Parliamentary Inquiry Motion Gains Crossbench Support
Liberal Senator Jane Hume is preparing to launch a parliamentary investigation into the Department of Parliamentary Services' controversial decision to transfer a massive cache of internal emails to an external law firm. The motion, expected to be moved this week, would refer the matter to the finance and public administration references committee amid growing concerns about privacy breaches and potential violations of parliamentary privilege.
Senator Hume is currently negotiating with Greens and crossbench senators, including One Nation and ACT independent David Pocock, to secure the necessary support for her motion. With One Nation already committed to backing the inquiry, and Labor considering its position, the motion appears likely to pass.
Mass Data Transfer Raises Alarm Bells
The controversy centres on Department of Parliamentary Services secretary Jaala Hinchcliffe's decision in 2023 to authorise the transfer of more than 100,000 documents, including emails, Teams chats and other data, to law firm HWL Ebsworth. The data sweep was conducted while Hinchcliffe was investigating former secretary Rob Stefanic, who served as her superior at the time.
Revelations about the transfer have sparked significant concern among current and former DPS staff, particularly given that HWL Ebsworth had fallen victim to a major cyber attack by Russian criminals earlier that same year. The situation is further complicated by the fact that some of the transferred documents are subject to parliamentary privilege.
One former DPS employee expressed grave concerns that sensitive legal communications might have been captured in the sweep. "Current and former staff are concerned that there may have been breaches of our privacy and confidentiality," they stated. "In particular, staff who raised issues about the workplace culture at DPS with parliamentarians are now worried those communications may not have been as private as they thought."
Political Pressure Mounts on DPS Leadership
Queensland Liberal National Senator James McGrath highlighted that recent DPS evidence at Senate estimates "showed a failure to understand parliamentary privilege" and revealed "multiple systemic issues that we need to better understand." These concerns prompted the Coalition to push for further investigation.
One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts didn't mince words, declaring that "It's clear there is a rotten culture at the high levels of the department." He added that "The hardworking parliamentary staff are subjected to conduct and supposed leadership that wouldn't be accepted in any other workplace."
Senator Roberts also revealed that DPS executives had confirmed the department places email monitoring on classes of employees "from time to time," validating staff privacy concerns that have circulated for years.
Independent Senator David Pocock, who has received multiple complaints about DPS from current and former employees, indicated he would likely support the inquiry motion, pending review of the final terms of reference. While acknowledging that Secretary Hinchcliffe "appears to be making a concerted effort to drive cultural change," Pocock noted that "This is a big task and one that remains far from complete."
The Department of Parliamentary Services has maintained that employee privacy has been respected throughout the process. In response to concerned former staff, Hinchcliffe stated: "I can assure you that your privacy and confidentiality has been respected by the department, and that there has been no inappropriate sharing of the material."
Meanwhile, a DPS spokesperson declined to comment on "engagement with current or former employees or on the handling of DPS employee data," stating it would not be appropriate to do so.
The situation continues to develop as political negotiations around the inquiry's scope and powers intensify, with staff anxiety running high about how their private information has been handled and what protections exist for future communications.
