2022-2023

 

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

 

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

 

ROYAL COMMISSIONS AMENDMENT (enhancing engagement) BILL 2023

 

 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

 

 

 

(Circulated by authority of the

Attorney-General, the Honourable Mark Dreyfus KC MP)

 

                                                                                                        

 

ROYAL COMMISSIONS AMENDMENT (enhancing engagement) BILL 2023

General Outline

1.                 The Royal Commissions Amendment (Enhancing Engagement) Bill 2023 amends the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (the Act) to ensure the confidentiality of certain information given by, or on behalf of, individuals to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission). The amendments apply limitations on the use and disclosure of information individuals give to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission about their own, or another’s, experiences of suicide, suicidality, or poor mental health as Australian Defence Force (ADF) members or veterans, or their own, or another’s, experiences of systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to a person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health. The information must have been given for purposes other than a private session, identify the relevant individual and the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission must have treated the information as confidential all times after receiving it.

2.                 These amendments implement recommendation 6(1) of the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s Interim Report, which was tabled in Parliament on 11 August 2022. Recommendation 6(1) was to introduce a new provision modelled on section 6OP of the Act, which applies to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (the Disability Royal Commission). Section 6OP provides that the same confidentiality protections over information given to the Disability Royal Commission in private sessions can also apply to certain information given to it outside of private sessions, where the Disability Royal Commission treats that information confidentially at all times.

3.                 Private sessions were first established for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Child Abuse Royal Commission) to enable individuals to tell their story about the highly sensitive and personal matters into which the Commission was inquiring in a trauma-informed and less formal setting than a hearing. Royal commissions prescribed by the Royal Commissions Regulations 2019 , including the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, can utilise private sessions. When giving information in a private session, participants do not give evidence and information is not given under oath or affirmation. There are strict limitations on the use and disclosure of that information, which apply both during and after a royal commission’s inquiries

4.                 The Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission receives sensitive information in ways other than in a private session, including through written submissions, phone interviews and other records of information of an individual’s experience (for example, those created when considering whether to publicly refer to an individual’s experience). The Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission expressed concern in its Interim Report that the existing confidentiality protections in the Act were not adequate to encourage ADF members to tell their stories. In particular, the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission indicated serving members who intend to remain in the ADF were concerned about the impact their disclosure of sensitive information may have on their career or their subsequent experience in service. To address these concerns, information of this kind provided and recorded outside of a private session should properly be eligible to receive protections equivalent to those provided for information given in a private session.

5.                 The amendments in the Bill will apply limitations on the use and disclosure of certain information individuals provide to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission outside of a private session, about their own, or others’, experiences of suicide, suicidality, poor mental health as ADF members or veterans, or their own, or another’s, experiences of systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to a person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health. The information must have been given for purposes other than a private session, identify the relevant individual and the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission must have treated the information as confidential all times after receiving it.

6.                 Information provided to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, which includes members of staff supporting the Commission, outside private sessions will be accorded the same confidentiality as material obtained for the purposes of private sessions, both during the course of the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s inquiry and after it concludes. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT

7.                 There are no financial impacts associated with these amendments.

 

 

 

STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Royal Commissions Amendment (Enhancing Engagement) Bill 2023

1.                   This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .

Overview of the Bill

2.                   The Royal Commissions Amendment (Enhancing Engagement) Bill 2023 (the Bill) amends Part 4 of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth) to ensure the confidentiality of certain information given by, or on behalf of, a natural person to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission. It limits the use and disclosure of information individuals give the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, which includes its staff, about their own, or their knowledge of another’s, experiences of suicide, suicidality, poor mental health as Australian Defence Force (ADF) members or veterans, or their own, or another’s, experiences of systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to a person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health. The information must have been given for purposes other than a private session, identify the relevant individual and the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission must have treated it as confidential at all times after receiving it.

3.                   The amendments will enable people to engage with the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission confident that their personal information will not be further disclosed. This is consistent with the treatment of sensitive information provided to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (as per section 6ON of the Act) and Disability Royal Commission (as per section 6OP of the Act) that was or is treated as confidential at all times by those Royal Commissions.

