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MUTUAL RECOGNITION AMENDMENT BILL
MUTUAL RECOGNITION AMENDMENT BILL 2021 HAS PASSED
BUT THE PRESSURE IS STILL ON STATES/TERRITORIES TO EMBRACE NATIONAL REGULATORY STANDARDS
The Automatic Mutual Recognition Bill (2021) finally passed Federal Parliament on June 23rd, 2021. Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) is a step in the right direction, however without the participation of the States and Territories, it is unworkable.
The changes are designed to, “introduce a uniform scheme of automatic mutual recognition (AMR) by enabling an individual who is registered for an occupation in their home state to carry on those activities in other states and territories.”
This could have been a chance for a reduction in red tape and improved ease of movement of workers across Australian State/Territory borders.
However, the Amendment also leaves the gate wide open for States and Territories to essentially ignore AMR, stating that it will: “enable a state minister to exempt a registration in their state from being subject to AMR for a renewable period of up to five years; and enable a state minister to exempt a registration in their state for a temporary period of six months after commencement of the Act, with an option to extend for a further period to 30 June 2022 if needed”.
In plain English, the Amendment says, “AMR is a great idea, but feel free to ignore it if you like”.
Long before passage of the Bill, some states and territories declared their intention to immediately seek an exemption from AMR on the grounds that standards in other states were inferior to their own and that they would not endanger their own citizens.
In a nutshell, all States and Territories are saying they agree with the concept of AMR, except in their own case, where they do not want interstate operators crossing their borders.
This Catch-22 attitude effectively renders AMR meaningless.
The story of AMR is a classic example of the dilemma faced by the Security Industry. While States and Territories persist in pursuing their own narrow self-interest, we will never have an even playing field across the whole country and we will not achieve nationally consistent security licensing standards.
The AMR Amendment Bill has not changed the status quo. Individuals must still hold multiple jurisdictional security licences to perform their day-to-day duties across borders, which restricts labour mobility and creates unnecessary red tape and cost, particularly for providers in border areas and individuals operating nationally.
ASIAL has been pressing for nationally consistent regulatory standards for the Security Industry for more than 25 years, but State/Territory Governments are yet to embrace this approach - despite a resolution passed by the then Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2008 to agree to a national regulatory framework.
ASIAL has written repeatedly to government leaders calling for: 1. Nationally consistent security licensing eligibility requirements; 2. More effective regulatory enforcement and compliance; 3. More effective regulatory enforcement in the delivery of training; 4. Action to prevent the abuse of individuals seeking employment through sham contracting arrangements; 5. Greater transparency and efficacy in security procurement practices; 6. A co-regulatory approach to ensure improved outcomes for all stakeholders. ASIAL has urged all governments to work together and equip Australia with the highest regulatory standards for the Security Industry. It is in everybody’s interests that we finally tackle this issue and get it right.
And so, the campaign continues. Until and unless all the Governments of Australia start working as a team, the Security Industry will maintain the pressure and lobby for uniformly fair regulatory framework for the whole industry.
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Australian Security companies know how hard it is to recruit qualified people into the industry at the moment and they are not alone.
Australian employers are on a hiring frenzy, with a record-breaking number of jobs now up for grabs.
But they are struggling to find suitablyqualified staff to fill available roles.
The security industry is perhaps more exposed than some other sectors of the economy.
The $9.9 billion a year industry employs more than 153,000 licensed Security Officers.
But private security is increasingly called upon to work in hotel quarantine, protect critical infrastructure and crowded places, install, maintain and monitor vital electronic security equipment and safely transport cash to Australian companies, banks and ATMs.
President of the Australian Security Industry Association Ltd (ASIAL) John Gellel said the industry must prioritise recruitment to keep pace with demand.
“Across Australia, personnel shortages have become a major issue for the industry, the need for more Security Officers is fast becoming our top priority,” he said.
“While governments squabble over COVID lock-down regimes and their fair share of the burden, the private security industry is quietly getting on with the job of delivering the services required by business and government.
“But the essential arithmetic is – without enough licensed security personnel, it can’t work,” said Mr Gellel.
The Federal Government has provided funding to upskill existing technicians and new entrants. Similarly, following engagement between government and ASIAL, earlier this year the New South Wales Government provided funding for fee free training in the delivery of the Certificate II in Security Operations, presenting an incentive to labour market entrants to choose a Security career path. More needs to be done, and ASIAL is working closely with a number of governments around the country to ensure this is achieved.
But Mr Gellel said that more needs to be done to attract potential employees. “Apprenticeships and upskilling employees are a key to maintaining our ability to keep pace with demand,” he said.
THE TROUBLE WITH LABOUR
Employers Australia-wide are feeling the pinch when it comes to recruiting good staff in today’s COVID market but the security industry is a priority
“Many entering the labour market are probably unaware that a licensed security technician can expect an income similar to other trades such as an electrician.
“We need to promote the opportunities and career pathways the industry has to offer. Whether it is in the electronic or protective security sector, we need to demonstrate a dynamic and innovative work environment.”
“A career in the security industry means you’re part of something much larger than a career,” said John Gellel.
“Whether you’re in the protective services or electronics sector of the industry, you will be playing your part in keeping Australia safe and secure, while getting to work with cutting edge technologies” Mr Gellel said.
The current shortage in recruitment is not unique to the security industry.
Latest figures from the National Skills Commission reveal recruitment difficulty has reached a new peak since the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than half (54 per cent) of employers report having trouble filling vacancies in the four weeks to April 30.
These organisations had a particularly tough time hiring outside capital cities, where 64 per cent reported difficulties, and when hiring skilled workers with a Certificate III qualification or higher (62 per cent).
The latest SEEK Employment Report also reveals that in April, the number of applications for each job advertisement on seek.com.au was at its lowest level since 2012.
It was likely the result of all states and territories recording the highest job ad volumes ever on the job site.
In addition, traditional gender roles can sometimes be a barrier to labour entrants, according to John Gellel. “We need to look at ways of encouraging more women to enter our industry.
“The perception of security as a male dominated profession is outdated and has no meaning in the 21st century, considering the diversity and increasing levels of technical sophistication in our industry,” he said.
“With government and industry working together, the opportunity here is to update the industry’s image and make it more meaningful and attractive in the broader recruitment spectrum,” said Mr Gellel.
AUSTRALIA’S “CORPORATE SOFT UNDERBELLY” THE FIRST POINT OF ATTACK
Security, Military and Cyber experts are alarmed by corporate Australia’s lack of awareness or preparedness
In December last year, the then Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton raised cyber security as a critical issue when he introduced the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 and told parliament it was “a significant step in the protection of the critical infrastructure and essential services which all Australians rely upon”.
He might have appeared like a prophet of doom back then when he told Parliament, “Australia has not suffered a catastrophic attack on our critical infrastructure, but we are not immune….Malicious cyber activity has been identified as one of the most significant threats affecting Australians”.
While the original Bill dealt mostly with threats ranging from natural hazards such as weather events, it also considered humaninduced threats such as cyberattacks, espionage, chemical or oil spills, and from trusted insiders.
Dutton said that Australia is facing increasing cyber security threats to essential services, businesses and all levels of government.
Since then, Dutton has moved to the Defence Ministry and we have seen cyberattacks on federal parliamentary networks, logistics, Channel Nine, banking ATM networks, the medical sector and universities, just to name a few.
Elsewhere, the Russian-linked SolarWinds attack and the China-linked attack on Microsoft Exchange have stunned governments and observers worldwide.
And yet, cyber security budgets in Australia’s corporate sector have remained stagnant and executive teams continue to underestimate the level of damage cyber threats can do to organisations according to the Sophos survey report, The Future of Cybersecurity in Asia Pacific and Japan.
The survey found that 52 per cent of Australian organisations suffered a data breach in 2020, up from 36 per cent in 2019 – this is despite 61 per cent of Australian organisations claiming to have a proactive or better security capability in place today.
This is still considerably better than the average across Asia Pacific and Japan, where 70 per cent of surveyed organisations reported a breach in 2020, which is a two-fold increase since 2019.
At present, the new legislation is being reviewed by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, but according to a leading academic in the field, all the new amendment does is announce the build-up of our already near non-existent cyber mitigation capability.
Former Chief Executive Officer of the ANU’s Cyber Institute Lesley Seebeck says the problem faced by the government is the demand curve in terms of the depth, breadth and level of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure is increasing.
“There are also a lot more nation states getting involved in attacks and the supply chain in terms of people and cyber capability is pretty flat,” Seebeck said.
Vice-President of the Australian Security Industry Association Rachaell Saunders said the key word in cyber security is the word “Security”.
“There are plenty of IT consultancies who advise their customers on fortifying their computer systems, but that is not enough. cyber security is about a lot more than just computer systems and organisations have to examine their operations from a broader security standpoint.”
Ms Saunders said corporates need to be better educated about how cyber incursions are done. “Cyberattacks include gaining access to codes via email phishing, people impersonating banks or other so-called trusted sources to gain critical data about people to help them break into companies’ systems. Cyber intruders get inside companies by taking jobs – even as cleaners, and sometimes, they just break in and steal critical information.
“So it’s important that companies stop thinking about cyber as just something that happens in computers and see it as a major security challenge, she said.”
Last year, the Australian Strategy Policy Institute’s researched Australia’s Cyber vulnerabilities and found: “Our approach to national security planning should now include key companies and their supply chains: it’s time to rethink our national security approach in a more complex, dynamic and interconnected world.”
Their Report, “From Board Room to Situation Room” described the corporate sector as Australia’s soft underbelly and the most likely point of first strike by a hostile nation state.
The authors recommended closer integration between Australia’s government security agencies and the Australian Defence Force with the private sector. “Our corporate sector is now a key component of our deterrent posture against a range of threats.”
Concerns about cyber vulnerabilities are not limited to the Government, Defence and the Security Industry. The recent Australian Security Confidence Index (ASCI) showed that Australians feel most unsafe online (41%), especially people over 40, who fear cybercrime, identity theft and other cyberattacks while using online banking, chatting in social media or online shopping.
In the final analysis, Australia’s characteristic “She’ll be right” attitude will have to give way to a strong dose of reality. The country as a whole will have to wake up and get cyber-ready before it’s too late.
52%
Australian organisations suffered a data breach in 2020
41%
Australians feel most unsafe online
