The Australian Parliament is considering—and expected to pass—two controversial bills in its current session. The Espionage and Foreign Interference and Foreign Interference and Transparency Scheme bills will give intelligence agencies greater powers to prosecute foreign agents interfering in Australian decision-making processes, and force individuals and organizations to come clean when they are acting at the behest of external entities.

In principle, these bills are not aimed at any one country. They are designed to strengthen the integrity of the country’s institutions at a time when spying and interference by foreign powers is at unprecedented levels according to the country’s intelligence chief Duncan Lewis. In practice, the urgency to legislate against these activities arises because of increased covert Chinese activities in the country.