Human rights implications

4.                 This Bill engages, or may be seen to engage, the following rights:

·          Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - the prohibition against unlawful or arbitrary interferences with privacy

·          Article 19 of the ICCPR - the right to freedom of expression; and

·          Articles 14(1) and (3) of the ICCPR - the right to a fair trial and impact on procedural fairness.

Right to privacy

5.                   Article 17 of the ICCPR prohibits arbitrary or unlawful interference with an individual’s privacy, family, home or correspondence, and unlawful attacks on their honour and reputation. Interferences with privacy may be permissible, provided they are authorised by law and not arbitrary.

6.                   The right to privacy includes respect for informational privacy, including in relation to storing, using and sharing private information, as well as the right to control the dissemination of personal and private information. To be permissible as a matter of international human rights law, interferences with privacy must be according to law and not arbitrary. In order not to be arbitrary, they must be reasonable and necessary in the particular circumstances, as well as proportional to the objectives they seek to achieve.

7.                   This Bill advances the right to privacy by giving providing greater protection for the information individuals share with the Royal Commission. This will enable individuals to share their stories and experiences with the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission with the assurance that their private information will not be further disclosed both during and after the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s inquiries.

Right to freedom of expression

8.                   Article 19(2) of the ICCPR provides that everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression and this right includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other chosen media. This right may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary on limited grounds, including for the respect of the rights or reputations of others.

9.                   Article 19(3) of the ICCPR provides that the right to freedom of expression may be restricted where necessary for the respect of the rights and reputation of others. 

10.               The Bill (clause 6OQ refers) engages and limits the right to freedom of expression by limiting disclosure of certain information.  That is, information that has been provided to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission that contains an account of an individual’s, or another’s, experiences of suicide, suicidality, poor mental health as ADF members or veterans, or an individual’s , or another’s, experiences of systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to a person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health.

11.               The purpose of expanding confidentiality protections to limit the use and disclosure of certain information provided to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission outside of a private session is to enable individuals to share their experiences without fear of retaliation or further disclosure.

12.               The Bill extends existing provisions in the Act to apply to the use and disclosure of information to which proposed clause 6OQ applies, so that:

·          the information is not admissible in evidence against the person in any civil or criminal proceedings (section 6OE of the Act refers)

·          it is an offence to use or disclose the information subject to exceptions (section 6OH of the Act refers)

·          disclosure of the information to the person who gave it is a defence to the offence in section 6OH (section 6OK of the Act refers)

·          a provision of another law requiring or authorising a person to use or disclose the information will have no effect unless the use or disclosure is permitted under Division 3 of Part 4 of the Act (section 6OL of the Act refers), and

·          records containing the information are treated in the same way as Census information so that these records would not come into the open access period under the Archives Act 1983 for 99 years after the record came into existence (section 6OM of the Act refers).

13.               The Bill also contains amendments providing that documents containing the information cannot be accessed under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (item 4 of the Bill refers).

14.               These limits on the use and disclosure of information are necessary and reasonable to protect the privacy of the individual giving their account, as well as to respect the privacy and reputation of others who may be named in the account. They provide people with confidence that private information they give to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission will not be further disclosed during or after the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, and they will not be identified in the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s reports unless their information is also given as evidence. People’s information would also not be accessible under a request made pursuant to sections 15 and 48 the Freedom of Information Act that is received on or after the day the final report of the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission is submitted to the Governor-General.

15.               Notwithstanding the protections afforded by proposed clause 6OQ, a Commissioner will retain a power under section 6P of the Act to refer any confidential information voluntarily provided to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission alleging another person has committed an offence to a law enforcement authority. If that occurred and the allegation resulted in a criminal prosecution, proposed clause 6OQ does not limit any rights of an accused to access information held by the prosecution. 

16.               Consistent with section 6DD of the Act, information falling within the scope of clause 6OQ given by an individual is not able to be used against that person in civil or criminal proceedings (section 6OE of the Act refers).  This enables the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission to hear from individuals on a voluntary basis by protecting them from claims for defamation or other proceedings in connection with information they give.

17.               The Bill safeguards, both during and after the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, certain information individuals provide to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission and ensures that information about experiences of ADF members or veterans’ suicide, suicidality, poor mental health, or systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to a person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health, remains private and confidential, where that information has been treated as confidential at all times by the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission. The safeguards are reasonable, necessary and proportionate and are sufficiently narrow so as to remain consistent with the right to freedom of expression. 

