Attorney-General Christian Porter insists there is an urgency for the parliament to pass new foreign interference laws ahead of five by-elections that are due to be held at the end of July.
"They're meant to protect Australian citizens, protect our national security but, ultimately, they're meant to protect our democratic processes," Mr Porter told ABC television on Sunday.
A bipartisan deal was struck last week to pass amended legislation targeting secret attempts by foreign spies to influence Australia's politicians and media while a second bill forces people acting on behalf of foreign powers to register or face criminal charges.
Director-General of ASIO advice suggests efforts by foreign countries and foreign agencies to effect changes of Australian opinion in a covert way to influence democratic outcomes are on the rise,
"So it makes complete sense to have these laws in place before the next large democratic event," Mr Porter said.
Foreign interference could take a number of forms, such as hacking into an Australian Electoral Commission website to change voter registration information.
"These types of events and occurrences have been evidenced overseas, particularly in the context of the last American presidential election," attorney-general said.
"You weaken a democracy by creating a sense of division or dysfunction and you can very easily do that by placing opinions and trying to affect opinions and just causing general chaos in the context of elections."
