14th Aug 2017, 12:00 PM – Senate Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time. In other words, they agreed with the main idea of the bill and can now discuss it in more detail.

What is the bill's main idea?

According to the bills digest:

The purpose of the Bill is to create a regulatory framework for industry and government to collaboratively manage national security risks of espionage, sabotage and foreign interference to Australia’s telecommunications networks and facilities.

The Bill will provide the Attorney-General with a new power to direct a carrier or carriage service provider (CSP) or a carriage service intermediary (intermediary) to do or not do a specified thing on security related grounds (for example, alter a procurement assessed as giving rise to security risks).

The key elements listed were:

• The regime will have a delayed commencement (12 months), including the development of administrative guidelines website.

• The regime established by the Bill will apply to carriers, CSPs and intermediaries to varying degrees.

• A new security obligation is imposed on carriers and CSPs to ‘do their best’ to manage risks related to unauthorised access and interference to networks and facilities they own, operate or use to ensure the availability and integrity of networks and facilities and to protect the confidentiality of information stored on and carried across them.

• A new notification requirement is imposed on carriers and certain CSPs to notify the government of planned changes to their systems and services that are likely to make the network or facility vulnerable to unauthorised access and interference.

• The Secretary of the AGD is provided with coercive information gathering powers in relation to carriers, CSPs and intermediaries subject to the new regime to facilitate monitoring of and investigations into compliance with the new security obligations.