{"id":"sl-2017-8","name":"Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017","slug":"crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"8 of 2017","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173325,"registerId":"act-sl-2017-8-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices)\nRegulation 2017\nSL2017-8\nmade under the\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010\nRepublication No 2\nEffective: 28 January 2022\nRepublication date: 28 January 2022\nLast amendment made by SL2022-1\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017, made under the\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010 (including any amendment made under the Legislation\nAct 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 28 January 2022. It also includes any\ncommencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to 28 January 2022.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication includes amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR2\n28/01/22\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 28/01/22\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices)\nRegulation 2017\nmade under the\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n3 Corresponding law—Act, dict, def corresponding law 2\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 3\n2 Abbreviation key 3\n3 Legislation history 4\n4 Amendment history 4\n5 Earlier republications 5\n\n\n\nR2\n28/01/22\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 28/01/22\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices)\nRegulation 2017\nmade under the\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 28/01/22\nR2\n28/01/22\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Crimes (Surveillance Devices)\nRegulation 2017.\n3 Corresponding law—Act, dict, def corresponding law\n(1) The following laws are declared to correspond to the Act:\n(a) the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW);\n(b) the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic);\n(c) the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld),\nchapter 13;\n(d) the Police Powers (Surveillance Devices) Act 2006 (Tas);\n(e) the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NT);\n(f) the Surveillance Devices Act 2016 (SA), except to the extent that\nit provides for a surveillance device (emergency) authority to be\ngranted in relation to a serious drug offence.\nNote A surveillance device (emergency) authority would otherwise be a\ncorresponding emergency authorisation (see Act, dict, def corresponding\nemergency authorisation).\n(2) In this section:\nserious drug offence—see the Surveillance Devices Act 2016 (SA),\nsection 3.\nsurveillance device (emergency) authority—see the Surveillance\nDevices Act 2016 (SA), section 3.\n\nEndnotes\nAbout the endnotes 1\nR2\n28/01/22\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 28/01/22\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\n3 Legislation history\npage 4 Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 28/01/22\nR2\n28/01/22\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017 SL2017-8\nnotified LR 24 April 2017\ns 1, s 2 commenced 24 April 2017 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 25 April 2017 (s 2)\nas amended by\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Amendment Regulation 2022 (No 1)\nSL2022-1\nnotified LR 27 January 2022\ns 1, s 2 commenced 27 January 2022 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 28 January 2022 (s 2)\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\nCorresponding law—Act, dict, def corresponding law\ns 3 am SL2022-1 s 4, s 5\n\nEndnotes\nEarlier republications 5\nR2\n28/01/22\nCrimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 28/01/22\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications are\nmarked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication\nNo and date\nEffective Last\namendment\nmade by\nRepublication\nfor\nR1\n25 April 2017\n25 April 2017–\n27 Jan 2022\nnot amended new regulation\n© Australian Capital Territory 2022","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation performs a narrow administrative function: declaring which interstate and territorial surveillance device laws correspond to the ACT Act. Amendments (notably SL2022-1) updated the list and added a targeted exclusion for certain South Australian emergency authorities, which refines but does not expand the regulation beyond that original purpose. In short, the instrument's scope remains the same (identifying corresponding laws); the amendment altered the coverage (a carve‑out) rather than growing the regulation into a new subject area."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument: 2 substantive sections (name and corresponding-law declaration)","Single substantive provision (section 3) listing 6 external laws as ‘corresponding’","One targeted exception: South Australian Act excluded for a specific emergency authority relating to serious drug offences","Cross‑references to definitions in the South Australian Act (external references rather than in‑text definitions)","Low conditional logic and few defined terms within the regulation itself","Minor amendment history (SL2022-1) updating section 3"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this regulation does (plain terms)**\n\n- This regulation tells how the Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010 (ACT law) should treat certain laws from other Australian jurisdictions as \"corresponding\" laws. In practice that means some surveillance-device authorisations or warrants issued under those interstate/territory laws are treated as equivalent to authorisations under the ACT Act.