Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979 - SECT 11C

             (1)  Where:

                     (a)  the Director‑General of Security gives a notice in writing to the Attorney‑General requesting the Attorney‑General to issue a warrant under this section authorising persons approved under section 12 in respect of the warrant to intercept foreign communications for the purpose of obtaining foreign intelligence relating to a matter specified in the notice; and

                     (b)  the Attorney‑General is satisfied, on the basis of advice received from the relevant Minister, that:

                              (i)  the collection of foreign intelligence relating to that matter is important in relation to the defence of the Commonwealth or to the conduct of the Commonwealth's international affairs; and

                             (ii)  it is necessary to intercept foreign communications in order to collect the intelligence referred to in paragraph (a); and

                            (iii)  relying on a telecommunications service warrant or a named person warrant to obtain the intelligence would be ineffective;

the Attorney‑General may, by warrant under his or her hand, authorise persons approved under section 12 in respect of the warrant, subject to any conditions or restrictions that are specified in the warrant, to intercept foreign communications for the purpose of obtaining that intelligence.

             (2)  A warrant under subsection (1) must not authorise the interception of any communications except foreign communications.

             (3)  A request by the Director‑General of Security for the issue of a warrant under this section must:

                     (a)  include a description that is sufficient to identify the part of the telecommunications system that is likely to carry the foreign communications whose interception is sought; and

                     (b)  specify the facts and other grounds on which the Director‑General of Security considers it necessary that the warrant should be issued, including the reasons the information cannot be collected by other means.

             (4)  A warrant under this section must include:

                     (a)  a notice addressed to the carrier who operates the relevant telecommunications system, giving a description that is sufficient to identify the part of the telecommunications system that is covered by the warrant; and

                     (b)  a notice addressed to the Director‑General of Security stating that the warrant authorises the obtaining of foreign intelligence only for purposes relating to the matter specified in the notice requesting the issue of the warrant.

             (5)  Where:

                     (a)  a communication is intercepted under a warrant under this section; and

                     (b)  the Director‑General of Security is satisfied that the communication is not relevant to the purposes specified in the warrant;

the Director‑General of Security must cause any record or copy of the communication to be destroyed.

Note:          Warrants are obtained under this section for the purpose of performing the function set out in paragraph 17(1)(e) of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 .