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005.

The National Counter-Terrorism Committee Legal Issues Subcommittee (NCTC LISC) was set up to ensure a nationally consistent approach to counter-terrorism legal issues and legislation, and to provide advice to the Australian Government and State and Territory governments at the time of a terrorist incident. The NCTC LISC is chaired by the First Assistant Secretary of the Security and Critical Infrastructure Division, and the Division provided input and assistance to the Committee.

We completed a project to assist Cambodia with drafting comprehensive counter-terrorism legislation to implement obligations under the international counter-terrorism conventions and related protocols, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

We provided a three-day workshop for Vietnamese officials on drafting extradition, mutual assistance and international transfer of prisoners legislation to strengthen Vietnam's international legal cooperation capabilities.

We coordinated a three-day Regional Counter-Terrorism Training Workshop on Practical Aspects of International Cooperation in Indonesia, which was attended by over 60 legal and law enforcement officers from 22 countries.

We played a leading role in coordinating the work of the Bali Legal Issues Working Group to improve the efficiency of international legal cooperation in the region and encourage implementation of obligations under the international counter-terrorism instruments.

We completed an AusAID-funded scoping mission to consider police reform in Cambodia.

We participated in the inaugural United States – Japan – Australia Trilateral Counter-Terrorism discussions in Washington DC aimed at coordinating counter-terrorism efforts in south-east Asia.

The Agency Co-ordinator, a statutory position created under the Telecommunications Act 1997 but located within the Department, continued to serve as the first point of contact both for intercepting agencies and for members of the telecommunications industry. The Agency Co-ordinator chaired quarterly meetings of the Interception Consultative Committee, of which the Australian intercepting agencies are members. This forum provides information for the Department on current issues and presents an effective opportunity to consult with and communicate developments to the agencies.

The Department also met regularly with representatives of other like-minded countries to discuss common issues facing enforcement and security agencies in the field of telecommunications interception. This included chairing a twice-yearly forum to ensure that legal policy issues relating to accessing telecommunications information can be addressed on a global scale.

In December 2005, the Critical Infrastructure Protection Branch led an Australian Government delegation in meetings with representatives from the US Department of Homeland Security and three National Laboratories on CIP modelling and analysis. These meetings have led to further engagement with the United States and both nations are benefiting from the sharing of modelling and analysis methodologies.

We designed and managed the Australian participation in Cyber Storm 06, an international cyber security exercise led by the US Department of Homeland Security. This allowed Australian Government agencies to test their response and information-sharing arrangements. Bilateral discussions were held with the United States in May 2006 and gave us a valuable opportunity to exchange information and ideas. The discussions focused on key areas such as water supply security, science and technology exchange and protecting places of mass gathering. It was clear from the talks that Australia is at the forefront of critical infrastructure thinking. The Division is also engaged with agencies in the United Kingdom to discuss the latest strategies and thinking about how places of mass gathering can be protected.

We worked with AusCERT on projects to provide training on the operations of Computer Emergency Response Teams in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. These projects were funded by AusAID and the Department. A similar project, funded by APEC and the Department, to deliver training in selected APEC economies, was delivered in Mexico, with further training to be delivered next year in Chile and Peru.

We participated in the Australian delegation to the Second Indo-Australian Conference on IT Security, 'National Information Infrastructure Protection: The emerging imperative', held in Chennai, India.

We represented the Australian Government in various international forums on IT security issues, including meetings of APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group in Korea and Canada.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ARE EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINED, IMPLEMENTED AND APPLIED

We answered a large volume of correspondence from members of the public on a range of counter-terrorism and national security issues, in particular on:

We provided information on counter-terrorism and national security issues, including legislation, for the Department's website and, in particular, for the updated National Security web site at <www.nationalsecurity.gov.au>.

The upgraded national security web site

The upgraded national security web site

We drafted pamphlets in several languages explaining the essential features of the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) to help all Australians understand this important legislation.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was listed as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Regulations 2002 on 15 December 2005, bringing the total number of listed terrorist organisations to 19. The listing of the PKK and the reasons for it are available on the National Security web site.

Under the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2), only an 'issuing authority' can extend a preventative detention order beyond an initial 24-hour period. We led the project of appointing 33 issuing authorities across a number of jurisdictions including federal magistrates, Supreme Court judges and members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This project is continuing.

We continued work on Australia's accession to the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection (Montreal, March 1991). As part of that process, we consulted with public- and private-sector interests and provided clarification to them on issues concerning the Convention, the provisions in the draft legislation, and other factors impacting upon the implementation of the Convention. On behalf of the Government, we appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties and responded to enquiries from the Committee on aspects of the Convention and its implementation.

We participated in seminars in regional and major centres explaining the Government's policies in areas of national security and counter-terrorism and, in particular, the 2005 anti-terrorism laws and the operation of the 'call-out' provisions provided by the amendments to Part IIIAAA of the Defence Act 1903.

Following passage of the NSI Act, we prepared explanatory guidelines for stakeholders explaining the operation, procedures and effect of the Act, particularly on the handling and disclosure of classified or security-sensitive information in federal criminal and civil proceedings in both the hearing and pre-hearing contexts. These guidelines will be circulated in the second half of 2006.

The Blunn Review has led to several significant new aspects in the telecommunications interception and access regime. To ensure that Australian agencies and members of the telecommunications industry understand their roles and responsibilities, the Department spoke to representatives of the industry and agencies and prepared a series of information sheets.

A key function of the TISN is to work closely with businesses that own and operate critical infrastructure to ensure Australian Government policies and initiatives are responsive to business needs. The Division consulted with stakeholders and explained critical infrastructure policies through a number of ways such as the TISN and Secure TISN Websites, CIP Newsletters and participation in a range of conferences and seminars.

The Critical Infrastructure Protection Modelling and Analysis (CIPMA) Development Team, consisting of this Department, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, worked closely with critical infrastructure owners and operators to ensure the model accurately reflects the nature of existing critical infrastructure and is capable of meeting the program's objectives.

In response to feedback from business, the scope of the CNVA program was broadened to make the program more attractive to critical infrastructure owners and operators.

The Division worked closely with event managers and owners and operators of places of mass gathering to ensure that they recognise the dynamic nature of the terrorist threat and are responsive to changes in the security environment.

The Business Government Advisory Group on National Security (BGAG) provides business leaders with a direct opportunity to provide advice and feedback to the Government on security issues. Issues discussed at the BGAG meeting in August 2005 included licensing and regulation of the private security industry, identity security, and business involvement in counter-terrorism arrangements for places of mass gathering.

The Division continued to engage with the research community through the Research Network for a Secure Australia to contribute to innovative thinking on critical infrastructure protection issues.

