Question On Notice No. 1443 asked in the Legislative Council on 28 June 2018 by Hon Alison Xamon
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Attorney General
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I
refer to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee’s
report into the adequacy of existing offences in the Commonwealth Criminal Code
and of State and Territory criminal laws to capture cyberbullying released in
March 2018, and I ask:
(a) does
the McGowan Government support:
(i) recommendation 2 “that Australian
governments consider how they can further improve the quality and reach of
preventative and early intervention measures, including education initiatives,
both by government and non-government organisations, to reduce the incidence of
cyberbullying among children and adults”; and
(ii) recommendation
4, that Australian governments ensure that:
(A) the
general public has a clear awareness and understanding of how existing criminal
offences can be applied to cyberbullying behaviours;
(B) law
enforcement authorities appropriately investigate and prosecute serious
cyberbullying complaints under either State or Commonwealth legislation,
coordinate their investigations across jurisdictions where appropriate, and
make the process clear for victims of cyberbullying, and; and
(C) consistency
exists between State, Territory and Federal laws in relation to cyberbullying; and
(b) if
yes to any part of (a), please advise what work, if any, is proposed to address
these recommendations and any timeframes for this work to be undertaken; and
(c) if
not to any part of (a), why not?
Answered on 30 August 2018
(a) – (c) Yes.
Through membership of the National Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG) the Government will ensure coordination of cybercrime messaging to key organisations and to the general public.
The Government continues to work with the NCWG to oversee regular reviews of the Protocol for Law Enforcement on Cybercrime Investigations initiative to ensure that it provides an effective means of coordinating cybercrime investigation activity.