Crimes and Other Legislation (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026 (Cth)
Submission Date: 20 April 2026
The Law Council of Australia provided a submission in response to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s review of the Crimes and Other Legislation (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026 (Cth) (the Bill).
The Law Council has not been able to consider all aspects of the Bill in the limited time for consultation. The Law Council is concerned that omnibus amendment legislation—which makes a range of interventions in existing statutory frameworks—requires broader consultation in order to properly assess the impact of a wider range of changes to Australian law. Where changes are made to established legislative frameworks, compressed timelines for scrutiny increase the likelihood of poorer public policy outcomes and unintended consequences.
On account of this truncated review timeframe, the comments offered in this submission are the preliminary views of the Law Council, as the Law Council and its constituent bodies have not had sufficient time for appropriate consultation about the contents and likely effects of this legislation. To this end, this submission focuses on the following three aspects of the Bill:
- the changes to account takeover warrants, data disruption warrants, and network activity warrants that purport to give effect to the recommendations of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Data Disruption, Network Activity and Account Takeover Powers: Review of Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021 (INSLM Review);1
- the proposal for an evidentiary certificate framework for continuity of evidence handling in proceedings for serious drug offences; and
- methods for calculating the quantity of proscribed drugs and precursors in mixtures for the purposes of serious drugs offences under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
1 Jake Blight, Data Disruption, Network Activity and Account Takeover Powers: Review of Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021, Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (Final Report, 2025).
Last Updated on 13/05/2026
Share
Tags
Most recent items
Business Law Section
Proposed guidance on ASIC’s power to appoint reviewing liquidators
Business Law Section
Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2026/D2
Business Law Section