Senator Ludwig asked the Minister representing the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 14 August 2003:

(1)  What is the total budget for the Protective Security Coordination Centre.

(2)  Where is the centre located.

(3)  Is the centre open 24 hours; if not, (a) what hours is it open; and (b) to where are calls diverted when it is not open.

(4)  How many calls does the centre receive each day.

(5)  Can a breakdown be provided of calls received each month since the inception of the centre.

(6)  Are salaries for staff at the centre paid according to qualifications.

(7)  Of the 43 people currently employed within the centre, how many are employed on a full-time, part-time or casual basis.

Senator Ellison —The Attorney-General has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1)  The total allocation for the National Security Hotline (Hotline) for the 2003/2004 Financial Year is $6,023,000.

(2)  The Hotline Call Centre is located in Barton in the ACT.

(3)  The Hotline Call Centre is operational 24 Hours per day / 7 Days per week.

(4)  From commencement on 27 December 2002 until midnight on Sunday, 7 September 2003 there were 22,650 entries made in the Hotline Data-base. This includes telephone calls, e-mails and letters recorded by the Hotline during that period.

This equates to an average of 88.8 data-base entries per day.

(5)  A monthly breakdown of the number of database entries for the Hotline to the end of August 2003, follows:

(6)  Hotline salaries are based on duties undertaken rather than individual qualifications. e.g. Hotline Operators are employed at the APS 4 Level and Hotline Shift Managers are employed at the APS 6 Level.

(7)  Of the staff currently employed at the Hotline, ten (10) are full time employees and the remainder are employed on a casual basis.