Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025; Second Reading

Summary

ASIO — Australia's domestic intelligence agency — currently has the power to force people to answer questions during investigations, but this power is set to expire and needs parliamentary approval to continue. This amendment would make that questioning power permanent and expand it to cover sabotage, attacks on Australia's defence system, and threats to territorial integrity, in addition to the current categories of espionage, terrorism, and foreign interference. It also tightens the rules around who can oversee these questioning sessions (requiring retired judges for questioning after charges are laid) and improves oversight by making sure the Attorney-General is informed about what happens under these powers. The change matters because ASIO argues Australia's security threats have become more complex since these powers were first introduced in 2003, and making them permanent — rather than temporary and repeatedly renewed — gives the agency a stable legal foundation to protect national security.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause