{"id":"F2026L00034","name":"Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Criminal Law-Enforcement Agency—ACT Integrity Commission) Declaration 2026","slug":"f2026l00034","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":319797,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2026L00034-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Criminal Law-Enforcement Agency—ACT Integrity Commission) Declaration 2026","content":"![Commonwealth Coat of Arms](image.001.jpeg)\n\nLIN 26/011\n\nTelecommunications (Interception and Access) (Criminal Law-Enforcement Agency—ACT Integrity Commission) Declaration 2026\n\nI, Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs, make the following instrument.\n\nDated 19 January 2026\n\nSigned\n\nTony Burke\n\nMinister for Home Affairs\n\n#### 1 Name\n\n  This instrument is the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Criminal Law-Enforcement Agency—ACT Integrity Commission) Declaration 2026.\n\n#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on 21 January 2026.\n\n> Note: See paragraph 110A(10)(b) of the Act for cessation of this instrument.\n\n#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 110A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.\n\n#### 4 Definitions\n\n> Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in subsection 5(1) of the Act, including criminal law-enforcement agency.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.\n\n> ACT Integrity Commission has the same meaning given by Chapter 2 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018.\n\n#### 5 Declaration\n\n  (1) For paragraph 110A(3)(a) of the Act, the ACT Integrity Commission is declared to be a criminal law-enforcement agency.\n  (2) For paragraph 110A(3)(b) of the Act, each staff member of the ACT Integrity Commission is declared to be an officer of the ACT Integrity Commission for the purposes of the Act.\n\n#### 6 Conditions\n\n  Under subsection 110A(6) of the Act, the declaration in section 5 is subject to the condition that ACT Integrity Commission officers are not to exercise powers under the Act with respect to any preliminary inquiries conducted by the ACT Integrity Commission under the authority of section 86 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 (ACT).","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument both grants the ACT Integrity Commission and its staff the legal status of a criminal law‑enforcement agency and officers under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act (instrument, section 5) and simultaneously narrows that grant by prohibiting use of TIA Act powers for preliminary inquiries under section 86 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 (instrument, section 6). The instrument therefore defines its own scope rather than expanding beyond the stated scope; it does not indicate any change from its stated operative purpose within the text provided."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow subject matter (single declaration and one condition).","Short instrument text with few operative provisions (sections 5–6 do the substantive work).","Reliance on cross-references to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, including multiple specific subsections (110A(3)(a), 110A(3)(b), 110A(6), 110A(10)(b)).","Condition references a provision in a separate statute (section 86 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 (ACT)), requiring cross‑statute interpretation for full effect.","Operational complexity lies mainly in compliance and administrative controls rather than in legal drafting complexity."],"plain_english_summary":"What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- It declares the ACT Integrity Commission to be a \"criminal law-enforcement agency\" for the purposes of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (the Act) (instrument, section 5(1)).\n- It declares each staff member of the ACT Integrity Commission to be an \"officer\" of that agency for the purposes of the Act (instrument, section 5(2)).\n- It starts on 21 January 2026 and is made under section 110A of the Act (instrument, sections 2 and 3). The instrument also notes it will cease in accordance with paragraph 110A(10)(b) of the Act (instrument, section 2 note).\n- The declaration is subject to a condition: Commission officers must not exercise powers under the Act in relation to any preliminary inquiries conducted under section 86 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 (ACT) (instrument, section 6).\n\nWho decides and who this affects\n\n- The Minister for Home Affairs made the declaration (instrument heading and signature). The legal effect flows from the Act’s mechanism for declaring criminal law‑enforcement agencies (instrument, section 3). \n- The direct effect is on the ACT Integrity Commission and its staff, who are now treated as an agency and officers under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act (instrument, section 5). That legal status changes which powers and authorisations in the Act can be available to the Commission and its officers, subject to the condition in section 6.\n\nWhy this matters (stated and implied mechanisms)\n\n- Stated: the instrument establishes the Commission’s status under the TIA Act (instrument, section 5). The instrument does not itself list operational powers or procedures; it operates by placing the Commission within the legal categories used by the TIA Act (instrument, section 3 citation).