Evaluations/reviews

Review of counter-terrorism legislation: Security Legislation Review Committee

On 12 October 2005, the Attorney-General announced the establishment of the Security Legislation Review Committee (SLRC). The SLRC was chaired by retired NSW Supreme Court Judge, Hon Simon Sheller AO QC. The members of the SLRC included the Human Rights Commissioner, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, the Privacy Commissioner, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, representatives from the Law Council of Australia and a nominee appointed by the Attorney-General.

The SLRC was established pursuant to section 4(1) of the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002 (SLAT Act), as amended by the Criminal Code Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2003.

Section 4 of the SLAT Act requires the Attorney-General to cause a public and independent review of the operation, effectiveness and implications of amendments made by the following security Acts relating to terrorism:

The SLRC began its review on 21 October 2005. It conducted Australia-wide public hearings and received submissions from members of the public. It provided a written report to the Attorney-General and the PJCIS on 21 April 2006. The SLRC report was tabled in Parliament on 15 June 2006.

The Security Law Branch advised the Government on the establishment of the SLRC and the Committee's secretariat, and prepared detailed submissions to the SLRC. We also provided advice to the Government on the recommendations of the report.

The SLRC report acknowledged the need for separate security legislation:

The Security Legislation Review Committee (SLRC) acknowledges that an appropriate balance must be struck between, on the one hand, the need to protect the community from terrorist activity, and on the other hand, the maintenance of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The SLRC is satisfied that, in addition to the general criminal law, separate security legislation is necessary.

The SLRC report made many recommendations, including on the process of listing terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code, offences under the Criminal Code, and the fault elements and burdens of proof applying to certain offences. It also recommended greater consultation with the public and, in particular, with the Muslim and Arab communities.

The SLRC report is available on the Department's web site. The Government is considering the recommendations.

Review of counter-terrorism legislation: The Australian Law Reform Commission Review of Sedition Laws

On 1 March 2006, the Attorney-General referred the Commonwealth's sedition laws in Schedule 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005 and Part IIA of the Crimes Act 1914 to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) for inquiry and report. The ALRC was due to report no later than 30 May 2006.

We provided a submission to and held consultations with the ALRC following the release of its discussion paper in May 2006.

We will further contribute to the ALRC's review into sedition and consider its final report, which is expected to be released in mid-2006.

Review of the regulation of access to communications

Mr Anthony Blunn AO was appointed by the Attorney-General to consider the stored communications regime introduced in December 2004 by the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment (Stored Communications) Act 2004.

Mr Blunn presented his report to the Attorney-General on 30 August 2005 and it was tabled in Parliament on 14 September 2005.

Mr Blunn found that the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 has proved remarkably robust in an age of revolutionary technological change. He recommended that the distinction between the interception of communications in real time and retrospective access to communications that are stored should remain, although he recommended that some elements of that distinction be improved. Mr Blunn also made a number of other recommendations designed to strengthen the ability of Australian law enforcement and national security agencies to perform their functions.

Development of counter-terrorism legislation during 2005–06

The real opportunity we have is to continuously improve our capability to ensure we stay one or more steps ahead of terrorists, and make Australia's counter-terrorism capability as robust and effective as possible.

— Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, 12 July 2005

In each of the first five years of the 21st century, a terrorist attack involving Australia or Australian interests abroad was either disrupted, aborted or carried out, according to Dennis Richardson the former head of Australia's Security Intelligence Organisation, speaking in May 2005 — two months before the terrorist bombings of 7 July 2005 in London. This includes the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, which together killed close to one hundred Australians.

In order to pursue the lessons learned from the London bombings, the Security Law Branch in the Attorney-General's Department undertook not only a thorough examination of counter-terrorism laws in like-minded countries but also a review of Australia's laws. The aim was to ensure that Australia is in a strong position to prevent new and emerging threats, with the power to stop terrorists from carrying through on their plans.

This process led to the development of the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005 which included new schemes for preventative detention and control orders to enhance the capacity of law enforcement and intelligence authorities to prevent terrorist attacks.

The legislation also extends the powers of the Australian Federal Police to stop, question and search in a terrorist attack and updates sedition laws as well as the Government's ability to list terrorist organisations that advocate terrorist acts.

The counter-terrorism legislation was of the highest priority for the Government, and the Security Law Branch had tough deadlines to meet to ensure the new laws were in place by the end of 2005.

Within this tight deadline, extensive consultation was carried out with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as through intra-governmental forums such as the Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Legal Working Group.

Of particular significance was the excellent and unprecedented federal and State and Territory cooperation achieved through the Legal Issues SubCommittee of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, chaired by Keith Holland, First Assistant Secretary, Security and Critical Infrastructure Division. In addition the Department worked closely with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to support the Council of Australian Governments' consideration of, and agreement to, the new legislative measures.

These recommendations represented the outcome of wide-ranging consultation undertaken by Mr Blunn, with both government and the private sector, with agencies and industry, and with oversight agencies and privacy advocates. In addition, the Department undertook further consultation with each of these groups as part of its implementation of these recommendations, both in developing policy and in drafting legislation. The first series of recommendations was implemented by the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Act 2006. The remaining recommendations are the subject of ongoing government consultation and consideration.

Review of Division 3 of Part III of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) was required (by paragraph 29(1)(bb) of the Intelligence Services Act 2001) to review, by 22 January 2006, the operation, effectiveness and implications of Division 3 of Part III of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (ASIO Act). This division enables ASIO to question — and, in limited circumstances, detain — a person who may have information relating to a terrorism offence.

The PJCIS conducted a comprehensive inquiry, receiving 113 written submissions and holding a number of both public and in-camera hearings. The Department provided assistance throughout the course of the inquiry, including the provision of three written submissions and appearances before the Committee to answer questions.

The PJCIS tabled its report in Parliament on 30 November 2005. The report found that the questioning regime has been useful, and that 'the powers have been used within the bounds of the law and they have been administered in a professional way'. The PJCIS recommended that the powers should continue beyond the sunset period. It made 19 recommendations aimed at improving the operation of the regime within the existing stringent safeguards and accountability mechanisms.

All of the PJCIS's recommendations were closely considered and the Government responded in a way that addressed the Committee's concerns so far as possible. Of the 19 recommendations, the Government decided to accept six, agreed in part to six others, and rejected seven. The ASIO Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 was drafted to give effect to the Government's response, and was introduced into the House of Representatives on 29 March 2006. At the same time, the Government's response to the PJCIS report was also tabled. The legislation was passed by the Senate on 13 June 2006, and received Royal Assent on 19 June 2006.

