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Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026

## What it does

This is a grab-bag of updates to Australian federal crime laws. It gives police new powers to get warrants for things like hacking into criminal accounts and disrupting networks, changes how drug offence evidence works in court, updates extradition rules, and tweaks the powers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (the top federal prosecutor).

## Why it matters

These changes shift how federal law enforcement investigates serious crime—particularly cybercrime and organised crime—by giving them faster, newer tools. They also affect how evidence gets presented in drug cases and make it easier to send Australians to face trial overseas.

## Key details

- **Police get new warrant powers**: Law enforcement can now apply for warrants to take over criminal accounts, disrupt malicious networks, and monitor network activity—things that weren't clearly covered before.

- **Drug evidence changes**: Starting 6 months after the bill passes, prosecutors can use certificates (basically official documents) as evidence in serious drug cases instead of having to call witnesses to testify, which speeds things up but removes the chance to question that evidence in court.

- **Extradition tightens**: People can now be held in prison while waiting to be extradited even if they've already agreed to go, and police get broader powers to enter premises to execute extradition warrants.

Official Description

Amends the: Crimes Act 1914 to list Sydney West Airport as a major airport for the purpose of enabling the Australian Federal Police to exercise move-on and identity-check powers at the airport; Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and Measures to Combat Serious and Organised Crimes Act 2001 to ensure law enforcement authorities are able to utilise or retain appropriate information gathering powers and warrant powers; Criminal Code Act 1995 to: introduce evidentiary certificates in serious drug offences proceedings; and amend the evidentiary framework for determining drug quantity thresholds by removing the existing purity-based method and replacing it with a mixture-weight approach; Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to: enable decision making where the Director of Public Prosecutions has a conflict of interest; and bring a position title in the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions into alignment with state and territory offices of public prosecutions; Extradition Act 1988 to: clarify aspects of the extradition process; and provide for new powers of entry and use of reasonable force for police officers in relation to the execution of arrest warrants; and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to update references to reflect changes in relation to Integrity Oversight Victoria.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Last updated on APH

9 Apr 2026

Last checked by Crossbench

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