{"id":"F2005L00151","name":"Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 - Declaration of eligible authority as agency - Tasmania Police","slug":"telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":33579,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2005L00151-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 - Declaration of eligible authority as agency - Tasmania Police","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nDeclaration of eligible authority as agency — Tasmania Police\n\nTelecommunications (Interception) Act 1979\n\nI, PHILIP MAXWELL RUDDOCK, Attorney-General:\n\n(a) acting under section 34 of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 (the Act) and at the request of the Premier of the State of Tasmania; and\n\n(b) being satisfied that:\n\n (i) the law of Tasmania makes satisfactory provision in relation to the matters mentioned in subsection 35 (1) of the Act; and\n\n (ii) the State of Tasmania has entered into an agreement as required by subsection 35 (2) of the Act;\n\ndeclare Tasmania Police to be an agency for the purposes of the Act.\n\nDated 2 February 2005\n\nPHILIP RUDDOCK\n\nAttorney-General\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This declaration extends the statutory coverage of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 by designating Tasmania Police as an \"agency\" under the Act. Mechanically, that changes which authority may exercise the Act's interception‑related powers and be subject to its obligations. The declaration was made under section 34 after the Attorney‑General was satisfied that Tasmania's law met the matters listed in subsection 35(1) and that the State had entered the agreement required by subsection 35(2)."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument but depends on cross‑referenced statutory prerequisites (section 34 and subsection 35(1) and 35(2))","Interacts with broader interception regime in the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 (the instrument does not restate operational rules, so implementation requires consulting the Act)","Requires intergovernmental agreement (subsection 35(2)) and domestic law adjustments (subsection 35(1)), which involve multi‑party coordination","Potential compliance burdens on multiple actors (Tasmania Police, the State, communications providers) without specifying funding or resourcing in the declaration","Decision involves administrative discretion (Attorney‑General's satisfaction under section 34) that is conditional rather than purely mechanical"],"plain_english_summary":"This declaration names Tasmania Police as an \"agency\" under the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979, enabling it to seek and use interception powers and imposing the Act’s procedural, oversight and compliance obligations. Made by the Commonwealth Attorney‑General (on the Premier’s request after statutory prerequisites were met), it chiefly affects Tasmania Police and the State (administrative and operational costs), communications providers (possible compliance burdens), and individuals whose communications may lawfully be intercepted subject to the Act’s safeguards."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard administrative declaration made under existing statutory authority. It does not alter the scope of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979; it merely extends the Act's existing framework to cover an additional eligible authority (Tasmania Police) in accordance with the Act's original design for state cooperation."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative clause declaring one named body as an agency","No defined terms within the instrument itself (relies entirely on external statutory references)","No conditional logic or exceptions","No substantive legislative text – purely administrative machinery","Length: approximately 150 words of operative content","Simple binary preconditions (satisfaction of two statutory requirements) with no elaboration"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal declaration made by the Attorney-General in 2005 that **Tasmania Police is now an 'agency'** under the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979.\n\n**What this means:**\n- The Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 is the law that lets certain government bodies listen to phone calls and access other communications (with a warrant) for investigating serious crimes.\n- Before this declaration, Tasmania Police couldn't use these powers. Now they can.\n\n**Why this happened:**\n- The Premier of Tasmania asked for this\n- The Attorney-General checked two things:\n  1. **Tasmanian law** properly handles how intercepted information is dealt with (kept secure, used properly, etc.)\n  2. **Tasmania signed an agreement** with the Commonwealth about how they'll use these powers\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Tasmania Police** – can now apply for warrants to intercept communications\n- **People in Tasmania** – their phone/email communications can now be intercepted by Tasmania Police if a judge approves a warrant for a serious investigation\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis brought Tasmania Police into the national system for fighting serious crime (like drug trafficking, terrorism, organised crime) using modern surveillance tools. Before this, they lacked these powers or had to rely on other agencies."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police","history":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police/history","analysis":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-act-1979-declaration-of-eligible-authority-as-agency-tasmania-police/documents"}}