The amendments will ensure that the powers continue to operate beyond the sunset period ending on 23 July 2006. The other principal features of the amendments are to make clearer and separate the requirements for the two separate warrant regimes (questioning, and questioning and detention), and strengthen and clarify various rights under the regimes in a way that does not undermine its fundamental nature and purpose nor impact unduly on its operation.

Review of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Modelling and Analysis program

During the reporting period, the planning phase of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Modelling and Analysis (CIPMA) program was audited by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The audit report made seven recommendations specific to CIPMA, and four Department-wide general project management recommendations. All have been accepted and progressed.

Challenges

The death of one Australian and the injuries suffered by several others in the London bombings in July 2005 were a reminder of the continuing and real threat of terrorism to all Australians wherever they live or travel and of the need for strong laws designed to protect all Australians from acts of terrorism.

Following the London bombings, the Government reviewed its counter-terrorism legislation and policies and held consultations with the States and Territories through COAG.

The arrest of 22 persons in Melbourne and Sydney in November 2005 was a further reminder of the presence of threats of terrorism in Australia. These persons have now been charged and court proceedings began during 2006.

During the reporting period, the following people were convicted on charges related to national security:

The Security Law Branch monitors the progress of all cases before the courts and has provided assistance and advice in circumstances where the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 has been invoked.

The Regional Legal Assistance Unit (RLAU) did not receive the anticipated number of requests for assistance during 2005–06 due to the lead time needed to inform other countries of the assistance it offers and to arrange for formal assistance requests to be sent at ministerial level. The RLAU has addressed this issue by liaising with diplomatic posts and foreign officials in South-East Asia, participating in regional forums, undertaking a scoping visit to Brunei, Vietnam and Laos to identify assistance requirements, and publishing a brochure on its operations.

Critical infrastructure protection is a complex and constantly evolving field. The challenges for the future will be to remain at the forefront of policy development in order to provide governments with the best possible advice. A key aspect of this is developing the close relationships with business that are essential to produce practical results and outcomes.

The Division will continue to focus on developing a better understanding of dependencies and relationships across the economy and its critical infrastructure. This involves maintaining close relationships with business and the international CIP community, promoting common standards to assist critical infrastructure owners and operators to manage and mitigate risk, and protecting the National Information Infrastructure (NII) from the ever-changing threats that emerge in the electronic environment.

Outlook

We will continue to monitor and review existing legislation in meeting the ongoing demands of the national security environment.

We will continue to monitor and provide advice where required, with respect to terrorism cases currently before the courts.

The Department intends to develop a second stage of implementation of the recommendations of the Blunn Review during the next financial year. These amendments will address many of those issues that required further consideration and that were unable to be addressed in the short time frame required by the sunset clause that applied to the 2004 stored communications amendments.

The Department has been given additional funding to take a more pro-active role in formulating responses to the challenges facing agency access to communications engendered by the development of new and emerging technologies. A major initiative for the Department during the next financial year will be the consideration and implementation of new policies designed to ensure that agencies' investigative ability is not hampered by these developments.

We will:

We will continue to lead Australia's accession to the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection, following introduction of the implementing Bill by the Government.

We will coordinate the domestic implementation and ratification of the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf (Fixed Platforms Protocol) and two protocols amending the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention).

We will assist the Government in its responses to the ALRC's Review of Sedition Laws and to the Security Legislation Review Committee.

The Division will continue to provide the owners and operators of critical infrastructure with the information, knowledge and tools they need to understand the security environment, and to make informed decisions to meet their specific security needs and objectives. This work will reinforce the importance of security considerations in business planning. To do this we will continue building a dialogue with business through a range of consultative mechanisms, such as the TISN. For example:

As part of its 'all hazards' approach to protecting critical infrastructure the TISN will be utilised to assist the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to develop and implement effective business continuity plans to deal with the impacts of an influenza pandemic.

Output 2.3

Provide national leadership in the development of emergency management measures to reduce risk to communities and manage the consequences of disasters

Performance overview

Output 2.3 is the responsibility of Emergency Management Australia (EMA). Through EMA, the Department focuses on the emergency management aspects of community safety, helping to ensure a coordinated federal criminal justice, security and emergency management activities for a safer Australia.

Major achievements

Tropical Cyclone Larry — The National Emergency Management Coordination Centre (NEMCC) operated extended hours to coordinate the Australian Government response to aid the recovery effort in the cyclone-affected area of Far North Queensland. We deployed four Emergency Management Liaison Officers (EMLO) to the Queensland State Disaster Coordination Centre, and a Recovery Liaison Officer (RLO) to Cairns to aid the Queensland Department of Communities in providing a coordinated recovery effort.

Java earthquake — The Attorney-General approved the deployment of surgical, medical and public health teams to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, under the authority of the Australian Government Overseas Disaster Assistance Plan (AUSASSISTPLAN). The teams worked in close cooperation with AusAID, the Department of Health and Ageing, State and Territory agencies, and the Indonesian Government.

East Timor unrest — On 24 May, Australia received a formal written request for military assistance from the Government of East Timor. Australian Defence Force flights evacuated 948 people to Darwin. EMA deployed EMLOs to Darwin to aid in the coordination of Australian Government agencies within the reception centre.

Solomon Islands unrest — The Australian Government provided assistance to Australians and other approved non-nationals who wished to voluntarily leave Solomon Islands. We sent EMLOs to Townsville and Brisbane to coordinate reception arrangements with Queensland officials. Of the 156 persons to depart voluntarily from Solomon Islands, 84 were Australian citizens.

Exercise Pacific Wave 2006 — In May 2006, Exercise Pacific Wave was conducted. EMA led the planning for the exercise which simulated a tsunami warning for countries across the Pacific. The exercise was highly successful. We received positive feedback and recognition of our work on the planning and conduct of the exercise from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

APEC Pandemic Response Exercise 2006 – The exercise was conducted in June 2006 to test regional responses and communication networks as part of Australia's commitment to implementing the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation Initiative on Preparing for and Mitigating an Influenza Pandemic. This initiative requires APEC countries to ensure effective surveillance, transparency and openness, and involves close domestic, regional and international coordination and collaboration. EMA was an important and active participant in this exercise.

Responding to disaster — Tropical Cyclone Larry and EMA

On 20 March 2006, severe Tropical Cyclone Larry crossed the north Queensland coast over Innisfail with a core wind speed of 290 kilometres an hour. The cyclone – a Category 5, the highest rating issued by the Bureau of Meteorology — took only minutes to cause extensive damage to homes, buildings and local plantations. Sugarcane, pawpaw and rambutan crops were destroyed, and some 90 per cent of the region's banana production was wiped out. The impact on the local community and the Australian economy was significant.

In the aftermath, electricity supply to the area was severely disrupted. Flooding prevented road and rail access for days. When the Queensland Government requested assistance under the Australian Government Disaster Response Plan, Emergency Management Australia took up the important role of coordinating the Government's response.

To do this, EMA convened the Australian Government Counter-Disaster Task Force, made up of representatives from numerous government departments and agencies.

EMA personnel were actively involved in the response effort at an operational level. The National Emergency Management Coordination Centre in Canberra operated on extended hours over nine days, and 20 EMA officers helped maintain 24-hour operations at the centre over a five-day period. Liaisons officers were also sent to Brisbane and Cairns to work with Queensland officials.

By 30 March 2006, the Attorney-General had approved 37 requests for assistance. Defence personnel were deployed to work on the ground. Valuable resources — food and water, tarpaulins, portable showers and sanitation facilities along with generators, communications equipment, satellite imagery and milking machines — were dispatched to the locations most in need.

The success of the response to Cyclone Larry illustrates EMA's ability to coordinate an efficient multi-agency response and recovery effort.

Aftermath of Cyclone Larry

Aftermath of Cyclone Larry

Augmented Australasian Police Ministers' Council — The Council held a special meeting in April 2006 to consider the Report of the review of Australia's ability to respond to and recover from catastrophic disasters. The Council endorsed the review in principle, and agreed to submit it to COAG for endorsement. The Council also agreed that the outstanding recommendations from the COAG Natural Disasters Review and the COAG Bushfire Inquiry should be consolidated with the recommendations of the Catastrophic Disasters Review into a single program.

Review of Australian Government emergency management arrangements — We chaired a working group to support the Inter-Departmental Committee Review of the Government's High-Level Emergency/Crisis Management Frameworks. This working group examined all Australian Government plans and arrangements in order to assess the Government's contribution to emergency management in Australia. Recommendations were developed and are being implemented to enhance current arrangements.

Australian Government Emergency Management Policy Forum — The forum was held in April 2006 to consider gaps and emerging trends in emergency management, to discuss national priorities for a more strategic approach to investment in the national capability, and to strengthen the Australian Government's relationships with stakeholders. EMA will chair the forum, which will meet regularly.

Performance measures

A STRATEGIC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK AGENDA IS DEVELOPED

We have continued to develop a national strategic emergency management policy framework. We initiated and chaired forums that focused on specific emergency management issues, investment in innovation, and identification of strategies addressing current and future risk, and a changing security environment and natural disaster report directed by COAG and Federal Parliament.

The Australian Emergency Management Committee met in August 2005 and February 2006, and a special meeting of the Augmented Australasian Police Ministers' Council took place in April 2006.

The meetings considered a range of strategic issues:

We also chaired the National Urban Search and Rescue Working Group and the National CBRN Working Group and provided secretariat support to the National Community Safety Working Group and the Remote Indigenous Community Advisory Committee.

As a member of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, we continue to progress the work of the Committee through the NCTC forward work program, and have completed considerable work in the development of the National Urban Search and Rescue Capability.

The Report of the review of Australia's ability to respond to and recover from catastrophic disasters was completed.

We undertook a review of the national emergency management arrangements.

We established an Australian Government Emergency Management Forum.

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SECTOR STAKEHOLDERS ARE EFFECTIVELY DEVELOPED AND MAINTAINED

We have continued to build effective relationships in the emergency management sector with State and Territory emergency management organisations, volunteers, private enterprise, the media and the Australian public.

We produce the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) with the involvement of emergency-sector partners both as content contributors and as members of the editorial advisory committee. March 2006 marked 20 years of production of the AJEM, which began in 1986 as a six-page newsletter titled The Macedon Digest. It has developed over the years into a robust, forthright and independent forum for the expression of views on emergency management. A 20th anniversary special issue was produced in February 2006 to acknowledge this milestone. Apart from its inclusion on the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) Register of Refereed Journals, AJEM is indexed by the National Library of Australia's Australian Public Affairs Information Service (APAIS) and AGIS. AJEM is also available through RMIT Publishing — Informit.

Partnerships with educational institutions and sectors of industry concerned with emergency management added value to the outcomes of our education and training programs. The EMA Graduate Certificate and Senior Executive Programs are delivered in partnership with RMIT University. This relationship enables graduates of EMA programs to receive credits towards RMIT's MBA and similar recognition from MBAs at the University of Melbourne and Southern Cross University. Separate arrangements have been negotiated with Charles Sturt University for advanced standing in their Masters in Emergency Management program. Partnerships with emergency management agencies enable us to secure visiting lecturers to provide a valuable industry context for EMA's competency based programs.

We maintain a strong relationship with emergency management stakeholders through the Australian Emergency Management Committee. The Committee holds formal meetings twice yearly. It is also convened regularly by teleconference and whenever an incident warrants it. For example, the Committee convened to discuss responses to tropical Cyclone Larry and the Java earthquake.

MORE EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SECTOR STAKEHOLDERS ARE BUILT

In collaboration with the Planning Institute of Australia, we developed a course in risk-based land use planning. This program is contributing to a greater understanding of emergency risk management within local government planning departments. The Planning Institute of Australia has agreed to award continuing professional development points to graduates.

The Department was a major contributor in the development of the Australian Disaster Information Network Portal (AusDIN), a multi-agency initiative that establishes a national knowledge and information network of people and systems to serve the emergency management community in the Australian region. AusDIN has been online since June 2006 and can be found at <http://www.ausdin.gov.au>.

EMA library hosted the Australasian Libraries in the Emergency Sector (ALIES) Workshop in April 2006. ALIES is a key information network in the wider Australasian emergency management context and is currently comprised of 32 libraries and information centres. The workshop's theme was 'Disasters, terrorism, corruption, crime … a librarian's role in uncertain times'. The workshop provided the opportunity for stakeholders to discuss, plan and implement strategies for information sharing across the emergency management sector in Australia and internationally. The library maintains and develops relationships with emergency management sector stakeholders and is an active contributor to AusDIN.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY IS ENHANCED

EMA completed the purchase and delivery of $12 million of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) equipment for States and Territories under the National USAR Equipment Purchase program. The USAR Request for Tender (RFT) was released on AusTender in May 2006. This tender process is being used to procure equipment that has been identified by the National Urban Search and Rescue Working Group (NUSARWG) as necessary in establishing a minimum national USAR capability. This project is forecast to be completed by June 2009. To date, $2.9 million worth of directly sourced equipment has been provided to state and territory emergency response organisations.

