Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025

Senator SHOEBRIDGE (New South Wales) (11:49): Sometimes you know you're tilling some barren ground, so I might move on. Have the amendments now been circulated? The TEMPORARY CHAIR ( Senator Ghosh ): Yes.

Senator SHOEBRIDGE: I move the amendment on sheet 3474: (1) Schedule 4, page 13 (line 1) to page 15 (line 16), to be opposed. I think it might be addressed in how the question is put. The TEMPORARY CHAIR: That's right, and it will be.

Senator SHOEBRIDGE: I might quickly explain the amendments. Schedule 4 changes the language of 'intercepting' to 'accessing' in certain circumstances which, in our understanding—which is informed by cogent submissions by the Internet Association of Australia and the conclusions of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights—is intended to broaden the issuing person's considerations to access of the information.

It qualifies the use of the expression 'interception in some instances' by 'interception as permitted under an international production order', and that's about an issuing person needing to consider the broader concept of a target's information and therefore potentially significantly expanding the operation of the IPOs, and it does so in the context of the US agreement.

As I think we heard earlier, the only country that Australia has an agreement with for the IPOs is the United States. Indeed, I might just close that gate. Minister, is that right?

Does Australia have an agreement with anybody other than United States for IPOs?