{"id":"F2007L03550","name":"Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Staff Members of Northern Territory Police) Declaration 2007","slug":"telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":69813,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2007L03550-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (Staff Members of Northern Territory Police) Declaration 2007","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\nTelecommunications (Interception and Access) (Staff Members of Northern Territory Police) Declaration 2007\n\nTelecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979\n\nI, PHILIP MAXWELL RUDDOCK, Attorney-General, acting under section 6N of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 declare that all   unsworn members of the Northern Territory Police employed or seconded to the Special Projects Unit occupy positions corresponding to those of Australian Federal Police employees who are not members of the Australian Federal Police.\n\nDated                         28 August 2007\n\nPHILIP RUDDOCK\n\nAttorney-General\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward declaration made under a specific power in the parent Act. It does exactly what section 6N of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 allows: equating specified state/territory staff with AFP staff for interception purposes. The scope remains tightly confined to that specific purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative paragraph with no defined terms","No cross-references to other sections beyond the empowering provision (section 6N)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or procedural requirements","Extremely short instrument (under 150 words total)","Simple declaratory structure: 'I declare that X are Y'"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short legal declaration made by the Attorney-General in 2007. It gives certain Northern Territory Police staff the same legal powers as specific Australian Federal Police (AFP) employees when it comes to telecommunications interception (the legal term for secretly monitoring phone calls and messages).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Unsworn members** of the Northern Territory Police (meaning civilian employees, not sworn police officers with badges)\n- Specifically those working in the **Special Projects Unit**\n\n**What it does:**\nNormally, only certain sworn law enforcement officers can apply for warrants to intercept telecommunications. This declaration says that these particular civilian NT Police staff can be treated the same as certain AFP civilian employees for that purpose. This lets them participate in the legal processes around phone tapping and surveillance, even though they're not sworn officers.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis allows the NT Police to use specialist civilian staff (like analysts or technical experts) in sensitive surveillance operations without needing to make them sworn police officers. It recognises that modern policing often needs technical expertise that sits outside traditional sworn ranks."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not indicate that it expands or restricts the statutory scheme beyond declaring a specific class of Northern Territory Police staff to \"occupy positions corresponding to\" a specified category of Australian Federal Police employees. The text provides a classification under section 6N but does not itself amend other provisions or state that it alters the original statutory intent; no change of scope beyond this targeted equivalence is described in the declaration."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument that performs a single legal classification (low structural complexity).","Relies on a cross-reference to section 6N of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 for authority (requires reading of external provision to determine full legal effect).","Uses a somewhat open phrase — \"positions corresponding to\" — which may create interpretive ambiguity in practice.","Narrows application to a specific, narrowly described group (unsworn NT Police in the Special Projects Unit), reducing broad applicability but increasing the need for administrative identification of persons covered.","Concentrates decision-making authority in the Attorney‑General but does not specify criteria, procedures, or administrative steps, requiring further action elsewhere to implement operationally."],"plain_english_summary":"The Attorney‑General (Philip M. Ruddock, 28 Aug 2007) declares, under s.6N of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, that unsworn Northern Territory Police staff seconded or employed in the Special Projects Unit “occupy positions corresponding to those of Australian Federal Police employees who are not members of the AFP.” This is a formal legal classification—it creates equivalence for purposes of the Act but does not itself set out costs, operational rules, or implementation steps."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20","history":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20/history","analysis":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/telecommunications-interception-and-access-staff-members-of-northern-territory-police-declaration-20/documents"}}