EMA established a cache of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in preparation for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The cache consisted of 300 sets of PPE consisting of respirators, protective clothing and associated items and was located at RAAF Base Williams during the Games as a precautionary measure. The cache of equipment is compatible with CBRN First Responder PPE provided to all States and Territories under the CBRN enhancement program which concluded in June 2006. The cache is warehoused in Mitchell, ACT, packaged for rapid transport, and would be available to support State and Territory CBRN operations where State and Territory resources may be exhausted following a CBRN incident.

The successful 2004–05 Emergo-train research and innovation project resulted in two State/Territory funded training programs in 2005–06 to train 40 health department personnel from across Australia to become senior instructors in the Emergo-train exercise management system, enhancing the capability of hospitals to exercise their emergency management plans. Our 2005–06 research and innovation program targeted recovery management:

EMA's training program for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) aims to enhance critical leadership and decision-making skills needed in times of uncertainty. During the year, two sessions were delivered to a total of 38 members of the SES from the Australian Government and State and Territory governments.

EMA conducted activities for staff of government agencies on a fee-for-service basis to enhance their emergency management capability. Services were delivered at client locations and included designing and conducting exercises, facilitating emergency planning processes and conducting debriefs. Training included an emergency planning program for 20 State Emergency Service regional officers in Victoria, an Emergency Coordination Centre Program for 15 multi-agency personnel for Fire and Emergency Services in Western Australia and two senior officers command-and-control courses for police and fire personnel on behalf of Queensland Fire and Rescue Services.

EMA also provided training through the EMA Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management. The first group of 20 candidates for the certificate graduated in May 2006. Participants presented the outcomes of their research projects at a workshop that preceded the graduation ceremony. The projects addressed a broad range of topics and were of a very high standard.

We improved access for remote clients to the resources of EMA's library in 2005. The library's website was enhanced to include a selection of topical bibliographies as well as online library membership applications and information request forms. Free access to full text databases was also made available to library members based in Australia. Information on a full range of library services can be found at <http://www.ema.gov.au/library>.

THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING RESILIENT AND SAFER SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES IS FACILITATED

Schools — We undertook a national audit to identify gaps in existing school curricula and resource materials relating to hazards and emergency preparedness. The audit was an important step in developing a clear understanding of the needs of the Australian education system. As a result of this audit, revised education material was developed and distributed, and we are set to establish a School Education Advisory Group, which will be made up of representatives from both the education and emergency management sectors.

Business continuity — We developed the first nationally accredited training course for business continuity management in 2004–05. Delivered in partnership with experienced consultants who authored the Standards Australia Guidelines for Business Continuity Management, the program aims to enable organisations to prepare for and recover from disaster. Two programs were successfully delivered during 2005–06 to 40 participants from Australian Government, State and Territory governments, Local Government and organisations managing critical infrastructure

Winners in the 2005 Volunteers in Action Photographic Competition

Winners in the 2005 Volunteers in Action Photographic Competition proudly show their award certificates.

From left are David Templeman, Director-General of Emergency Management Australia; Barry Smith (Highly Commended Professional Category); Will Russell (Highly Commended Professional Category); Attorney-General Philip Ruddock; Ashley Hosking (Highly Commended Volunteer Category; Gloria Bruzzone, Noosa Coast Guard, who featured in the winning professional entry; Geoff Potter (Winner Professional Category); and Keith Pakenham (Winner Volunteer Category). Bronwyn Hastings (Highly Commended Volunteer Category) could not attend the presentation.

Communities — The 2005 National Safer Communities Awards were presented by the Attorney-General. The awards highlight the benefits for the Australian community of a wide range of cooperative and innovative projects dealing with complex community issues relating to emergency management. The participation of the insurance industry in a number of the award-winning projects underscored the excellent partnerships being established between private enterprise and the emergency management sector. Participation by the local government sector in the awards was encouraging, with four of the 13 awards directly involving municipalities.

Bushfires — We launched the National Bushfire Awareness and Preparedness campaign in October 2005. The campaign was part of a Government announcement in September 2004. The campaign delivered a national, high-level overarching message on bushfire awareness and the need for bushfire preparedness in the community. The campaign was devised with strong support from State and Territory bushfire agencies as well as relevant stakeholders, including Australian Government agencies and peak bushfire bodies. This Australian Government campaign complements State and Territory efforts in community bushfire awareness and preparedness.

Evaluations/reviews

The Emergency Management Australia Institute at Mt Macedon Victoria, a registered training authority, undertook a consultative review with stakeholders between February and June 2006 on its education and training programs and services. The review aimed to gauge the level of satisfaction and relevance of programs and services in a changing emergency management environment. It identified a number of areas for improvement, including:

The implementation of the outcomes from the review will be submitted to the Australian Emergency Management Committee for consideration.

Challenges

International natural disasters and terrorist events have led government and the community to ask whether Australia has the capacity to manage such events. Our planning for 2006–07 gives high priority to ensuring that plans and arrangements for managing emergencies are robust, flexible and sufficient to meet Australia's needs. Building national capacity and capability in emergency management at all levels of government continues to be a major priority.

Current emergency management policy requires revision to incorporate the recommendations of the COAG Natural Disasters Review, better respond to the present security environment and reflect a major shift toward community self-reliance. The revised emergency management policy will need to be premised on three main themes: collaboration between all levels of government; community preparedness, cooperation and self-reliance; and an 'all hazards' approach to emergency management.

There is also a need to put in place an overarching whole-of-government Australian Emergency Plan dealing with arrangements to enable us to manage catastrophes. We began work on the plan in 2005–06 with the aim of having it agreed nationally late in 2006.

Australia is taking a leading role in the Asia–Pacific region's response to avian influenza. Emergency management will be part of Australia's forward defence against an outbreak and will support Australia's domestic strategy and planning. Emergency management in the context of a health emergency, to date, has been managed mostly at the State and Territory level. EMA will be working on developing a national approach for the role of emergency management in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Outlook

Australian Emergency Plan — A major task will be to complete the Augmented Australasian Police Ministers' Council resolution to develop the Australian Emergency Plan, including a National Catastrophic Disaster Response Plan. The Australian Emergency Management Committee's Australian Emergency Plan Working Group will address this task.

National Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Security Strategy — The strategy will need to be agreed to by the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and presented to COAG in December 2006.

Urban search and rescue equipment — We are responsible for the purchase and delivery of $12 million of equipment for States and Territories under the National Urban Search and Rescue Equipment Purchase program.

Education and training — Based on a national review and consultation on needs, we will develop and begin implementing a revised education and training program at Mt Macedon.

'Working Together to Manage Emergencies' program — We will review the program and propose a future direction for it.

National mass casualty transport arrangements — We will complete a report on these arrangements. This will be done in parallel with establishing deployable mortuary services for use nationwide.

