Review of the amendments made by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth)
The submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (Committee) review of the amendments introduced by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth) (Assistance and Access Act) was prepared by the Law Council.
The Law Council recognises that there is significant value to public safety in allowing law enforcement and national security agencies faster access to encrypted information where there are threats to national security or in order to prevent the commission of serious criminal offences. The Law Council also acknowledges that there is merit in facilitating prompt international cooperation and assistance to deal with serious crimes which occur across multiple jurisdictions.
The principal objective of the amendments introduced by the Assistance and Access Act was centred on the legitimate aim of increasing public safety by providing faster access to encrypted data. However, the primary concern of the Law Council is that the measures introduced by the legislation must always be reasonable, necessary and proportionate to that aim by including appropriate safeguards, controls, clarity and certainty in the legislation.
You can read the full submission below.