{"id":"criminal-investigation-extraterritorial-offences-act-1985","name":"Criminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985","slug":"criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29988,"registerId":"nt-criminal-investigation-extraterritorial-offences-act-1985-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Criminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nCRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (EXTRA-TERRITORIAL OFFENCES)\nACT 1985\nAs in force at 1 May 2016\nTable of provisions\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1\n3A Jurisdiction of Local Court ............................................................... 2\n4 Issue of search warrants ................................................................. 3\n5 Certain warrants not invalidated by misdescription, &c. .................. 4\n6 Authority conferred by and other incidents of search warrant .......... 4\n7 Ministerial arrangements for transmission and return of objects\nseized under this Act or under corresponding law ........................... 5\n8 Returned objects ............................................................................. 6\n9 Protection of Commissioner............................................................. 7\n10 Regulations...................................................................................... 7\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 1 May 2016\n____________________\nCRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (EXTRA-TERRITORIAL OFFENCES)\nACT 1985\nAn Act to provide for the issue of search warrants for the investigation\nin the Territory of certain offences against the law of a State or the\nAustralian Capital Territory, and for other purposes\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Criminal Investigation (Extra-territorial\nOffences) Act 1985.\n2 Commencement\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the\nAdministrator by notice in the Gazette.\n3 Interpretation\n(1) In this Act:\nappropriate authority means:\n(a) in relation to a State – an authority exercising in relation to the\nPolice Force of that State functions corresponding to those of\nthe Commissioner of Police in relation to the Police Force of\nthe Northern Territory; or\n(b) in relation to the Australian Capital Territory – the\nCommissioner of the Australian Federal Police.\nCommissioner means the Commissioner of Police appointed\nunder the Police Administration Act 1978.\ncorresponding law means a law of a State or of the Australian\nCapital Territory declared under subsection (3) to be a\ncorresponding law.\nobject includes money and money's worth.\n\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 2\noffence to which this Act applies means an indictable offence\nagainst the law of a reciprocating State, being an offence arising\nfrom an act, omission, event or state of affairs which, if done or\noccurring in the Territory, would attract criminal liability under the\nlaw of the Territory.\nowner, in relation to an object, includes a person entitled to\npossession of the object.\npremises means a building, structure or place (whether built upon\nor not and whether enclosed or unenclosed) and includes an\naircraft, vessel and vehicle.\nreciprocating State means a State or the Australian Capital\nTerritory, or another Territory:\n(a) in which a corresponding law is in force; and\n(b) in relation to which arrangements are in force under section 7.\nsearch warrant means a warrant under this Act authorizing a\nsearch of premises or a person.\nState means a State of the Commonwealth.\ntelephone includes any telecommunication device.\n(2) For the purposes of this Act:\n(a) a thing obtained by the commission of an offence, used for the\npurpose of committing an offence, or in respect of which an\noffence has been committed;\n(b) a thing that may afford evidence of the commission of an\noffence; or\n(c) a thing intended to be used for the purpose of committing an\noffence,\nis an object relevant to the investigation of the offence.\n(3) The Administrator may, by notice in the Gazette, declare a law of a\nState or of the Australian Capital Territory to be a corresponding\nlaw.\n3A Jurisdiction of Local Court\nThe jurisdiction conferred on the Local Court under this Act is part\nof the Court's criminal jurisdiction.\n\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 3\n4 Issue of search warrants\n(1) Where, on the application of a member of the Police Force, a Local\nCourt Judge is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to\nbelieve that:\n(a) an offence to which this Act applies has been, is being or is\nintended to be, committed; and\n(b) there is in or on premises, or on a person, an object relevant\nto the investigation of that offence,\nthe Judge may issue a search warrant in respect of those premises\nor that person or both.