\n- Practical effect: giving the Commission and its officers the declared status changes what they can lawfully do under the TIA Act’s framework (instrument, section 5). The single explicit limitation narrows that change by prohibiting use of TIA Act powers for preliminary inquiries under section 86 of the Integrity Commission Act (instrument, section 6).\n\nCosts, incentives and implementation issues (mechanical and compliance-focused)\n\n- Compliance burden on the Commission: the condition (instrument, section 6) creates an ongoing internal control requirement—Commission managers must ensure officers do not use TIA Act powers for preliminary inquiries under s86. That will involve processes, training and record‑keeping to show the limitation is observed (implied by the condition in instrument, section 6).\n- Discretion and legal effect: the instrument confers legal status; how and when powers under the TIA Act will be used remains governed by the Act itself and any operational rules or warrants the Act requires (instrument, section 3). The instrument does not itself set operational thresholds or authorisation procedures.\n- Opportunity costs and trade-offs: the declaration expands the set of bodies that can access TIA Act mechanisms while explicitly excluding a particular category of inquiry (preliminary inquiries under s86). The instrument therefore creates both an expansion (agency/officer status) and a constraint (no use for preliminary inquiries) (instrument, sections 5–6).\n\nUncertainty and implementation risk\n\n- The legal cross-references mean the declaration’s practical boundaries depend on how terms in the TIA Act and the Integrity Commission Act are interpreted (instrument, sections 3, 4, 5 and 6). The instrument flags reliance on those cross‑references rather than restating the substantive powers or limits.\n\nWho pays\n\n- The instrument does not specify funding or fees. Mechanically, costs of compliance and administering the condition fall on the ACT Integrity Commission as the entity required to observe the limitation (instrument, section 6). Any costs associated with exercising powers under the TIA Act (for example, obtaining warrants or technical assistance) would follow the Act’s normal processes; this instrument does not change those funding rules (instrument, section 3).\n\nNet summary\n\n- The declaration places the ACT Integrity Commission and its staff within the TIA Act’s definition of a criminal law‑enforcement agency and officers (instrument, section 5), enabling the Commission to access the Act’s regimes where those regimes apply, while explicitly preventing use of those regimes for preliminary inquiries under s86 of the Integrity Commission Act (instrument, section 6). It is time‑limited or subject to cessation rules in the Act (instrument, section 2 note)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the function intended by section 110A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 — declaring specific agencies as criminal law-enforcement agencies for the purposes of accessing telecommunications powers. The scope is narrow and precisely targeted, with no expansion beyond the statutory framework."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (6 sections, ~250 words)","Only 2 defined terms ('Act' and 'ACT Integrity Commission')","Single operative provision (section 5) with straightforward declaration","One simple condition in section 6 limiting use to formal investigations only","No cross-references beyond the enabling Act and the ACT Integrity Commission Act","No nested exceptions or conditional logic chains"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short legal instrument that gives the ACT Integrity Commission (the body that investigates corruption in the Australian Capital Territory's public sector) special powers to access people's phone and internet records.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Declares the ACT Integrity Commission to be a \"criminal law-enforcement agency\" under federal telecommunications law\n- This means the Commission can use powers under the *Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979* — specifically, they can request access to telecommunications data (metadata like who called whom, when, and where) and in some cases intercept communications (listen to calls or read messages)\n- Extends these powers to all staff members of the Commission\n\n**The catch:**\n- There's an important limitation: these powers **cannot** be used for \"preliminary inquiries\" — the early-stage fact-finding that happens before a formal investigation begins under section 86 of the ACT Integrity Commission Act 2018\n- They can only use these surveillance powers once a formal investigation is underway\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- ACT public servants and others under investigation by the Integrity Commission\n- Telecommunications companies that must comply with requests from the Commission\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- This gives a territory-level integrity body the same surveillance capabilities as federal police and major crime agencies\n- It represents a significant expansion of investigative power for the ACT's anti-corruption watchdog, but with a safeguard to prevent fishing expeditions during early inquiries"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/f2026l00034","history":"/api/acts/f2026l00034/history","analysis":"/api/acts/f2026l00034/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/f2026l00034/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/f2026l00034/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/f2026l00034/documents"}}