Emergency Management Policy Forum — An important objective is to see that the priorities of the Australian Government and those of State and Territory governments align over time in order to deliver a joint approach to emergency management and provide a more strategic approach to investment in the national capability. To achieve this, the Department will continue to support the Australian Government Emergency Management Policy Forum. It will also establish a similar forum at the State and Territory level to discuss national priorities in emergency management.

Review of the Public Safety Training Package — As part of this review, the Public Safety Industry Advisory Committee of Sector of Government Skills Australia will oversee the review of national emergency management competency standards. EMA will contribute to the review of these standards. The reviewed standards will be presented to the National Quality Council of DEST for endorsement.

Output 2.4

Development and promotion of protective security policy advice and common standards and practices; the coordination of protective security services, including counter-terrorism and dignitary protection; the provision of security for special events; the development of counter-terrorism capabilities; and the coordination of national security crises and information through the Watch Office and National Security Hotline

Performance overview

Output 2.4 is the responsibility of the Protective Security Coordination Centre (PSCC). The PSCC manages the Australian Government's protective security responsibilities and provides whole-of-government coordination to prevent, or respond to, threats to Australia's national security. All branches of the PSCC continued to ensure high standards of coordination and services on national security issues throughout the reporting period.

On behalf of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NCTC), the PSCC continued to manage the NCTC operational coordination of Australia's counter-terrorism arrangements. We made a major contribution to improving nationwide counter-terrorism capability by coordinating Australia's largest counter-terrorism exercise, Mercury 05, conducted in October 2005.

The PSCC also coordinated security arrangements on behalf of the Australian Government for 147 visits to Australia by foreign dignitaries that included heads of state, heads of government, royalty, ministers and other officials. We collaborated with key Australian security agencies and other countries to ensure the protection of the Prime Minister and other Australian ministers during their travel overseas.

Protective security was arranged on behalf of the Australian Government for a number of international and national special events, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, ANZAC Day services at Gallipoli and the Bali commemorations. The collaborative approach by Australian and international security agencies ensured these events proceeded without any serious security incident.

The PSCC Watch Office responded to a number of national and international incidents during the reporting period. There was positive feedback from stakeholders in relation to the professionalism, timeliness and quality of advice provided. The National Security Hotline had another busy year with calls peaking following significant terrorism-related incidents or in response to the national security public information campaign.

The PSCC is the Australian Government's whole-of-government security coordinator for Australia's hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in 2007 (APEC 2007). APEC 2007 security planning is progressing well and senior Ministers have been briefed on preparations and have visited a number of APEC 2007 venues.

Major achievements

A safe and secure Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne in March 2006. Along with the work of its taskforce team, the PSCC provided coordination of security arrangements on behalf of the Australian Government for visiting dignitaries, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The security operation for the Games was a huge success and no significant national security incidents occurred.

The PSCC coordinated the whole-of-government security response during the multi-jurisdictional counter-terrorism exercise Mercury 05, demonstrating how effective security policy can be implemented efficiently in an operational context. The aim of Mercury 05 was to practise the national counter-terrorism arrangements in support of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

The annual Security in Government (SIG) Conference was held in May 2006 was the most successful to date. SIG endeavours to provide a platform for discussion on protective security, counter-terrorism and the impact of the current security environment on the Australian community. The theme this year was 'Security and the Australian Community' focusing on the Australian Muslim experience. The conference included an array of Australian and international speakers, plus a number of panel discussions. The conference and trade exhibition also highlighted the latest developments in policy and technology in the protective security environment.

Performance measures

SECURITY ISSUES BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUSTICE AGENCIES WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF AUSTRALIA ARE EFFECTIVELY MANAGED AND COORDINATED

PSCC manages the Australian Government's protective security responsibilities and performs a coordination role in marshalling resources in preventing, or responding to, threats to our national security. It maintains close working relationships with all Australian Government departments and agencies, Federal, State and Territory police services, Premiers' and Chief Ministers' Departments and security agencies to accomplish these functions. Establishing and maintaining these relationships is the cornerstone of PSCC's operations.

PSCC Watch Office — The Watch Office operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It provides a whole-of-government coordination point for national security issues, including terrorism and politically motivated violence. Daily, the Watch Office receives information from a wide range of sources, which it consolidates and disseminates to all relevant Australian Government and State and Territory agencies, including the police and the Australian intelligence community.

In accordance with the National Counter-Terrorism Plan, the Watch Office supports the Special Incident Task Force and the National Crisis Committee through the provision of timely and accurate information to high-level decision makers, as well as with general organisational support.

The Watch Office responded to a number of national and international incidents/events, including the London bombings in July 2005, the Bali bombings in October 2005, the terrorism related arrests in Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005, and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March 2006.

Safe and secure: Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006

In preparation for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Melbourne in March 2006, a team of officers from the Protective Security Coordination Centre co-located with the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts in January 2005 to provide security expertise to the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Taskforce (M2006 taskforce). The role of the PSCC's taskforce team was to coordinate security planning and preparations for the M2006 Games between agencies of the Australian Government and the Victorian Government.

The PSCC security team (three officers) was seconded to the M2006 Taskforce, located in the Burns Centre in Canberra. A fourth PSCC officer was located with Victoria Police in Melbourne. During the games the four PSCC officers were located to Melbourne for the duration of the Games and worked from the Victoria Police Operations Centre.

Along with the work of its taskforce team, the PSCC provided coordination of security arrangements on behalf of the Australian Government for visiting dignitaries, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Additionally, the PSCC Watch Office and National Security Hotline provided security support, issuing security reports twice-daily for the duration of the Games.

In the lead-up to M2006, the PSCC Counter-Terrorism Branch conducted counter-terrorism exercises and training with State and federal agencies that were involved in supporting the event.

Emergency Management Australia was also involved, providing consequence management support for the Games.

The security operation for the M2006 Games was a huge success and no significant national security incidents occurred. The experience gained from this event, along with the cross-government and cross-jurisdictional relationships that have been built, will feed into what will be the largest challenge for the PS CC to date in providing security coordination dignitary protection: the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation to be held in Australia in 2007.

Commonwealth Games Communications Centre

Defence public relations officers Commander Steve Dunning (right) and Major Phil Pyke (left) work alongside Attorney-General's Department public affairs officers Fiona Bokulic and Scott Kelleher in the Commonwealth Games Communications Centre

Photo courtesy of Department of Defence

The Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP

The Attorney-General, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, and Tasmanian Police Commissioner Richard McCreadie address the media before the National Counter-Terrorism Committee Exercise in Tasmania

NCTC exercise and evaluation program — Australia's ability to deal with threats and acts of terrorism will be strengthened further through the NCTC's refocused exercise and evaluation program. The program evaluates the efficiency, effectiveness and appropriateness of Australia's counter-terrorism prevention, response and recovery arrangements within the context of the contemporary security environment. The PSCC coordinates the program on behalf of the NCTC.