Right to fair trial or hearing

18.               Article 14(1) of the ICCPR protects the right to a fair and public criminal trial, or a fair and public hearing in civil proceedings. Fair trial and fair hearing rights include the right that all persons are equal before courts and tribunals and the right to a fair and public hearing before a competent, independent and impartial court or tribunal.

19.               Article 14(3) of the ICCPR establishes that, in the determination of any criminal charge, everyone shall be entitled to certain minimum guarantees, including: to be informed promptly and in details of the nature and cause of the charge against them (14(3)(a)); and not to be compelled to testify against themselves or to confess guilt (14(3)(g)).

20.               Article 14(1) of the ICCPR allows a hearing, or part of a hearing, to be held in private ‘for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public) or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties so requires’.

21.                A royal commission is not a court or tribunal, and cannot determine criminal charges or civil liability, but can refer information or evidence relating to a contravention of a law to law enforcement authorities or prosecutors. However, this Bill engages Article 14 of the ICCPR as a royal commission has powers to conduct inquiry processes similar to civil proceedings - for example, it can compel evidence, summon witnesses, convene hearings and administer an oath or affirmation. A royal commission is also empowered to make findings and recommendations following an inquiry. This can, for example, include criticism of certain persons or bodies that may have been at fault for certain actions or processes, or findings that certain steps should, or should not, have been taken in particular circumstances.

22.               While the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission generally conducts hearings that are open to the public, the Bill extends protections to information given by, or on behalf of, a natural person where the information contains an account of an ADF member’s or veteran’s suicide, suicidality, poor mental health, or systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to their, or another person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health. It must identify the person who gave the information, or on whose behalf the information was given, be given other than for the purposes of a private session, and be treated as confidential by the Commission at all times after being given to the Commission. It is necessary that this information remains confidential to protect the private lives of those who provide sensitive information. As such, it is permissible under the exception in Article 14(1) of the ICCPR for part of the Royal Commission to be conducted in private.

23.               The protection of certain information given to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission is consistent with Article 14 of the ICCPR as it balances the importance of the inquiry process being transparent and open with the need for certain information, in particular information of a sensitive or highly personal nature, to be treated as private and confidential.

Conclusion

24.               The Royal Commissions Amendment (Enhancing Engagement) Bill 2023 is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in the definition of human rights in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 . The Bill is compatible with human rights as it promotes the right to privacy and, to the extent that it limits the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair hearing or trial, the limitations are reasonable, necessary and proportionate. 

 

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Preliminary

Clause 1 - Short title

1.                    Clause 1 provides for the short title of this Act to be the Royal Commissions Amendment (Enhancing Engagement) Act 2023 .

Clause 2 - Commencement

2.                    Clause 2 provides for the commencement of each provision in this Act, as set out in the table at subclause 2(1).  The table provides that the whole of this Act commences the day after Royal Assent.

3.                    The note to subclause 2(1) clarifies that the table only relates to provisions of this Act as originally enacted and will not be amended to deal with any later amendments.

4.                    Subclause 2(2) specifies that information in column 3 of the table at subclause 2(1) is not part of this Act, and information may be inserted into column 3, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

Clause 3 - Schedules

5.                    Clause 3 provides that legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act would be amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1 - Amendments

Part 1 - Main amendments

Royal Commissions Act 1902 (the Act)

Item 1 - Section 6OA

6.                   Item 1 inserts a new definition of ‘Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’ into section 6OA of Part 4 of the Act. This provides clarity that a reference to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission means a reference to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, and including any variations made to the Letters Patent, issued on 8 July 2021.

7.                    Item 1 also inserts a new definition of ‘defence member’ and ‘veteran’. This provides clarity of meaning and defines the terms consistently with the definitions provided in the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide terms of reference.

Item 2 - At the end of Division 3 of Part 4

8.                    Item 2 inserts new clause 6OQ at the end of Division 3 of Part 4 of the Act.  New clause 6OQ provides for the protection of certain information given to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission.

9.                    New subclause 6OQ(1) sets out the criteria which must be met for the protections under new clause 6OQ to apply, and prescribes parameters regarding the type of information that can be protected.

