Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026

Senator GREEN (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Tourism, Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Assistant Minister for Northern Australia) (11:13): Senator Shoebridge, as I've said to you, our response to that review is in the government response that was tabled. If there's any clarification required, we will get that for you. I think it's really important to understand that, while the recommendations relate to the comprehensive reform that the government's undertaking, there are existing safeguards that apply to concealment activities.

I won't run you through them. I'm not going to insult your intelligence by implying that you're not across those. But there are current safeguards, including that the Commonwealth Ombudsman has independent oversight for account takeover and data disruption warrants, as the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has for network activity warrants.

There are obviously other safeguards that are already in place. I don't think parliament would have passed the original provisions without those being applicable. In regard to further safeguards or more reform, that is what the government is undertaking now.

If there is any clarification needed on the recommendations, we can obtain that for you. But, to be clear and because we're going to wrap up in a minute, these access powers are incredibly important and they cannot be allowed to sunset. They allow agencies to take reasonably necessary steps to hide actions and take warrants and retain the covert nature of incredibly important operations that would otherwise be jeopardised.

We seek the parliament's endorsement to ensure that that really important work can continue. Progress reported.