A major challenge for the PSCC is managing the relationship with foreign economies taking part in APEC 2007 and building their confidence in Australia's approach to APEC security. A number of successful overseas trips were taken by senior officials to gain a clear understanding of the expectations and experiences of foreign economies when participating in similar major events. APEC 2007 Security Branch representatives visited the United States and the United Kingdom in June 2006 and APEC personnel are also participating in observer visits to Vietnam, the economy responsible for the hosting of APEC 2006.

Mercury 05 — this was Australia's largest multi-jurisdictional counter-terrorism exercise to date. A comprehensive evaluation of the exercise has identified several opportunities to enhance Australia's counterterrorism arrangements. Key areas of future focus include:

The special meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on counter-terrorism on 27 September 2005 agreed that the program be refocused in light of the lessons learned from the July 2005 attacks in London. This refocusing will include regular training exercises in all major Australian cities, focusing on transport infrastructure and other places of mass gathering, to improve Australia's ability to manage mass-casualty incidents. These exercises will involve a broad range of government agencies, local government and the private sector.

National Counter-Terrorism Plan — The National Counter-Terrorism Plan sets out Australia's national counter-terrorism policy and arrangements. In September 2005, COAG endorsed revisions to the plan.

NCTC structures — Following a review of NCTC subcommittee structures, the PSCC has been extensively involved in developing new subcommittee structures and implementing new governance arrangements. Supporting the NCTC in the development of nation-wide counterterrorism capability, the Capability The Attorney-G eneral, The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, and Tasmanian Police Commissioner Richard McCreadie address the media before the National Counter-Terrorism Committee Exercise in Tasmania Performance reports Out put 2 . 4 14 7 Subcommittee has been reconstituted as two separate yet closely related bodies, the Operational Response Capability Subcommittee and the Crisis Coordination and Communications Capability Subcommittee, together with a Capability Steering Group.

Security in Government Conference 2006

Security in Government Conference 2006

Photo courtesy of BQT Solutions

Crisis planning for the Muslim community – In 2005–06, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs provided the PSCC with funding to oversee and implement initiatives to improve crisis planning for the Muslim community. These included a national security and crisis management planning workshop in Darwin in May 2006, and the attendance of Muslim community representatives at the Security in Government conference conducted by the PSCC, also in May. A further initiative was the provision of policy and secretariat support to the Improving Crisis Management Sub-Group — one of the seven subgroups of the Prime Minister's Muslim Community Reference Group — which met four times during 2005–06.

Geospatial information — The PSCC provided leadership, secretariat and policy support for the National Spatial Information for National Security (NSINS) working group and the Australian Government Spatial Information for National Security working group. The use of geospatial information was tested during Mercury 05. Subsequently, a major national workshop to identify future strategies was hosted by NSINS in May 2006. The positive results from Mercury 05 led to the development of a proposal to seek funding to further develop Australia's geospatial information capability. This proposal was approved by the NCTC and work is currently under way to significantly broaden the scope of the use of geospatial information in support of counter-terrorism, critical infrastructure protection and emergency management.

SECURITY EDUCATION AND AWARENESS MEETS CLIENTS' NEEDS AND REFLECTS STANDARDS AS SET OUT IN THE PROTECTIVE SECURITY MANUAL

The PSCC's Training Centre provides protective security training to Australian Government and State and Territory government agencies on a cost-recovery basis. The Training Centre conducted 68 training and seminar programs during the reporting period. A protective security forum for executive level officers was introduced in April 2006 to assist senior executives in meeting security responsibilities within their agencies. Twelve officers participated in this training during the reporting period.

The Training Centre is a Registered Training Organisation under the Australian Quality Training Framework and issues qualifications to participants who successfully demonstrate prior learning and competence. Since its registration in April 2005, it has awarded 24 qualifications in Certificates III and IV in Government (Security) and (Personnel Security) and Diploma in Government (Security). The Training Centre's courses are mapped to the nationally recognised Government Security Management competencies contained in the Australian Quality Training Framework's Public Sector Training Package 04. The course curriculum is based on the revised and updated Protective security manual, released in October 2005. (Further information on the manual is on page 149.)

The Training Centre introduced a new interactive e-learning protective security induction program in December 2005 to provide convenient and flexible Internetbased training across government agencies. Since its inception, 1,214 officers have registered on the e-learning program.

SECURITY CL EARANCE INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED IN ACC ORD ANCE WITH STANDARDS SPECIFIED IN THE PROTECTIVE SECURITY MANUAL AND IN LINE WITH MEMORANDA OF UNDERS TANDING WITH CL IENT AGENCIES

The PSCC's Australian Security Vetting Service provides personnel security-vetting services of a high standard to government agencies and private-sector contractors working for government. In 2005–06, this area completed 3,944 clearances on behalf of 93 agencies. This represented an increase of 22 per cent compared with the 3,240 clearances completed in 2004–05.

SECURITY ARR ANGEMENTS FOR AUSTRALIAN OFFICE HOLD ERS , VISITING DIGNITARIES, DIPL OMATIC AND CONSULAR PERS ONNEL AND PR EMISES ARE EFFECTIVELY MANAGED AND COORD INATED

Throughout 2005–06 we continued to implement strategies arising from the Sadleir Review of protective security arrangements for Australian holders of high office incorporating changes to the methodology for delivering protective security. This implementation has taken place in partnership with a range of Australian Government, State and Territory security agencies to ensure a coordinated effort.

We provided 12 security-related briefs to various diplomatic missions in Australia, consolidating the relationships with key stakeholders and partners.

In close cooperation with the AFP, the Prime Minister's Office and PM&C, the PSCC successfully coordinated protective security arrangements with foreign security agencies for the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister travelled overseas on 11 occasions, visiting 14 countries. We undertook 11 advance security surveys.

We successfully coordinated protective security arrangements for a broad range of visits to Australia by working closely with federal, State and Territory policing agencies together with the security agencies of the visiting foreign dignitaries.

Major visits included those by a number of senior military officials from the United States and south-east Asia; Madame Louise Frechette, the Deputy Secretary of the UN; Dr Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State; Mr Donald Rumsfeld, the US Secretary of Defence; the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Turkey, Pakistan, the Netherlands and Singapore; Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh; His Royal Highness the Earl of Wessex; and the Premier of the People's Republic of China.

Figure 5: Significant visits, 2005–06

Figure 5: Significant visits, 2005-06

Ten new armoured limousines were delivered for the protected carriage of important persons assessed as being at risk. The limousines are manufactured in Australia and provide a level of protection that is commensurate with the needs of Australian and international dignitaries.

The Continuity of Government Plan addresses the protection of the Executive Government decision-making process by ensuring the Executive Government can continue to function during a serious terrorist incident. The PSCC continues to implement these arrangements and carry out the necessary planning activities.

PROTECTIVE SECURITY PR ACTICES, PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS FOR COMMONWEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES ARE EFFECTIVE

The Department worked to ensure coordination of protective security arrangements for court cases involving national security information and provided support to jurisdictions in this respect.

Protective Security Policy Committee (PSPC) advises the Australian Government on protective security issues and reports annually on the status of security across Australian Government agencies. The PSCC chairs and provides the secretariat for the PSPC. The committee issued the revised and updated Protective security manual (PSM), with effect from October 2005. The PSM is the principal means for disseminating protective security policies, principles, standards and procedures for the protection of Australian Government resources. It sets benchmark standards ensuring that there is a consistent approach to protective security within and between agencies. The PSM is subject to an ongoing review.

The revised Protective security executive handbook was launched by the PSPC in May 2006. The handbook provides agency heads and Senior Executive Service officers with an overview of their key protective security responsibilities.

During the year, we provided advice to agencies on protective security policy issues and convened forums for agency security advisers to discuss protective security issues.

Senator Rod Kemp, Minister for the Arts and Sport

Senator Rod Kemp, Minister for the Arts and Sport (third from right) pictured with M2006 mascot 'Karak' and M2006 Taskforce officers from the Department: (left to right) Diana Ferry, Carolyn Wolfenden, Lindsay Hansch and Siw Wittkopf

We are also working with other Australian Government agencies and the States and Territories to develop a nationally consistent approach for the protection of national security information.

SECURITY FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, MANAGED WITHIN A WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT CONTEXT AND THROUGH APPLICATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES, IS EFFECTIVE

The PSCC coordinated protective security arrangements for the 91st ANZAC Day commemoration services at Gallipoli, which were attended by a large number of Australian and New Zealand citizens, including the Governor-General and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Protective security was also coordinated for the Bali commemoration service.

Protective security was successfully coordinated for a number of fora and meetings in Australia, including the Australia — United States Ministerial Forum, the Trilateral Security Dialogue and the Asia–Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate.

The security operation for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games was a huge success and passed without any national security incidents. In the lead-up to the Games, a security team was seconded from the PSCC to the M2006 Task Force, located in the Department of Communication, Information, Technology and the Arts and was responsible for coordinating security planning and preparations between the Australian and Victorian Governments.

INFORMATION REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY HOTLINE IS FORWARDED IN A TIMELY MANNER TO THE RELEVANT AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AND/OR STATE OR TERRITORY AGENCIES

The National Security Hotline customarily receives an influx of calls following significant terrorism-related incidents. In 2005–06, these incidents included the London bombings in July 2005, the Bali bombings in October 2005, and the terrorism-related arrests in Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005. There was also an increase in calls in response to the national security public information campaign, which consisted of four bursts of advertising in July, September and November 2005 and February 2006.

Figure 6: National Security Hotline calls received, July 2005 — June 2006

Figure 6: National Security Hotline calls received, July 2005 - June 2006

The Hotline classifies the calls, letters and emails that it receives into three categories: those providing information; those commenting on the national security information campaign; and those seeking assurance. A very small number of emergency calls are immediately transferred to the appropriate emergency service.

Figure 6 shows the calls received each month and the break-down of calls by each of the three categories. Figure 7 shows the breakdown of all calls by those three categories since its inception in December 2002. The term 'calls' includes letters and emails in addition to telephone calls.

In 2005–06 the National Security Hotline received 41,730 information calls. All information calls are referred to the AFP, ASIO and relevant State and Territory police.

Figure 7: Total National Security Hotline calls received, December 2002 — June 2006

Figure 7: Total National Security Hotline calls received, December 2002 - June 2006

Evaluations/reviews

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audit report — Review of the evaluation methods and continuous improvement process for Australia's national counter-terrorism coordination arrangements — was tabled in Parliament on 13 October 2005.

The objectives of the audit were to assess the effectiveness of the key evaluation methods used to review the efficacy of the Australian Government's national counter-terrorism coordination arrangements, and to examine the effectiveness of the links between the key evaluation methods, and how the key evaluation methods contribute to the process of continuous improvement.

The audit focused on the respective roles of PM&C's National Security Division and the PSCC in managing counter-terrorism coordination frameworks and processes and in evaluating counter-terrorism capabilities. The ANAO's conclusion was that, since 2001, and in accordance with the Inter- Governmental Agreement on Australia's National Counter-Terrorism Arrangements signed in October 2002, those involved in the delivery of counter-terrorism capability have exerted significant efforts across a broad range of fronts to strengthen Australia's capability.

The ANAO concluded that a range of strategies and processes were in place to evaluate the national counterterrorism coordination arrangements and to ensure that the arrangements were subject to regular evaluation and continuous improvement.

The PSCC has been actively implementing the recommendations made by the audit, including the establishment of an Evaluation Section in the Counter-Terrorism Branch and the development of a central lessons facility. We are also actively reviewing the planning, conduct and evaluation of each counterterrorism exercise.

Challenges

The major challenge for the PSCC will be planning and preparation for APEC 2007, specifically the conduct of APEC counterterrorism themed exercises.

Negotiations were conducted with the NSW Government and NSW Police to identify capability requirements to protect the APEC Leaders' Week. The identification of capability requirements, likely cost and procurement options and time lines was an intensive and demanding process and was conducted in a spirit of cooperation and common purpose.

A further challenge is to effectively translate risk management principles into processes and standards across the Australian Government and State and Territory agencies responsible for planning and implementing security arrangements for APEC 2007.

Outlook

Planning is well under way to meet the requirements of the refocused counter-terrorism regime and the National Counter-Terrorism Committee capability development program for training and exercises, including activities to prepare for the APEC meetings in 2007.

The National counter-terrorism handbook, which supports the National Counter-Terrorism Plan, will be updated in the next reporting period to take account of a range of legislative developments, including in the areas of aviation, maritime and offshore security and the Defence Act 1903.

The PSCC Watch Office and National Security Hotline will provide support to a range of Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies and law enforcement bodies in preparation for and during the APEC meetings in 2007. Planning for the provision of security to APEC will continue and move into the implementation phase, with the first APEC meeting scheduled in January 2007.