10.                For information given to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, which includes its staff, outside of a private session to be protected, it must:

·          be provided by, or on behalf of, a natural person to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, other than for the purpose of a private session (subclause 6OQ(1)(a)

·          contain an account of an ADF member’s or veteran’s experiences of suicide, suicidality or poor mental health, or an account of the person’s own, or another’s, systemic issues related to any period of ADF pre-service, service, transition, separation and post-service that contributed, or may have contributed, to a person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health (subclause 6OQ(1)(b))

·          directly or indirectly identify the person who gave the information or on whose behalf the information was given (subclause 6OQ(1)(c), and

·          be kept confidential by the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission at all times (subclause 6OQ(1)(d).

11.                New subclause 6OQ(1)(b)(i) provides that information relating to an account of an ADF member’s or veteran’s, experiences of suicide, suicidality or poor mental health, may be protected by new clause 6OQ. The account may be provided by the ADF member or veteran themselves, or by another person about that ADF member or veteran’s experiences (for example, by a family member).

12.                ‘Suicidality’ refers to the risk of suicide, usually indicated by suicidal ideation or intent, especially as evident in the presence of a well-elaborated suicidal plan. It also includes suicidal thoughts, plans, gestures, or attempts.

13.                New subclause 6OQ(1)(b)(ii) provides that information relating to a natural person’s, or another person’s, experience of systemic issues, may be protected by new clause 6OQ.

14.                New subclause 6OQ(1)(c) provides that, in order to be protected under 6OQ, information must identify the person who is the subject of that information, either directly or indirectly. This includes any information, or combination of information, that could identify a person, which depending on the circumstances might include for example a person’s ADF rank or unit, or the location or date of a particular incident or incidents.

15.                Systemic issues are those factors which identify issues relating to a system, as opposed to a specific, or purely personal, experience. This captures the matters set out in the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference relating to systemic issues and risk factors.

16.                New clause 6OQ could allow protection of various types of information, including by way of example:

·          a person providing an account of a family member, friend or colleague who was a former Australian Defence Force member having committed suicide, and the events or circumstances that led to it

·          a person providing their own account of having attempted or considered suicide as a result of their experience during or after their service in the Australian Defence Force, including the factors they consider that led to it, or

·          awareness of policies or practices within or related to the Australian Defence Force, or as a veteran, that a person considers led to another person having committed, attempted or considered suicide

·          a person providing an account of their experiences accessing support (for example, from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or ex-service organisations) after discharging from the Australian Defence Force, and how access to those services, or lack thereof, affected their mental health.

17.                New clause 6OQ will limit the use, disclosure and admissibility of confidential information captured by clause 6OQ by extending existing protections of private session information in Division 3 of Part 4 of the Act (specifically sections 6OE, 6OH, 6OJ, 6OK, 6OL, and 6OM) to that information.

18.                The extension of existing protections afforded to private session information to certain information given outside of a private session is intended to encourage persons to come forward with information to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission. It provides greater assurance that sensitive information they wish to provide can be kept confidential both during and after the Royal Commission’s inquiry. This addresses concerns raised by the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission in its Interim Report that ADF members have been unwilling to engage with the Royal Commission out of fears that doing so may have a negative impact on their career or their subsequent experience in service.  

19.                New subclause 6OQ(2) provides that section 6OE of the Act applies to information as if it were a statement or disclosure made at a private session for the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission. Section 6OE of the Act provides that statements, disclosures or documents that a person makes or produces at a private session are not admissible in evidence against that person in civil or criminal proceedings. This will protect people who give information of the type described at new subclause 6OQ(1) to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission from legal proceedings being brought against them as a result of the information they have provided.

20.                New subclause 6OQ(3) addresses the unauthorised use or disclosure of information subject to new clause 6OQ by providing that existing sections 6OH, 6OK and 6OL of the Act apply to that information.

21.                Existing section 6OH of the Act provides that it is an offence for a person to make a record of, use or disclose information obtained or given at a private session for a royal commission, unless certain exceptions apply. The offence is punishable by imprisonment for 12 months or 20 penalty units. It is appropriate and proportionate to apply this offence to the unauthorised disclosure of information at new subclause 6OQ(1), as an unauthorised disclosure of information of this kind would harm the public interest by damaging confidence in the processes and powers of a royal commission and result in individuals being reluctant to provide information important to assist the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, and future royal commissions, in their inquiries into matters of public significance.  

