Bill
Security of Critical Infrastructure and Other Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Response and Prevention) Bill 2024
passed, as at 2024-11-29. Home Affairs portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Home Affairs
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2024-10-09
- second reading — 2024-10-09
- second reading — 2024-11-18
- other — 2024-11-19
- second reading — 2024-11-19
- second reading — 2024-11-19
- committee — 2024-11-19
- other — 2024-11-20
- third reading — 2024-11-20
- introduced — 2024-11-25
- second reading — 2024-11-25
- second reading — 2024-11-25
- second reading — 2024-11-25
- committee — 2024-11-25
- third reading — 2024-11-25
- passed — 2024-11-25
- royal assent — 2024-11-29
Divisions
No divisions recorded. Most questions are decided on the voices; this does not establish that a bill was unopposed.
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2024-10-09.
This bill would tighten security rules for Australia's essential services like electricity, water and telecoms.
It would let the Home Affairs Secretary order action during serious cyber incidents, but only as a final step and with the minister's permission.
The definition of critical infrastructure assets would expand to include secondary assets that hold vital business data and support a primary asset's operation.
- Expands the definition of critical infrastructure assets to include secondary assets holding business-critical data related to a primary asset's function.
- Creates a last-resort directions power for the Home Affairs Secretary, authorised by the minister, to manage multi-asset incidents or serious incidents with a relevant impact.
- Clarifies secrecy and disclosure rules to allow more government information sharing and reduce burdens on businesses.
- Introduces a directions power for the Home Affairs Secretary or a Commonwealth regulator when a risk management program is seriously lacking.
- Moves telecommunications security and notification obligations from the Telecommunications Act into the SOCI Act, with enhancements to align frameworks.
- Strengthens integrity rules for systems of national significance and changes who receives notifications about changes.
Owners and operators of critical infrastructure assets, particularly in telecommunications, and the Department of Home Affairs.
Sources
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frl act