EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-ordinator) AMENDMENT Instrument 2020

(Subsection 6R(2))

1.            The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access          Co-ordinator) Amendment Instrument 2020 (LIN 20/218) (“the Amendment Instrument”) is made under subsection 6R(2) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (“the TIA Act”) and subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
2. The Amendment Instrument amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-ordinator) Instrument 2019 (“the 2019 Instrument”).
3. The TIA Act establishes the position of a Communications Access Co-ordinator as the primary point of liaison for law enforcement agencies, interception agencies, telecommunications carriers and carriage service providers in relation to telecommunications interception and data retention issues.
4. Under section 6R of the TIA Act, the Communications Access Co-ordinator is the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs or a person or body specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument. The 2019 Instrument specifies persons who hold, occupy or perform the duties of certain positions in the “Policy Group” and the “Security and Resilience Group”.
5. As a result of a Departmental restructure, the Policy Group has been abolished and some of its functions transferred to a new Group named the Strategy and Law Enforcement Group.
6. Also as a result of the restructure, the Security and Resilience Group has been abolished and some of its functions transferred to a new Group named the National Resilience and Cyber Security Group.
7. This Amendment Instrument identifies the same persons who hold, occupy or perform the duties of a position at the same classification level as the persons previously authorised prior to the restructure of the Department of Home Affairs. Therefore, there is no expansion in the number of people, positions, classification levels, or work areas being specified for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of Communications Access Co-ordinator in subsection 6R(1) of the TIA Act.
8. In accordance with paragraph 15J(2)(e) of the Legislation Act 2003, consultation was not necessary. This instrument corrects organisational references following a departmental restructure.
9. A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights has been prepared in accordance with the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, and is at Attachment A.
10. The Amendment Instrument commences the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Attachment A

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-ordinator) Amendment Instrument 2020

This legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the legislative instrument

The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-Ordinator) Amendment Instrument 2020 ("the Amendment Instrument") is made under section 6R of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (“the TIA Act”). Under section 6R of the TIA Act, the Communications Access Co‑ordinator is the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs or a person or body specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument.

In the Amendment Instrument, the Minister specifies the persons holding, occupying or performing duties of a position at the classification levels:

• Executive Level 1 and 2 and Senior Executive Service 1 in the National Security Policy Branch of the Law Enforcement Policy Division of the Strategy and Law Enforcement Group, and in the Telecommunications and Technology Branch of the Critical Infrastructure Security Division of the National Resilience and Cyber Security Group;
• Senior Executive Service 2 in the Law Enforcement Policy Division of the Strategy and Law Enforcement Group, and in the Critical Infrastructure Security Division of the National Resilience and Cyber Security Group; and
• Senior Executive Service 3 in the Strategy and Law Enforcement Group, and in the National Resilience and Cyber Security Group,

in the Department of Home Affairs to be a Communications Access Co‑ordinator.

The Amendment Instrument amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-ordinator) Instrument 2019 (“the 2019  Instrument”), which specified certain persons in the Policy Group, and in the Security and Resilience Group in the Department of Home Affairs to be a Communications Access Co‑ordinator. The Instrument specifies the same persons, by reference to their positions in the Department following the abolishment of the Policy Group, re-established as the Strategy and Law Enforcement Group, and the abolishment of the Security and Resilience Group, re-established as the National Resilience and Cyber Security Group. The Instrument does not specify any additional persons or alter existing arrangements.

The Instrument is technical in nature, and does not affect the functions of a Communications Access Co‑ordinator, which are governed by the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 and the Telecommunications Act 1997.

Human rights implications

The Instrument corrects organisational references following the departmental restructure, and gives effect to the original intent of the 2019 Instrument. As such, the Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This amendment is compatible with human rights as it is a technical amendment only and does not raise any human rights issues.