Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979
Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Service Facilities —Australian Capital Territory) Instrument 2010
The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (the Act) establishes a general prohibition against the interception of communications passing over a telecommunications system. The purpose of the Instrument is to ensure that listening to or recording calls to and from an emergency service facility is not an interception for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection 6(2F) of the Act provides an exception to this general prohibition, permitting a person who is lawfully engaged in duties relating to the receiving and handling of communications to or from an ‘emergency service facility’ to listen to or record a communication to or from the emergency service facility without contravening the Act.
Subsection 6(2B) of the Act requires that the Minister must be satisfied that the premises are operated by one of the listed forces or services to enable that force or service, or another force or service, to deal with a request for assistance in an emergency.
Subsection 6(2D) of the Act provides that the Minister must, by legislative instrument, specify the name of the force or service operating the premises and the geographical region in which those premises are located.
The Instrument (the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Service Facilities – Australian Capital Territory) Instrument 2010) revokes the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Service Facilities – Australian Capital Territory) Instrument 2008. The Instrument also adds a new emergency service facility operated by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in the geographical region of Barton.
Consultation with the AFP was undertaken in relation to the Instrument. The Attorney-General is satisfied that the operations at this facility meets the requirements of section 6 of the Act, being a facility operated by a police service to enable that service to deal with requests for assistance in an emergency.
The Instrument commences on 13 August 2010.