INSLM TOLA Public Hearing – We’re going to Canberra…

ITPA have been invited to appear before the INSLM TOLA Public Hearing later this month. ITPA President Chris Herrmann and Vice President Paul McInerney, will travel there to represent our voice on this important subject and will be yet another perfect moment to have the voices of our members heard by the government.

Before your eyes rollover in acronym hell, here’s a quick recap of what & why we’re involved – and why we need you.

What is the INSLM?

Independent National Security Legislation Monitor https://www.inslm.gov.au   - Who watches the watchers?

What’s TOLA?

Telecommunications and other Legislation Amendment (Assistance & Access) Act 2018.

TL;DR - The IT / Comms Industry are obligated to assist the Government by implementing crackable encryption.

You can find more information via your favourite search engine of choice, or feel reassured by the official response to the IT industry's concerns here: https://www.asd.gov.au/publications/statement-tola-act-2018

What’s the Public Hearing about?

 The review was initiated to:

“…specifically consider whether the Act achieves an appropriate balance: whether the Act contains sufficient safeguards for protecting the rights of individuals and remains proportionate and necessary.” https://www.inslm.gov.au/current-review-work 

ITPA made a submission last year with several other groups, and we provided an update to the INSLM in December – drawing on the feedback from you! 

We have a short window of time to present information and arguments in the hearing. We would like to take feedback from members to this hearing, so right now we are asking you – the people on the ground – for your feedback on how this impacts you, the businesses you work for, and your clients.

If you’re able and willing to provide a case study on a real world impact, please get in touch with our President, Chris Herrmann directly. 

We understand that there will be details of submissions that need to remain confidential. With this in mind:

• Obviously the intention is that we wish to present this information publically. So be clear on what information can be disclosed, and what needs to be redacted / anonymised etc.
• We do ask that we can identify the industry, size of the impacted organisation, and obviously some narrative talking about why and how it has impacted the organisation.
• We appreciate that organisation and individuals may feel uncomfortable about being publically identified and will work with you to determine what may be disclosed.
• Consequently it may not be possible to use your contribution directly, or may only be possible to use it in an aggregated form (for example “XX% of respondents noted…”).
• Your responses / stories-from-the-trenches don’t need to be long or detailed. Even a short anecdote would be helpful.

We are scheduled to appear at the public hearing 20 February, so please get any feedback to Chris Herrmann before COB 18 February – president@itpa.org.au