MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 1987 - SECT 15B Requests by foreign countries for stored communications

MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 1987 - SECT 15B

    The Attorney - General may, in his or her discretion, authorise the Australian Federal Police or a police force or police service of a State, in writing, to apply for a stored communications warrant under section   110 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 if the Attorney - General is satisfied that:

  (a)   an investigation, or investigative proceeding, relating to a criminal matter involving an offence against the law of a foreign country (the requesting country ) has commenced in the requesting country; and

  (b)   the offence to which the investigation, or investigative proceeding, relates is punishable by a maximum penalty of:

  (i)   imprisonment for 3 years or more, imprisonment for life or the death penalty; or

  (ii)   a fine of an amount that is at least equivalent to 900 penalty units; and

  (c)   there are reasonable grounds to believe that stored communications relevant to the investigation, or investigative proceeding, are held by a carrier; and

  (d)   the requesting country has requested the Attorney - General to arrange for access to the stored communications.

Note:   Information obtained under the warrant may only be communicated to the requesting country on certain conditions: see subsection   142A(1) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 .