Download Fragment

Monday, 22 August 2011
Page: 8718

Mr HAYES (Fowler) (10:58): On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the committee's report entitled Examination of the annual report of the Australian Crime Commission 2009-10.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

Mr HAYES: by leave—the committee has a duty to examine each annual report of the Australian Crime Commission and to report to the parliament on any matters appearing in or arising out of it. The committee has therefore examined the Australian Crime Commission's account of its performance in 2009-2010 and has found that the ACC has fulfilled all its reporting requirements.

2009-2010 was a landmark year for the Australian Crime Commission after a period of significant change. The CEO, Mr John Lawler, described the agency as continuing to define a valuable role, adding value to the work of partner agencies in their pursuit of serious and organised crime. The Australian Crime Commission continues to unite the fight against serious and organised crime, operating as a conduit and a point of fusion for criminal intelligence across the country. In this respect, the committee was pleased to hear that the newly established criminal intelligence fusion capability has already identified 53 previously unknown serious and organised crime targets.

The ACC largely met its agreed performance indicators; however, only 67 per cent of partner agencies strongly agreed that their understanding of the overall criminal environment has increased as a result of the ACC's intelligence. The ACC has expressed its intention to improve upon this result and noted that the key performance indicators have since been adjusted to refer to the understanding of the serious and organised criminal environment to better reflect the ACC's intelligence.

A major issue that arose during the examination of the annual report was the authorisation process around controlled operations. The Commonwealth Ombudsman raised concerns in the report last year in the course of the annual briefing with the committee regarding the extension of controlled operations beyond the three months in a way that may have bypassed the Administrative Appeals Tribunal oversight mechanism established by legislation. The committee used the opportunity to consult with both the ACC and the Ombudsman regarding this issue and has made recommendations that would clarify the application of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal's oversight in cases where controlled operations undergo significant change in addition to an extension of time. The committee is aware, however, that the effectiveness of controlled operations may require flexibility in the face of evolving case circumstances. Given the level of complexity and the global reach of criminal enterprise, a further review of the controlled operations regime may be appropriate to ensure that it remains an effective tool in the fight against serious and organised crime.

The report also provided details of three special intelligence operations which focused on the gathering of intelligence around particular criminal activity in 2009-10. These included intelligence operations into the illicit firearms market in New South Wales, amphetamine type stimulants and new synthetic drugs, and national Indigenous violence and child abuse. In addition, five special investigations designed to disrupt and deter criminal groups through the collection of evidence and intelligence took place in 2009-10. These investigations broadly related to high-risk crime groups.

Just by way of indicating the success of the Australian Crime Commission over the 2009-10 period, 102 people were charged, 96 convictions were achieved, $630,000 of proceeds of crime were restrained, $2.53 million of proceeds of crime were forfeited, approximately $10 million in tax was recovered or tax assessments issued, $13.7 million in cash was seized, and $74 million worth of illicit drugs was seized and therefore did not get to the markets within our community.

On behalf of the committee can I say that we recognise this was a most successful year for Australia's premier criminal intelligence agency. I also pay regard to the secretariat, Dr Jon Bell and Bill Bannear, and thank them for their assistance, which is invaluable. I commend the report to the House.