Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

That is entirely unsatisfactory. My amendment, which seeks to knock out this particular clause because of the concerns I have outlined, has been tabled. The department are on notice; they are aware of it. How can they not give us such basic information, because it is supposed to be a continuation, if you like, or an additional feature of the legislation, given the fit and proper person test that has been in place for applicants? If there has only been a handful, isn't that something the department can tell us fairly easily? I would be very grateful if, in the course of this committee stage, we could get that information. I would have thought it was something that the department ought to have been aware of in order to advise Senator Birmingham. I am not being critical of Senator Birmingham, but it seems to me that the department should have been able to provide that information to the government.

Can I continue, pending that information. At the moment, if a consultant becomes subject to a 'not a fit and proper person test' inquiry, what happens to the files of his clients?