EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General
Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979
Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-ordinator) Specification 2007
Section 6R of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (the Act) provides that the Communications Access Co-ordinator is the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department (the Department), or another person as specified in writing by the Attorney-General. Section 6R was inserted into the Act by the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment Act 2007 (the Amendment Act). The role of the Communications Access Co-ordinator replaces the similar role of Agency Co-ordinator established by section 7A of the Telecommunications Act 1997.
The Office of the Communications Access Co-ordinator is the primary point of liaison between interception agencies and telecommunications carriers and carriage service providers (C/CSPs) in relation to telecommunications interception issues. The Communications Access Co-ordinator has a number of statutory functions including consideration of interception capability plans under section 198 of the Act and may grant exemptions to C/CSPs from all or any of their obligations to provide interception capability under section 192.
The Communications Access Co-ordinator also works closely with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in relation to the granting of carrier licences. The ACMA must not grant a carrier licence until it has consulted with the Agency Co-ordinator about the licence application, who will consult with the agencies concerning any national security implications associated with granting the licence.
Since section 7A of the Telecommunications Act commenced, the Attorney-General designated the First Assistant Secretary, Security and Critical Infrastructure Division, as the Agency Co-ordinator. This current arrangement is considered to also be appropriate for the Communications Access Co‑ordinator. The statutory functions of the Communications Access Co-ordinator generate a significant amount of correspondence and some of the statutory timeframes in which to respond require that the Communications Access Co-ordinator is readily accessible and able to have a hands-on approach to the position. In addition, the increasing liaison role between agencies and industry, including the chairing of officer level forums, significantly benefits from being carried out at officer level.
Accordingly, the Attorney‑General has made the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Communications Access Co-ordinator) Specification 2007 (the Specification) to specify the person holding or acting in the position of First Assistant Secretary, Security and Critical Infrastructure Division as the Communications Access Co‑ordinator.
The Specification is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The Specification commences on the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act (which is when section 6R of the Act commences).