EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General
Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979
Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility – New South Wales) Instrument 2005
The Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 (the Act) establishes a general prohibition against the interception of communications passing over a telecommunications system. The purpose of this Notice is to ensure listening to or recording calls to and from a declared emergency service facility in New South Wales is not an interception for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection 6(2F) of the Act provides that a person who is lawfully engaged in duties relating to the receiving and handling of communications to or from an ‘emergency service facility’ may listen to or record a communication to or from the emergency service facility without contravening the general prohibition against interception.
The exception provided by subsection 6(2F) of the Act only applies to emergency services facilities that are declared by the Minister pursuant to subsection 6(2B) of the Act. To protect against the publication of the location of the facilities, which are critical infrastructure, a declaration under subsection 6(2B) of the Act is not a legislative instrument.
To maintain Parliamentary scrutiny of the declarations 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 to which the declaration relates, and the geographical region in which those premises are located.
This instrument is made under subsection 6(2D) of the Act. The related declaration under subsection 6(2B) is the Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility) Declaration 2005.
Overview
The Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility – New South Wales) Instrument 2005 was enacted to provide a legal framework that ensures certain emergency services facilities in New South Wales are not subject to the general prohibition against the interception of telecommunications under the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979. This instrument aims to allow authorised personnel to lawfully listen to or record communications related to declared emergency service facilities without contravening the overarching interception restrictions. The policy objective behind this legislation is to ensure that critical emergency services can operate effectively while maintaining necessary oversight and protections against unwarranted interception. This instrument is made under the authority of the Act by the Minister, who must specify the names of the relevant emergency service forces or services and the geographical regions where these facilities are located, thereby ensuring parliamentary scrutiny and transparency.
Scope and Application
The Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility – New South Wales) Instrument 2005 is a legislative instrument that applies to the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979, which generally prohibits the interception of communications passing over telecommunications systems. This particular instrument provides an exception to this prohibition for communications intercepted in the course of lawful duties relating to emergency service facilities in New South Wales. The exception applies only to facilities that have been declared by the Minister under subsection 6(2B) of the Act. It is important to note that these declarations are not legislative instruments and are not made public to protect the critical infrastructure from being disclosed. Instead, the Minister must specify the name of the force or service operating the premises and the geographical region in which they are located by legislative instrument, as outlined in subsection 6(2D) of the Act. This instrument, the Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility – New South Wales) Instrument 2005, is made under subsection 6(2D) and relates to the declaration made under subsection 6(2B), namely the Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility) Declaration 2005.
Key Provisions
The Telecommunications (Interception) (Emergency Service Facility – New South Wales) Instrument 2005 is a legislative instrument made under subsection 6(2D) of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979. This instrument specifies the name of the force or service operating the premises and the geographical region in which the emergency service facilities are located. The purpose of this instrument is to clarify that listening to or recording calls to and from these facilities does not constitute an interception under the Act. Specifically, subsection 6(2F) of the Act allows for such activities by persons lawfully engaged in duties relating to these communications, provided the facilities have been declared by the Minister.
The Act imposes certain obligations on the parties it governs. For instance, the Minister must declare emergency service facilities under subsection 6(2B) of the Act, while ensuring that these declarations do not reveal the exact locations of the facilities due to their critical nature. Additionally, by legislative instrument, the Minister must specify the force or service operating the premises and the geographical region, as outlined in subsection 6(2D). These obligations are crucial to maintain the secrecy of the locations while allowing authorised personnel to perform their duties without contravening the general prohibition against communication interception.
Any breach of the Act's provisions can lead to civil or criminal consequences. While the specific penalties are not detailed in the explanatory statement, the Act generally provides for penalties that may include fines and imprisonment. For instance, unauthorised interception of communications can result in substantial fines and imprisonment terms, reflecting the seriousness of such violations. The Act ensures that the interception of communications for emergency service facilities is conducted lawfully and transparently, with clear guidelines on who can perform such interceptions and under what circumstances.