COMMITTEE Chair, Julian Hill MP today tabled the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit‘s report on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (DFAT) crisis management arrangements during COVID-19.

The committee examined DFAT's role in facilitating the return of Australians who had been stranded overseas during the pandemic due to border closures and travel restrictions, based on a performance audit of this response by the Australian National Audit Office.

The committee expressed deep concern regarding DFAT’s evidence that no advice was provided to inform certain public statements made by Ministers in the previous government during the pandemic.

“This led to confusing and misleading public messaging to stranded Australians in 2020 and 2021, and underscores the responsibility of government ministers to ensure they are informed by sensible and evidence-based advice before making public commitments in such sensitive areas,” Mr Hill said.

“The committee also considers that more could and should have been done by the Commonwealth to provide adequate quarantine facilities later in the pandemic. This was one of the key constraints upon DFAT’s ability to bring stranded Australians home.”

The committee made several unanimous recommendations aimed at strengthening the Australian Government's future crisis response, and ensuring that lessons learned from COVID-19 would be incorporated into existing frameworks, including that:

• the government formally respond to the 2021 Halton review into hotel quarantine arrangements
• human rights considerations be incorporated into the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework, and
• the Auditor-General consider an audit of the updated version of this Framework.

Mr Hill commended the department for its ongoing dedication to assisting Australians across the globe, saying that “it is important that DFAT and the wider Australian Public Service learn from the unprecedented global crisis that COVID-19 posed, so that the Australian Government will be better prepared to assist our most vulnerable citizens during future crises".

The committee focused on matters relating to DFAT's data capability, response coordination, assistance for vulnerable Australians, and procurement practices under the crisis management framework.

The report is available on the Committee’s website.

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) will hold public hearings this week for its inquiries into Commonwealth procurement, Commonwealth Grants Administration and the Commonwealth Financial Statements 2021-22.

THURSDAY: Procurement Inquiry wrapping up

Thursday 30 March 2023
Time: 8am – 9am
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and the Community and Public Sector Union will appear before the JCPAA to further discuss concerns about contract management by the Department of Home Affairs. This hearing will allow the Committee to sum up the broader evidence received throughout the inquiry in what is likely to be the last hearing.

FRIDAY: Grants Administration Inquiry continues

Friday 31 March 2023
Time: 8.30am – 10am
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

On Friday, JCPAA will welcome the Department of Finance and the ANAO for the final hearing for the inquiry into Commonwealth Grants Administration. The Committee will consider questions on the effectiveness of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines and best practice in the administration of grants programs.

FRIDAY: Commonwealth Financial Statements Inquiry kicks off

Friday 31 March 2023
Time: 10:15am – 12:30pm
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

Also on Friday, the JCPAA will commence public hearings for its inquiry into the Commonwealth Financial Statements. Key themes to be explored include:

• ANAO concerns regarding Defence’s use of appropriations
• Financial sustainability of government departments, in the context of media reports that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is “on the cusp of requiring a financial bailout”, and concerns regarding the Department of Home Affairs.

Committee Chair, Julian Hill MP, noted that these themes were just two of many matters raised in the ANAO’s audit findings from its review of the financial statements.

"The committee has a particular interest in understanding how Commonwealth entities are managing their financial resources to meet their present and future funding commitments," Mr Hill said.

Further information about the inquiries is available on the Committee website.

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) today presented its Advisory Report on Item 250 of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022.

The report considers Item 250 of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022, which was passed into law in December 2022.

Item 250 amended section 110A(1) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act) to allow the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) access to stored communications and telecommunications data.

The committee made seven recommendations in relation to the reform of Australia’s electronic surveillance framework, parliamentary privilege and security of information.

The committee noted that Item 250 gives a wide range of covert powers to the NACC and considered the effect of the use of these powers on parliamentary privilege. The committee recommended the Government ensure the protection of parliamentary privilege in relation to the use of covert powers in its Reform of Australia’s Electronic Surveillance Framework.

Further the Committee considered that the TIA Act should be expressly amended to ensure that the provisions of that Act do not abrogate parliamentary privilege.

The committee also recommended that, given the sensitivity of information to be collected and stored by the NACC, it should be required to comply with the Essential Eight Maturity Model to Maturity Level Three as recommended by the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Finally, the committee recommended that employees at the NACC hold a security clearance of at least Negative Vetting Level 1, with increased requirements up to Positive Vetting depending on their access to sensitive information.

Committee Chair Peter Khalil MP said, "The committee supports allowing what will be Australia’s premier anti-corruption agency the covert powers necessary to undertake its important work. The committee has recommended some additional measures to ensure that the NACC can operate effectively while ensuring necessary protections for parliamentary privilege, and for sensitive information.”

Further information on the inquiry as well as a copy of the report can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) has recommended ratification of the International Law Organization Convention concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work (No 190).

The convention is the first international instrument that commits International Labour Organization (ILO) members to respect, promote and realise the right of everyone to a world of work that is free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.

JSCOT Chair Josh Wilson MP said, “Violence and harassment in the world of work is still far too common. In the five years prior to the 2022 Time for Respect Survey, 41 percent of women experienced sexual harassment at work in Australia.

"This convention offers a genuine opportunity for Australians to recognise that mutual respect and dignity are a central part of work, and to reduce the instances of violence and harassment in the workplace.”

The convention contains innovative provisions, including a world-first in international labour standards in the form of a comprehensive definition of violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment.

“In recent years, violence and harassment at work in Australia has been a major part of our national conversation and we have seen long-awaited improvements to our domestic law and policy," Mr Wilson said.

"The committee concluded that ratifying this first-of-its-kind convention would be an important milestone in Australia’s continuing efforts to respond to this issue.”

The convention covers all workers and other persons in the world of work, from full time employees to gig-economy workers, and from people who are in training or volunteering to workers who have lost their jobs.

The convention also covers work in public or private spaces, travelling to and from work, rest breaks, and work-related travel and training.

The report can be found on the Committee website, along with further information on the inquiry.

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