In respect of asylum seekers, (a) how are the Government’s screening processes consistent with the 2004 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) statement of principles to protect asylum processes from abuse by persons involved in terrorist activities, and (b) what is the full range of background checks undertaken.

The statement of principles referred to in Ms Bishop’s question is not in fact a statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The statement was actually adopted by the G8 at a meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Washington DC on 11 May 2004. This G8 statement of principles is, however, posted on UNHCR’s Refworld site. The Refworld site is a refugee decision support reference site, containing a collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks.

Australia is under no obligation to align its screening processes with those outlined in the G8 document. However, the principle of close cooperation between countries processing applications from asylum seekers to protect these processes from abuse by people who have been involved in terrorist activities as outlined in the G8 statement is one with which Australia strongly concurs.

To this end, Australia has developed strong relationships and information sharing practices with a number of countries, taking into account asylum seekers’ legitimate confidentiality and privacy interests, to ensure that people involved in terrorist activities are not afforded undeserved protection through the refugee status assessment process.

An example of these information sharing practices is that earlier this year, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced that Australia has signed an agreement for biomentric data sharing between Australia, Canada and the UK. Under this partnership, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will be able to securely and confidentially cross check fingerprints with Canadian and UK databases.

These data sharing arrangements will allow DIAC to undertake more detailed identity enquiries if necessary, and to confirm if a client has had dealings with these countries. This will increase the chance of detecting persons of concern in immigration caseloads.

The range of background checks undertaken by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship includes identity and character checks which include penal checks, where possible, with all countries in which the client has resided for more than 12 months during the previous 10 years.

Australia also conducts background checks in relation to national security and counter terrorism. However, DIAC is not responsible for the processing of these checks other than to provide relevant information to the competent authority, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.