22.                Existing section 6OK of the Act provides that the offence of unauthorised use or disclosure of information under section 6OH does not apply where a person discloses the information to the person who gave the information. This ensures that an individual who provided information to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission in a private session can subsequently obtain a record of their own information.

23.                Existing section 6OL of the Act establishes that the offence in section 6OH prevails where another law would otherwise require or authorise a person to make a record of, or to use or disclose private session information.

24.                New subclause 6OQ(4) concerns the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s use of information subject to new clause 6OQ in reports and recommendations. It applies existing section 6OJ of the Act, which provides that information provided to a royal commission for the purposes of a private session may only be included in a report or recommendation of the royal commission if the information is also given as evidence to the royal commission or under a summons, requirement or notice under section 2 of the Act, or the information is de-identified.

25.                The effect of new subclause 6OQ(5) is to enable records containing information as described at new subclause 6OQ(1) to be treated in the same way as Census information, so that these records would enter the open access period under the Archives Act 1983 99 years after the year the record came into existence. By providing that information captured by clause 6OQ would not be accessible under the Archives Act for effectively a person’s lifetime, the extended exclusion period is aimed at encouraging participants to come forward and share information of a sensitive nature to inform the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s inquiry.

26.                New subclause 6OQ(6) provides that a reference in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii) to experiences of systemic issues is a reference to experiences, or an awareness, of a policy, procedure, practice, act or omission that contributed, or may have contributed, to a natural person’s suicide, suicidality or poor mental health.

27.                Systemic issues refer to those matters relating to systemic issues and risk factors set out in the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference. Systemic issues could include accounts of:

·          the current availability and effectiveness of support services for those affected by a defence and veteran death by suicide

·          the impact of the culture of the Australian Defence Force, the Department of Defence or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs on the health and wellbeing of serving Australian Defence Force members

·          analysis of the administrative procedures involved in pre-service, service (including training and deployments), transition, separation and post-service issues, for example, the manner of recruitment, the availability of health and wellbeing services and the experience of transitioning out of the Australian Defence Force.

Item 3 - Application provisions

28.                Item 3 provides that the new protections created by new clause 6OQ apply to information that has already been given to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission prior to its commencement. There may have been information given to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission prior to the commencement of new clause 6OQ that it has treated confidentially at all times and over which the new protections in this Bill will apply. This Item ensures that all information of the type protected by 6OQ, regardless of when it was provided to the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, is protected under the provisions during and after the life of the Royal Commission.

Part 2 - Other amendments

Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Freedom of Information Act)

Item 4 - At the end of paragraph 7(2E)(a)

29.                Item 4 adds new paragraph (vi) to paragraph 7(2E)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act.

30.                The purpose of new paragraph 7(2E)(a)(vi) is to ensure that documents containing information received under new clause 6OQ cannot be released under the Freedom of Information Act by a Minister and an agency (for example, the Attorney-General’s Department) to which a request for documents is made under the Act. The Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission is exempt from the operation of the Freedom of Information Act during the period of its inquiry, but its records will not necessarily be exempt once the Royal Commission has concluded and its records are in the custody of the Attorney-General’s Department (pursuant to regulation 10 of the Royal Commissions Regulations 2019 ) or the National Archives of Australia. New paragraph 7(2E)(a)(vi) makes clear that a Minister or an agency remains exempt from the operation of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to documents protected under new clause 6OQ after the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission’s inquiries have concluded.

31.                Ongoing protection of information in relation to requests under the Freedom of Information Act provides additional assurance that records protected by new clause 6OQ will not be disclosed after the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission has ended. This is consistent with the treatment of information provided to a royal commission in a private session, as well as with the treatment of information that was provided to Child Abuse Royal Commission to which section 6ON of the Act applies, and information that was provided to the Disability Royal Commission to which section 6OP of the Act applies.

Item 5 - Application provision

32.                The purpose of item 5 is to provide that the amendment to section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act made by this Bill applies to requests made to the Attorney-General’s Department, which will be the custodian of the records of the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission once its inquiries have concluded, under section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act for access to, or applications made under section 48 of the Freedom of Information Act, received on or after the day the final report of the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission is submitted to the Governor General.