Bill Allowing Spying and Online Account Breach by Law Enforcement Passed in Australia

On August 24th-25th, both houses of the Australian parliament passed a landmark bill granting the Australian federal police (AFP) and intelligence agency (ACIC) sweeping new powers of surveillance against the Australian public. Touted as a necessary tool to combat organised crime online, the powers created by the bill are nevertheless unmatched across the five eyes alliance.

With the bill passed, the AFP and the ACIC will be able to access new, far-reaching warrants. According to an analysis of the bill by The Guardian published at the time of its introduction in December 2020, these warrants will enable these agencies to:

The bill has been heavily criticised by many Australian human rights and privacy-focused organisations. Before its passing, The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security had made recommendations to the government in order to add safeguards and protections against potential abuse of the newly granted power by the AFP or the ACIC. According to the Human Rights Law Centre, who contributed to the Committee’s findings, “approximately half” of the recommendations the Committee had made were ignored or only partially addressed. A Senior Lawyer at the Centre commented on the bill:

“Every increase in state surveillance has a democratic cost. Overbroad surveillance powers impact the privacy of all Australians and have a chilling effect on journalists and whistleblowers.

“Given the powers are unprecedented and extraordinarily intrusive, they should have been narrowed to what is strictly necessary and subject to robust safeguards. That is why the Committee unanimously recommended significant changes.

“It is alarming that, instead of accepting the Committee’s recommendations and allowing time for scrutiny of subsequent amendments, the Morrison Government rushed these laws through Parliament in less than 24 hours.”

Likewise, reactions by the wider public, especially in the tech field, have been widely condemnatory. A TechVisibility analysis denounces the move as “the final nail in the coffin” in the government’s “moving toward a surveillance state”. The authors point out that Australian companies will be required to comply and assist the police under the threat of a ten-year prison sentence.

Though the spying powers enabled by the bill are being defended by the government with the reference to combating child-abusive material online and the networks behind it, the wording of the bill allows for its application to be much broader. Law enforcement will be able to use these new powers to investigate any “serious Commonwealth offence” or “serious State offence that has a federal aspect”. Reportedly, this may cover any crime punishable by a minimum sentence of at least three years, including offences such as bankruptcy and company violations, tax evasion, or trademark infringements.

The Liberal-National coalition government was able to pass the new measures with the support of the opposition Labor party. Though the opposition had reservations against the bill, it ended up falling in line even after their amendments addressing some of the proposal’s main shortcomings were unsuccessful. According to Labor MP Andrew Giles, the need for the bill outweighed its easy overreach:

“The cyber-capabilities of criminal networks have expanded, and we know that they are using the dark web and anonymising technology to facilitate serious crime, which is creating significant challenges for law enforcement.”

The bill, having been given a green light by the parliament, is now awaiting royal assent.