\n(2) Subject to subsection (4), an application for the issue of a search\nwarrant may be made either personally or by telephone.\n(3) The grounds of an application for a search warrant shall be verified\nby affidavit.\n(4) An application for the issue of a search warrant shall not be made\nby telephone unless, in the opinion of the applicant, it is\nimpracticable for the applicant to make the application personally.\n(5) Where an application for the issue of a search warrant is made by\ntelephone:\n(a) the applicant shall inform the Judge of his name, and of his\nrank and number in the Police Force, and the Judge, on\nreceiving that information, is entitled to assume, without\nfurther inquiry, that the applicant is a member of the Police\nForce;\n(b) the applicant shall inform the Judge of the grounds on which\nhe seeks the issue of the search warrant;\n(c) if it appears to the Judge from the information furnished by the\napplicant that there are proper grounds for the issue of a\nsearch warrant, he shall inform the applicant of the facts on\nwhich he relies as grounds for the issue of the warrant and\nshall not proceed to issue the warrant unless the applicant\nundertakes to make an affidavit verifying those facts;\n(d) if the applicant gives such an undertaking, the Judge may then\nmake out, and sign a search warrant, noting on the warrant\nthe facts on which he relies as grounds for the issue of the\nwarrant;\n\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 4\n(e) the search warrant shall be deemed to have been issued, and\nshall come into force, when signed by the Judge;\n(f) the Judge shall inform the applicant of the terms of the search\nwarrant; and\n(g) the applicant shall, as soon as practicable after the issue of\nthe search warrant, forward to the Judge an affidavit verifying\nthe facts referred to in paragraph (c).\n(6) A Local Court Judge who issues a search warrant under this\nsection shall file the warrant, or a copy of the warrant, and the\naffidavit verifying the grounds on which the application for the\nwarrant was made, in the Local Court.\n5 Certain warrants not invalidated by misdescription, &c.\nA search warrant issued as the result of an application by telephone\nshall be valid and effective notwithstanding a technical defect in the\nwarrant, including:\n(a) a clerical error;\n(b) an evident material miscalculation of figures; and\n(c) an evident material mistake in the description of premises, a\nperson or a thing.\n6 Authority conferred by and other incidents of search warrant\n(1) A search warrant authorizes any member of the Police Force, with\nsuch assistance as he thinks necessary:\n(a) to enter and search the premises to which the warrant relates\nand any thing in or on those premises; or\n(b) to search any person to whom the warrant relates.\n(2) A member of the Police Force, or a person assisting him, may use\nsuch force as is reasonably necessary for the execution of a search\nwarrant.\n(3) A member of the Police Force executing a search warrant may\nseize and remove any object that he believes, on reasonable\ngrounds, to be relevant to the investigation of the offence in relation\nto which the warrant was issued.\n(4) An object seized and removed under subsection (3) shall be dealt\nwith in accordance with arrangements in force under section 7.\n\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 5\n(5) A member of the Police Force who executes a search warrant:\n(a) shall prepare a notice, in the prescribed form, containing:\n(i) his name and rank;\n(ii) the name of the Local Court Judge who issued the\nwarrant and the date and time of its issue; and\n(iii) a description of all objects seized and removed in\npursuance of the warrant; and\n(b) shall, as soon as practicable after execution of the warrant,\ngive the notice to the occupier of the premises in relation to\nwhich the warrant was issued or leave it for him in a prominent\nposition on those premises and where a person is searched in\npursuance of the warrant, he shall give a copy of the notice to\nthat person.\n(6) A search warrant, if not executed before the expiration of 28 days\nafter the date of its issue or, in the case of a search warrant issued\nas the result of an application by telephone, 14 days after the date\nof its issue, shall on the expiration of that period expire.