Commonwealth legislation

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 - Declaration of eligible authority as agency - Office of Police Integrity

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

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This declaration gave the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) — a former Victorian police oversight body — the power to tap phones and access stored electronic communications under federal law.

Under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, only approved 'agencies' can apply to judges for warrants to:

Intercept live phone calls and messages (real-time surveillance)
Access stored emails, texts, and voice mails (retrospective access)

What happened here: In 2006, the federal Attorney-General declared the Victorian OPI to be an 'agency' under the Act. This allowed OPI investigators to use federal telecommunications powers when investigating police corruption in Victoria.

Why federal involvement? Although the OPI was a state body, telecommunications networks cross state borders. This declaration was a cooperation mechanism: the Victorian Premier requested it, and the Attorney-General was satisfied that Victorian laws had adequate privacy safeguards (as required by sections 34–35 of the Act).

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Direct links to the current provisions in Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 - Declaration of eligible authority as agency - Office of Police Integrity.

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 - Declaration of eligible authority as agency - Office of Police Integrity

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Declaration of eligible authority as agency — Office of Police Integrity

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979

I, PHILIP MAXWELL RUDDOCK, Attorney‑General:

(a) acting under section 34 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (the Act) and at the request of the Premier of the State of Victoria; and

(b) being satisfied that:

(i) the law of Victoria makes satisfactory provision in relation to the matters mentioned in subsection 35 (1) of the Act; and

(ii) the State of Victoria has entered into an agreement as required by subsection 35 (2) of the Act;

declare the Office of Police Integrity to be an agency for the purposes of the Act.

Dated 18 December 2006

PHILIP RUDDOCK

Attorney‑General

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.