Senate standing committees, covering every area of government operations, have developed a reputation as the backbone of the Senate’s committee work. Standing committees permit a continuing surveillance of defined fields of government activity, call upon scholarly research and advice and create an awareness of the Senate’s ‘watchdog’ function. There are a number of different kinds of standing committees: domestic, legislative scrutiny, legislative and general purpose, and joint. In this instance, acting in the capacity of an Australia Privacy Foundation (APF) board member, I was granted an invitation to give evidence at the Committee's public hearing which was held on Thursday, 22 January 2009 betwen 2 and 2.45 pm. http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Consultations_reforms_and_reviewspersonal_property_securities_reform The venue for the hearing is the Jubilee Room, Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney. The Committee’s practice is to invite a representative to make a brief opening statement, outlining their main arguments, and then to answer questions from Senators. The hearing is open to the public and the media.