\n7 Ministerial arrangements for transmission and return of\nobjects seized under this Act or under corresponding law\nThe Minister may enter into arrangements with a minister\nresponsible for the administration of a corresponding law under\nwhich objects seized under:\n(a) this Act that may be relevant to the investigation of an offence\nagainst the law of the State or Territory in which the\ncorresponding law is in force:\n(i) are to be transmitted to the appropriate authority in that\nState or Territory for the purposes of investigation of, or\nproceedings in relation to, that offence; and\n(ii) when no longer required for the purposes of such\ninvestigation or proceedings, are (unless disposed of by\norder or direction of a court) to be returned to the\nCommissioner; and\n(b) the corresponding law that may be relevant to the\ninvestigation of an offence against the law of the Territory:\n(i) are to be transmitted to the Commissioner; and\n\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 6\n(ii) when no longer required for the purposes of\ninvestigation of an offence, or proceedings in relation to\nan offence, are (unless disposed of by order or direction\nof a court) to be returned to the appropriate authority in\nthe State or Territory in which they were seized.\n8 Returned objects\n(1) Where an object seized under this Act and transmitted to the\nappropriate authority under an arrangement referred to in section 7\nis returned to the Commissioner in pursuance of that arrangement,\nthe Commissioner shall, within 28 days after he received the object,\nby notice in writing, require the person from whom the object was\nseized, or a person appearing to the Commissioner to be the owner\nof the object, to claim delivery to him of the object.\n(2) If no claim is made within 21 days after the service of the notice\nunder subsection (1), or within the 28 days referred to in\nsubsection (1) the person from whom the object was seized or\nperson who appears to the Commissioner to be the owner cannot,\nafter reasonable inquiry, be located the object is forfeited to the\nTerritory.\n(3) Where a person served with a notice under subsection (1) makes a\nclaim for the delivery to him of an object to which the notice relates\nthe Commissioner shall:\n(a) where the object is required by the Commissioner in\nconnection with the investigation of an offence – retain the\nobject for that purpose; and\n(b) in any other case:\n(i) return the object to the claimant; or\n(ii) refer the claim to the Local Court;\nand advise the claimant, in writing, accordingly.\n(4) The Local Court may deal with a claim referred under\nsubsection (3)(b)(ii) to it as if it were a claim made by a claimant of\nproperty under section 130B of the Local Court (Criminal\nProcedure) Act 1928.\n(5) All objects forfeited to the Territory under this section may be sold,\ndestroyed or disposed of in such manner as is prescribed or, where\nno manner is prescribed, as the Commissioner thinks fit.\n\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 7\n9 Protection of Commissioner\nA criminal proceeding does not lie against the Commissioner for or\nin respect of an act or thing done or omitted to be done in good faith\nby him in his capacity as Commissioner in the exercise or purported\nexercise of a power under section 8.\n10 Regulations\nThe Administrator may make regulations, not inconsistent with this\nAct, prescribing matters:\n(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or\ngiving effect to this Act.\n\nENDNOTES\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-territorial Offences) Act 1985 8\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nCriminal Investigation (Extra-Territorial Offences) Act 1985 (Act No. 56, 1985)\nAssent date 9 December 1985\nCommenced 1 January 1986 (Gaz S7, 16 December 1985)\nPolice Administration Amendment (Powers and Liability) Act 2005 (Act No. 11, 2005)\nAssent date 17 March 2005\nCommenced 20 April 2005 (Gaz G16, 20 April 2005, p 5)\nLocal Court (Related Amendments) Act 2016 (Act No. 8, 2016)\nAssent date 6 April 2016\nCommenced 1 May 2016 (s 2, s 2 Local Court (Repeals and Related\nAmendments) Act 2016 (Act No. 9, 2016) and Gaz S34,\n29 April 2016)\n3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22 of 2018) to: ss 1, 3 and 8.\n4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\ns 3A ins No. 8, 2016, s 17\ns 4 amd No. 8, 2016, s 18\ns 6 amd No. 8, 2016, s 19\ns 8 amd No. 8, 2016, s 20\ns 9 amd No. 11, 2005, s 17","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Sections 3(1), 3(3) and 7","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 3(1) includes “another Territory” only if a “corresponding law” is in force there. However, “corresponding law” is confined to a law of a State or the Australian Capital Territory declared under s 3(3), and s 3(3) authorises declarations only for those jurisdictions. Moreover, “appropriate authority”, required by s 7, is defined only for a State or the Australian Capital Territory. The supplied text therefore provides no path by which another Territory can satisfy this limb or obtain the required appropriate authority.","confidence":0.99,"description":"The express “another Territory” limb