Review of the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002

What's this about?

The NSW Department of Justice is reviewing the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002, as required by section 36 of the Act. The review is to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives. The Act provides for special powers to be exercised by police either because of the threat of a terrorist act in the near future, or in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack. The Act is available at http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au.

The NSW Ombudsman released the most recent review of Part 2A (Preventative Detention) and Part 3 (Covert Search Warrants) of the Act in September 2014. At the time of this review, no preventative detention powers had been used since the commencement of the Act. However, preventative detention orders were used to detain persons following a joint counter terrorism operation on 18 September 2014. This is the first time that preventative detention orders were used in NSW. A copy of the Ombudsman's 2014 report is available at www.ombo.nsw.gov.au- external sitelaunch.

On 22 February 2015 The Commonwealth Government and the NSW Government released the Martin Place Siege Joint Commonwealth – New South Wales Review (the Review). Both governments accepted all of the Review's recommendations in full. While the Review found that there were no major failings of intelligence or process in the lead up to the siege, it nevertheless recommended some measured changes to laws and government processes to mitigate public security risks. The Review and Government response is available at: http://www.nsw.gov.au/siegereview.

Relevant to counter terrorism, the Review recommended that the Australia and New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC) should monitor the operation of control orders, as well as preventative detention orders, to ensure they meet evolving operational needs. NSW will work alongside the Commonwealth and the other States and Territories to ensure that these recommendations are implemented effectively, and as a matter of priority. The outcome of the ANZCTC's work will inform the NSW Government's statutory review of the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002.

Submissions

The Department of Justice invites interested individuals and organisations to make submissions on the recent review.

Submissions should be sent to the Director, Crime Policy, NSW Department of Justice, GPO Box 6, Sydney NSW 2001, or by email to policy@justice.nsw.gov.au. The closing date for submissions is 24 July 2015.

Submissions may be referred to in the final report or be made publicly available unless you advise that you wish all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential.