Telegraph Regulations (Amendment)

Legislation au C1973L00119 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Statutory Rules

1973 No. 119

REGULATIONS UNDER THE POST AND TELEGRAPH ACT 1901-1971.*

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901-1971.

Dated this twenty-first day of June, 1973,

PAUL HASLUCK

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

LIONEL BOWEN

Postmaster-General.

 

Amendments of the Telegraph Regulations†

Parts.

1. Regulation 2 of the Telegraph Regulations is amended by adding at the end thereof the words—

“Part VI.—Miscellaneous (Regulation 79).”.

When telegraph office is closed telegrams may be dropped into post or telegraph office letter box.

2. Regulation 8 of the Telegraph Regulations is amended by omitting from sub-regulation (2.) the words “in accordance with regulation 20 of these Regulations”.

Telegrams for transmission may be forwarded free by post to nearest telegraph or telephone office.

3. Regulation 9 of the Telegraph Regulations is amended by omitting from sub-regulation (1.) the words “in accordance with regulation 20 of these Regulations”.

Sender’s signature and address.

4. Regulation 20 of the Telegraph Regulations is repealed.

Method of counting.

5. Regulation 25 of the Telegraph Regulations is amended by omitting paragraph (g) and inserting in its stead the following paragraph:—

“(g) in the case of a telegraph money order—

(i) the serial number (including the State prefix) of the telegraph money order form; and

 

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on 28 June 1973.

† Statutory Rules 1927, No. 142, as amended by Statutory Rules 1928, Nos. 35, 88 and 97; 1929, Nos. 15 and 128; 1930, Nos. 1, 5, 42, 81, 114 and 129; 1931, Nos. 70, 132 and 136; 1933, Nos. 88, 102 and 127; 1934, Nos. 24, 113 and 137; 1935, No. 77; 1938, No. 63; 1939, Nos. 14 and 84; 1940, Nos. 50, 87 and 102; 1942, No 550; 1943, Nos. 215 and 242; 1944, No. 91; 1945, No. 10; 1946, No. 139; 1948, No. 23; 1949, Nos. 19 and 91; 1950, No 91; 1951, Nos. 23, 73 and 90; 1952, Nos. 6, 35 and 78; 1954, No. 5; 1955, No. 58; 1956, No. 69; 1957, No. 41; 1958, Nos. 13 and 50; 1959, Nos. 10 and 84; 1960, No. 15; 1961, No. 76; 1962, No. 99; 1964, No. 122; 1965, Nos. 41 and 42; 1966, Nos. 23 and 118; 1967, No. 129; and 1973, No. 77; and Act No. 63, 1967.

(ii) the Departmental identification number of the post office from which the telegraph money order is transmitted.”.

Replies may be prepaid.

6. Regulation 54 of the Telegraph Regulations is amended—

(a) by inserting after sub-regulation (1.) the following sub-regulation:—

“(1a.) A reply-paid telegram shall include, as part of the matter to be transmitted, the name and address of the sender or such other information as is, in the opinion of the sender, sufficient to inform the person to whom the telegram is addressed of the Identity and address of the sender.”; and

(b) by omitting sub-regulation (7.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-regulations:—

“(7.) A telegram that contains the words ‘reply paid’ or the letters ‘R.P.’, or other words or letters that would tend to indicate that the telegram is a reply-paid telegram, shall not be accepted for transmission unless—

(a) the charges for a reply have been prepaid by the sender of the telegram; or

(b) it is clear from the context in which those words or letters appear in the telegram that the telegram is not a reply-paid telegram.

“(8.) Where, in accordance with regulation 75, 75a or 75b of these Regulations, the charges for a reply-paid telegram are payable by a subscriber, the charges for a reply shall, for the purposes of the last preceding sub-regulation, be deemed to have been prepaid by the sender of the telegram.”.

Telephoning of telegrams by subscribers.

7. Regulation 75 of the Telegraph Regulations is amended by omitting from sub-regulation (8.) the words “Subject to the next succeeding regulation” and inserting in their stead the words “Subject to the next two succeeding regulations”.

Payment for certain telegrams telephoned by holders of credit cards.

8. Regulation 75a of the Telegraph Regulations is amended by omitting sub-regulation (2.).

9. After regulation 75a of the Telegraph Regulations the following regulations are inserted:—

Telegrams charged to a subscriber's account.

“75b. Where—

(a) a person telephones a message from a public telephone or the telephone of a subscriber to a telegraph office for transmission as a telegram or lettergram;

(b) at the time the message is telephoned the person requests the officer at the telegraph office to whom the message is given to charge the fee payable for the transmission of the message as a telegram or lettergram to the telephone account of a subscriber or to the telephone account of a subscriber other than the subscriber to the service from which the message is telephoned, as the case may be; and

(c) the officer to whom the message is given does not reject the request,

the fee payable for the transmission of the message as a telegram or lettergram, an additional fee of Ten cents and, if a telephone trunk line is used for the purpose of telephoning the message, the fee ascertained in accordance with paragraph (b) of sub-regulation (5.) of regulation 75 of these Regulations, are payable by the subscriber to whose telephone account the fee payable for the transmission of the message is requested to be charged.


