Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (part 1 of 2)
8 November 2026
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Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Parliament of Australia
Follow its sittings26:31 - 28:38
Speaker 2
this first hearing of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee inquiry into Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026. I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to their elders past and present. I extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. These are public proceedings being audio streamed live by the Parliament's website, and a Hansard transcript is being made. If there are no objections, the committee authorises media recording and photography in committee proceedings in accordance with Broadcasting Resolution 3, though for any media present or present during the course of the day, that permission can be revoked at any time and the media must follow the directions of secretariat staff.
I remind all witnesses that in giving evidence to the committee, they're protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be treated by the Senate as a contempt.
It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence. The committee generally prefers evidence to be given in public, but under the Senate's resolutions witnesses have the right to request to be heard in private session. The Senate has resolved that an officer of a department of the Commonwealth or of a state shall not be asked to give opinions on matters of policy and should be given a reasonable opportunity to refer questions asked to the officer to superior officers or to a minister. This resolution does not preclude questioning about explanations of factual of policies or factual questions about when and how policies were developed. If a witness objects to answering a question, they should state the ground upon which the objection is made and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer, having regard to the ground which is claimed.
If the committee determines to insist on an answer, a witness may request the answer be given in camera. Commonwealth officers appearing today are also reminded of the Senate order specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity may be raised, and a copy of the order is available from the secretariat. I remind senators of their obligations under the behaviour code for Australian parliamentarians, which I will seek to enforce today, which is that they must treat all in the room, including witnesses, with dignity, courtesy, fairness, and respect. Answers to questions on notice should be returned by Friday, 13 November 2026.
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