Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Riverina on her contribution to the debate on the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (Identity Crimes and Other Measures) Bill 2008. I agree with practically everything she said, if not everything. I will discuss some of those issues a little later in my contribution to this debate. There has never been a time in history when it has been easier for a person’s identity to be stolen, misused or abused. With the expansion of cyberspace technology—the internet—this will become more and more the case. I believe that this particular bill before us today is of vital importance. It makes some amendments that will go a long way towards protecting the public here in Australia.

It inserts new offences in the Criminal Code Act 1995, directed at dealing in identification information, possessing identification information and possessing equipment to make identification documents in certain circumstances. Given the availability of that information, that definitely needs to be made an offence. It also allows for the reframing of the administration of justice offences in part III of the Crimes Act 1914, to bring them in line with the Criminal Code. It allows for the delegation of both powers and functions to certain persons and provides legal immunity to the director or a member of staff carrying out functions and duties under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983. It improves the operation of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and establishes a more consistent approach to the restrictions placed on the disclosure of sensitive AUSTRAC information. It streamlines the processes for alcohol and other drugs testing under the Australian Federal Police Act 1979. The amendments also expand the range of conduct for which the commissioner may make awards. It repeals section 55D of the Judiciary Act 1903. It includes the Victorian Office of Police Integrity in the definition of ‘enforcement body’ in the Privacy Act 1988 and corrects a drafting error in section 477.1(5) of the Criminal Code Act.

I think it is important to get to the substance of this legislation and to talk about some of the issues that the member for Riverina raised. I think every member of this parliament would have been approached by a constituent who has had their information misused on the internet in some way. As I was listening to the member for Riverina’s contribution to this debate, I remembered that a constituent came to see me in my office two weeks ago. She was sending a birthday card via the internet and, at the side of the screen, there was a pop-up. It was an IQ test, and she liked the idea of doing an IQ test. She completed it and then, a month later, she received an enormous telephone account. She had been getting some SMS messages, which she did not even read. She thought, ‘Why am I receiving these messages?’ When she had completed that IQ test she had, in fact, signed up for a particular telephone program. She was totally unaware of it; she had no intention of doing it. It just shows how easy it is for your information to be misused.

As has been said previously, scam emails can obtain very personal details of an individual—their bank account, their email address, their telephone number. These are all things that can be very much misused if this legislation does not pass through the House. One issue that was raised, which I think is very worthy of consideration, is that of Facebook. I know many members in this House have an entry on Facebook, but we are quite careful about what information is placed there. I know other people are less careful. By obtaining the information that many people place on Facebook, it is very easy to create an identity that is very similar to theirs. Maybe there need to be a few more stringent measures put in place in relation to some of the websites that are currently available. The Rudd government has acted very decisively with this strong legislation that we have before us today that will move towards improving the situation.

This legislation contains important measures to bridge gaps in the current legislation on identity crime. It also has measures designed to improve the administration of justice and the effective operation of the AFP and the CDPP. It will implement identity crime offences and victims certificate provisions recommended in the final report of the Model Criminal Law Officers Committee on identity crime. I would recommend that report to members of the House. It highlights just how important this legislation is and also the types of issues that need to be addressed.

The offences criminalise a range of conduct associated with identity crime. The legislation will make it an offence to make, supply or use identification information to pretend to be another person for the purpose of committing, or facilitating the commission of, a Commonwealth indictable offence. As I have already highlighted, it is very easy to get that information about people these days. This legislation will make that a crime and will act as a very strong deterrent to people wishing to adopt the identity of another person. It also deals with possessing identification information with the intention of dealing in that information, or possessing equipment to make identification information with the intention of dealing in that information. With the technology and equipment that is available it is very easy to duplicate identification and to, in effect, steal a person’s identity. By adopting this strong legislation that we have before us today, we in Australia are moving in the right direction.

The bill also provides a mechanism for the victims of identity crime to obtain a certificate from a magistrate that states the manner in which his or her identification information was used. The certificate may assist victims of identity crime in negotiating with financial institutions to re-establish their credit ratings. If a person loses all the money from their accounts—like one of my constituents, who lost the money from a very large account—and this has an impact on their credit rating, then this form of certification will assist in remedying the situation.

Amendments to the administration of justice offences correct a drafting oversight by applying absolute liability to the jurisdictional elements of the offence, which will overcome uncertainty—and uncertainty is, I think, something that we cannot allow to exist in this particular area. It is important that we increase the penalty for the perverting the course of justice offence to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, as this better reflects the seriousness of the offence. So the legislation overcomes uncertainty whilst, at the same time, imposing penalties that really reflect the seriousness of the crime.

I wholeheartedly support this legislation. It is long overdue. It really goes some way towards affording some protection to Australians, be they victims of identity fraud or people who could possibly be victims. This is a deterrent that will hopefully work to put a brake on identity crimes but, at the same time, ensure that, in the cases where there is a crime relating to the stealing of a person’s identity, there are ramifications.

I would like to join with the member for Riverina in what she had to say about the need for education. I feel it is vitally important that people are aware of the fact that when they are using the internet the information that they put into their computer is not always protected. I would encourage people throughout Australia to be very cautious about the information they place on the internet, be it on a personal webpage or on Facebook. I would encourage them to be very careful about the information they provide about themselves. Similarly, I would encourage small businesses to be careful, because once someone has access to all your personal information then it is very difficult to provide protection. So this is very good legislation. It is legislation that is long overdue, and I have great pleasure in supporting it.

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