of “reciprocating State” cannot operate under the supplied definitions.","source_quotes":["corresponding law means a law of a State or of the Australian Capital Territory declared under subsection (3) to be a corresponding law.","reciprocating State means a State or the Australian Capital Territory, or another Territory:\n(a) in which a corresponding law is in force; and\n(b) in relation to which arrangements are in force under section 7.","are to be transmitted to the appropriate authority in that State or Territory"]}],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's operational scope has been altered by later amendments. Notably, the Local Court jurisdiction provision was inserted and procedures for issuing and executing warrants and handling returned objects were amended (see amendments to ss 3A, 4, 6, 8, 9 listed in the endnotes; Police Administration Amendment 2005; Local Court (Related Amendments) Act 2016). Those changes clarified judicial role, telephone-application procedure and post-seizure handling, altering practical reach and process of the original statute."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-jurisdictional coordination required: Ministerial arrangements to transmit and return seized items between jurisdictions (s 7).","Reciprocity and declaratory mechanism: scope depends on which State/ACT laws are declared corresponding laws (s 3(3), definition of reciprocating State).","Procedure for telephone applications: special verification, affidavit follow-up and short expiry period for telephonic warrants increase procedural steps (s 4(2)–(5), s 4(6)).","Search and seizure powers with use-of-force allowance and seizure on reasonable grounds introduce operational judgment calls for police (s 6(1)–(3)).","Property-handling and forfeiture regime requires Commissioner action, notice periods and possible court referral, creating administrative and evidentiary burdens (s 8(1)–(5)).","Executive and prosecutorial discretion: Minister may make inter-jurisdictional arrangements and Commissioner decides retention/return or referral to court (s 7, s 8(3)).","Delegated details left to regulation by the Administrator, which can affect implementation without primary-legislation changes (s 10)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets Northern Territory police obtain search warrants to investigate indictable offences under a State or the Australian Capital Territory when the conduct would also be criminal in the Territory (ss 3, 4). It prescribes how warrants may be sought (including by telephone), how searches and seizures are executed, and how seized items may be transmitted to, returned by, or forfeited by another jurisdiction (ss 5–8). Owners may face seizure and forfeiture and must respond to Commissioner notices; the Minister and Commissioner hold key discretion (ss 7–9)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of providing search warrant mechanisms for investigating extra-territorial offences. The amendments shown in the endnotes (2016 and 2005) appear to be technical updates (changing 'Stipendiary Magistrate' to 'Local Court Judge', updating references to the Police Administration Act) rather than substantive expansions of scope. The core function—enabling NT police to obtain warrants for evidence related to interstate crimes—has not changed since 1985."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 10 sections plus interpretation section","11 defined terms in section 3, most with straightforward definitions","Single main mechanism (search warrants) with clear procedural steps","Some conditional logic in section 4(5) regarding telephone warrants (7 sub-paragraphs)","Cross-reference to Local Court (Criminal Procedure) Act 1928 in section 8(4)","Administrative arrangements mechanism in section 7 requiring ministerial agreements","No nested exceptions or highly conditional drafting","Clear temporal limits (28 days/14 days for warrant expiry in section 6(6))"],"plain_english_summary":"This law lets Northern Territory police obtain search warrants to investigate serious (indictable) offences committed in other Australian states or territories when evidence is believed to be in the NT. It affects NT officers, residents whose property may be searched, and cooperating jurisdictions. The scheme permits urgent telephone warrants, sends seized evidence to the requesting jurisdiction for prosecution, and shields the NT Commissioner from suit for actions taken in good faith — facilitating interstate police cooperation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985","history":"/api/acts/criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985/history","analysis":"/api/acts/criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/criminal-investigation-extra-territorial-offences-act-1985/documents"}}