False telephoning of telegrams.

“75c. A person who telephones a message to a telegraph office for transmission as a telegram or lettergram shall not request the officer at that telegraph office to whom the message is given to charge the telegram or lettergram, as the case may be—

(a) to the telephone account of another person unless the first-mentioned person is authorized by that other person to make the request; or

(b) to a telephone account that is a fictitious telephone account.

Penalty: Fifty dollars.”.

10. The Telegraph Regulations are amended by adding at the end thereof the following Part:—

“Part VI.—Miscellaneous.

Misleading telegrams.

“79. A person shall not maliciously send a telegram that is calculated to mislead or cause distress or alarm to another person.

Penalty: One hundred dollars.”.

Overview

Statutory Rules 1973 No. 119, made under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901-1971, introduces a series of amendments to the Telegraph Regulations, addressing operational and procedural issues within the postal and telegraph services. Enacted by the Governor-General, with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, these regulations aim to streamline the processes for telegram transmission, including the acceptance and handling of telegrams, the method of counting telegrams, and the management of reply-paid telegrams. The regulations also include provisions for the telephoning of telegrams by subscribers and penalties for false telephoning or the transmission of misleading telegrams, reflecting a policy objective to ensure the efficient, secure, and reliable operation of the telegraph service.

Scope and Application

The Regulations Under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901-1971, as set out in Statutory Rules 1973 No. 119, apply to individuals and entities engaged in the transmission of telegrams and the provision of postal and telegraph services within Australia. These regulations govern various aspects of telegram transmission, including the acceptance, delivery, and payment methods associated with telegrams. They also outline the procedures for counting telegrams and the handling of reply-paid telegrams. Additionally, the regulations address the charging of telegram transmission fees to subscribers' accounts and the prohibition of false telephoning of telegrams, including charging to fictitious or unauthorised accounts. The regulations apply nationally across Australia, as they are made under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. There are no stated exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds in these particular regulations; however, the application of the regulations may be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments as deemed necessary by the relevant authorities.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Regulations under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901-1971 (Statutory Rules 1973 No. 119) include several amendments and insertions into the existing Telegraph Regulations. These amendments primarily pertain to the procedures for sending telegrams, the requirements for reply-paid telegrams, the charging of telegrams to subscribers' accounts, and the prohibition of misleading telegrams. Regulation 2 adds a new Part VI—Miscellaneous (Regulation 79) allowing telegrams to be dropped into post or telegraph office letter boxes when the telegraph office is closed (Reg. 1). Regulation 8 allows telegrams for transmission to be forwarded free by post to the nearest telegraph or telephone office (Reg. 2). Regulation 9 removes the requirement for the sender's signature and address to be included with the telegram (Reg. 3). Regulation 20 is repealed entirely, removing the method of counting telegrams (Reg. 4). Regulation 25 is amended to change the details required for telegraph money orders, now including the serial number and the Departmental identification number of the post office (Reg. 5). Regulation 54 is amended to require reply-paid telegrams to include the sender's name and address or sufficient information to identify the sender and to clarify the conditions under which reply-paid telegrams are accepted (Reg. 6). Regulation 75 is amended to adjust the conditions under which subscribers can have telegrams telephoned to them (Reg. 7). Regulation 75a is amended by omitting a sub-regulation (Reg. 8). New regulations 75b and 75c are inserted to clarify the payment for telegrams telephoned by holders of credit cards and to prohibit the false telephoning of telegrams (Reg. 9). Lastly, Part VI—Miscellaneous is added, introducing a prohibition on maliciously sending misleading telegrams (Reg. 10). These Regulations impose several obligations on parties involved in the sending and receiving of telegrams. Senders must ensure that reply-paid telegrams include sufficient information to identify them (Reg. 6). They must also ensure that any request to charge a telegram to a subscriber’s account is legitimate and authorized (Reg. 75c). Subscribers must be aware of the conditions under which their accounts can be charged for telegrams and the additional fees that may apply (Reg. 75b). The regulations also mandate that officers at telegraph offices must verify the legitimacy of requests to charge telegrams to subscribers’ accounts (Reg. 75c). Furthermore, all parties are prohibited from sending misleading telegrams that could cause distress or alarm (Reg. 79). The Regulations also establish specific offences and penalties for non-compliance. Regulation 75c imposes a penalty of Fifty dollars for falsely telephoning telegrams, either to another person's account without authorization or to a fictitious account. Regulation 79 introduces a penalty of One hundred dollars for maliciously sending a telegram that is calculated to mislead or cause distress or alarm to another person. These penalties serve to deter non-compliance and maintain the integrity of the telegraph services provided under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901-1971.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.