Law Council of Australia

Criminal Law and National Security

  • Homepage
  • Criminal Law and National Security

Criminal Law and National Security

The Law Council engages in advocacy and policy development in relation to federal criminal and national security issues on behalf of the Australian legal profession. The Law Council campaigns on behalf of the profession on important Commonwealth criminal law issues. It also monitors the way that relevant federal agencies such as the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Policy implement legislative provisions, particularly those which give them extraordinary powers, such as in the area of serious and organised crime.

Australia’s national security and counter-terrorism laws aim to prevent, detect and prosecute those involved in terrorism, espionage and foreign interference. The Law Council recognises the importance of Australia’s law enforcement and security agencies having appropriate powers to effectively perform their statutory functions. An ongoing priority for the Law Council is to review national security and counter-terrorism laws to ensure that they are reasonable, necessary and proportionate to a legitimate purpose. This includes legislation counter-terrorism measures relating to control orders, preventative detention orders, pre-charge detention, post-sentencing detention, surveillance and telecommunications interception, data retention, terrorist financing, foreign incursions, terrorist organisations, travel documents and citizenship. The Law Council supports regular and independent reviews of Australia’s national security laws by Parliamentary Committees and the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor.

Share