Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by authority of the Minister for Home Affairs in compliance with section 15J of the Legislation Act 2003

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026

1.                 The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026 is made under subsection 6(2D) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act). It amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Instrument 2020.

Purpose

1.                 The purpose of the Amendment Instrument is to specify the emergency services facilities operated by Ambulance Victoria in the geographic region of Mount Helen.

Background

1.                 The TIA Act establishes a general prohibition against the interception of communications passing over a telecommunications system. However, there is an exception in section 6 that enables a person to listen to or record emergency calls at emergency facilities declared by the Minister in certain circumstances.
2.                 Under subsection 6(2B), the Minister may declare premises to be emergency service facilities if the Minister is satisfied that the premises are operated by a police, fire, ambulance or dispatching service to enable emergency services to deal with a request for assistance in an emergency.
3.                 Victoria notified the Department of Home Affairs that it would commence operating a new facility in Mount Helen.
4.                 The Minister subsequently amended the relevant declaration to add the new facility.
5.                 Subsection 6(2D) of the TIA Act provides that, if the Minister makes a declaration under subsection 6(2B) of the TIA Act, the Minister must, by legislative instrument, specify the name of the emergency service operating the premises to which the declaration relates and the geographic region in which those premises are located. This ensures that emergency calls can be dealt with without delay, while being recorded to support first responders and any subsequent hearings.

Consultation

1.                 The Amendment Instrument was made at the request of Ambulance Victoria. Consultation was undertaken with this operator on the development of the instrument and no concerns were raised.
2.                 It was not necessary to conduct consultation beyond these operators as the Amendment Instrument is technical in nature in that communications are already being recorded and listened to at the operators’ other emergency facilities. The Amendment Instrument merely updates the locations of this facility and ensures that all of their facilities are listed.

Other considerations 

1.             Details of the Amendment Instrument are set out in Attachment A. The Amendment Instrument satisfies the Minister’s obligations under subsection 6(2D) of the TIA Act.
2.             Section 12 of the Legislation Act 2003 provides that a legislative instrument commences at the start of the day after the day the instrument is registered, or so far as the instrument provides otherwise (in accordance with such provision). This Amendment Instrument will automatically be repealed as its only legal effect is to amend the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Instrument 2020.
3.             Sections 1 to 4 of this instrument commence the day after this instrument is made. Schedule 1 to this instrument commences on 16 February 2026. It is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act).
4.             The Amendment Instrument is a disallowable instrument under section 42 of the Legislation Act and therefore a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights has been provided at Attachment B.

Attachment A

Details of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the Amendment Instrument is the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026.

Section 2 Commencement

Section 2 provides that sections 1 to 4 commence on the day after the Amendment Instrument is made. This provides clarity and promotes transparency by aligning the commencement of the instrument with the commencement of the declaration that allows calls to be intercepted at the new emergency services facilities.

The amendment in Schedule 1 commences on 16 February 2026 to align with the date that the Mount Helen facility becomes operational.

Section 3 Authority

Section 3 provides that the Amendment Instrument is made under subsection 6(2D) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend or vary any such instrument.

Section 4 Schedules

Schedule 1 to the Amendment Instrument amends section 4 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Instrument 2020.

Item 1 of Schedule 1 inserts a new premises operated by Ambulance Victoria in the geographic region of Mount Helen.

Ambulance Victoria has confirmed that, prior to occupancy of the facility, it will erect signs easily visible at each entrance to the facility notifying persons that communications to or from the facility may be listed to or recorded, consisted with the requirements in subsection 6(2G).

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

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

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026

This Disallowable 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 Disallowable Legislative Instrument

The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Emergency Services Facilities—Victoria) Amendment Instrument (No. 1) 2026 (the Amendment Instrument), under subsection 6(2B) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act), declares Ambulance Victoria’s Mount Helen premises in Victoria to be an ‘emergency service facility.

The TIA Act establishes a general prohibition against the interception of communications passing over a telecommunications system. However, section 6 provides an exception to enable a person to listen to or record emergency calls at emergency facilities declared by the Minister for Home Affairs in certain circumstances.

Subsection 6(2D) of the TIA Act provides that, if the Minister makes a declaration under subsection 6(2B) of the TIA Act, the Minister must, by legislative instrument, specify the name of the emergency service and the geographic region in which those premises are located.

The purpose of the Amendment Instrument is to specify the geographical location of facilities for Ambulance Victoria. Ambulance Victoria is currently specified as a service operating emergency facilities.

Human rights implications

This Disallowable Legislative Instrument engages the following rights:

• the right to privacy contained in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and
• the right to life contained in Article 6(1) of the ICCPR.

Interference with a person’s privacy or correspondence

Article 17 of the ICCPR provides that:

1.       No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour or reputation.
2.       Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 17 of the ICCPR provides that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy. Interferences with privacy may be permissible, provided that it is authorised by law and is not arbitrary. For an interference with the right to privacy not to be arbitrary, the interference must be for a reason consistent with the provisions, aims and objectives of the ICCPR and be reasonable in the particular circumstances. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has interpreted ‘reasonableness’ in this context to imply that ‘any interference with privacy must be proportional to the end sought and be necessary in the circumstances of any given case’. The term unlawful means that no interference can take place except as authorised under domestic law.

This Instrument may limit the right to privacy by declaring additional premises to be ‘emergency service facilities’, enabling those facilities to listen to or record emergency calls. Despite the general prohibition on the interception of communications in subsection 7(1) of the TIA Act, section 6 ensures that listening to or recording a communication passing over a telecommunications system to or from a declared emergency service facility by a person who is lawfully engaged in duties related to the receiving and handling of communications is not an interception of communication.

The purpose of this exception is to ensure that emergency services are able to assist an emergency caller, and respond to an emergency situation as quickly as possible, without first notifying the caller of the recording. This ensures that persons requiring emergency assistance are provided with efficient and timely assistance. Recording of a call enables an emergency service to undertake appropriate clarification, review and audit in dealing with an emergency situation which may involve a threat to life.

The effect of the Amendment Instrument is reasonable, necessary and proportionate to achieving the objective of providing efficient and timely assistance in emergency situations.

The Amendment Instrument is subject to a number of safeguards, including:

The Department of Home Affairs consulted with Ambulance Victoria to understand the privacy arrangements in place at the premises. Privacy policies, procedures and training programs on the management of personal and health information provided by callers ensure that the collection, use, storage and disclosure of information are undertaken only to the extent necessary to facilitate the operations of the premises as an emergency service facility. Further, Ambulance Victoria has confirmed it will erect signage consistent with the requirement in subsection 6(2G) prior to the facility becoming operational.  

Accordingly, to the extent that the measures in the Amendment Instrument may limit right to privacy in Article 17 of the ICCPR, the limitation is not arbitrary or unlawful and is reasonable, necessary and proportionate to the legitimate objective of protecting public order, public health, public safety and the rights and freedoms of others, such as the right to life under Article 6 of the ICCPR.

Right to life

Article 6(1) of the ICCPR states that:

Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

The Amendment Instrument ensures that the premises declared as emergency service facilities can provide appropriate and timely assistance for persons in emergency situations. Emergency services are critical to delivering first responder functions to people in Victoria. In this regard, the Amendment Instrument promotes the right to life under Article 6 of the ICCPR.

Conclusion

The Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights because it promotes protection of human rights and, to the extent that it may limit human rights, those limitations are not arbitrary or unlawful and are reasonable, necessary and proportionate.  

The Hon Tony Burke MP

Minister for Home Affairs