\n\n- The regulation lists the specific laws that correspond to the ACT Act: the surveillance devices laws of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland (chapter 13 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000), Tasmania, Northern Territory, and South Australia — but with a carve-out for a particular South Australian emergency authority (see below).\n\n- It also cross‑refers to definitions in the South Australian Act for the terms \"serious drug offence\" and \"surveillance device (emergency) authority\" so the ACT can assess whether a South Australian emergency authorisation is the kind of thing it would treat as a corresponding emergency authorisation.\n\n- Important detail: the South Australian Surveillance Devices Act 2016 is treated as a corresponding law except where it grants a \"surveillance device (emergency) authority\" in relation to a \"serious drug offence\". That kind of South Australian emergency authority is explicitly excluded from being a \"corresponding emergency authorisation\" for ACT purposes (see section 3(1)(f) and the notes).\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Police and other law enforcement agencies that use surveillance devices and need recognition of authorisations (warrants or emergency authorisations) issued in another state or territory.\n- Individuals whose communications or premises are the subject of surveillance conducted under interstate/territory authorisations that the ACT recognises.\n- Lawyers and courts dealing with cross‑jurisdictional surveillance matters where an interstate authorisation is relied on in the ACT.\n\n**Why it matters (mechanics and consequences)**\n\n- Mechanically, the regulation makes it easier for ACT authorities to rely on or recognise surveillance authorisations from the listed jurisdictions without requiring a fresh ACT warrant each time, subject to the exceptions the regulation creates.\n\n- The SA carve‑out narrows that mutual recognition: it prevents certain South Australian emergency authorities tied to \"serious drug offences\" from being treated as automatically equivalent in the ACT. That means in those SA emergency‑authority cases ACT authorities cannot automatically rely on the SA emergency authorisation as a corresponding ACT emergency authorisation — they may need an ACT authorisation instead.\n\n**Policy trade‑offs, costs, and implementation issues (tested against incentives and effects)**\n\n- Benefit/incentive: Reduces duplicated paperwork and speeds cross‑border investigations by allowing recognised interstate authorisations to operate in the ACT (section 3(1)). The parties likely to gain are state/territory police and federal agencies that operate across borders.\n\n- Cost/risks: Different jurisdictions may have differing legal thresholds, procedural safeguards or definitions for obtaining surveillance authorisations. Recognising another jurisdiction's authorisation transfers the risk that a lower standard in one place will have effect in the ACT unless explicitly excluded (the SA exception is an example of limiting that transfer for a specific category).\n\n- Who decides: The regulation itself — made under the ACT Act — is the instrument that designates which external laws are \"corresponding law(s)\" (section 3). Operational decisions about relying on a foreign authorisation remain with ACT enforcement agencies and, where contested, the courts.\n\n- Compliance burden and implementation: The regulation is short and administratively light. Agencies must, however, check whether a particular interstate authorisation falls within the listed corresponding laws and whether any exceptions (notably the SA carve‑out) apply.\n\n**Legal references in this instrument**\n\n- Section 3 lists the corresponding laws and contains the exclusion relating to the South Australian Act. Section 3(2) points to the South Australian Act for the definitions of \"serious drug offence\" and \"surveillance device (emergency) authority\".\n\n(Analysis based on the text of the Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Regulation 2017, section 3.)"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This regulation has remained tightly focused on its original purpose since commencement in 2017. The 2022 amendment (SL2022-1) was a minor technical update adjusting the South Australia reference — it did not expand the scope beyond declaring corresponding laws for mutual recognition purposes."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short — only 2 substantive sections (sections 1 and 3)","No defined terms in the regulation itself (relies entirely on definitions in the parent Act)","Single operative provision (section 3) with straightforward declaratory function","Minimal conditional logic — only one exception (the SA drug offence carve-out in section 3(1)(f))","Heavy reliance on external references (6 other jurisdictions' statutes), but these are listed plainly without complex cross-referencing mechanics","No penalties, offences, or enforcement mechanisms contained in the regulation"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation tells that certain other Australian jurisdictions’ surveillance-device laws correspond to the ACT’s Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010, so police and courts can recognise interstate surveillance warrants and emergency authorisations as valid in the ACT. It mainly affects law enforcement, courts, and people subject to surveillance.\n\nIt covers NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and South Australia, but excludes South Australian emergency drug-related surveillance authorities from automatic recognition."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017","history":"/api/acts/crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/crimes-surveillance-devices-regulation-2017/documents"}}