Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION) ACT 1979 No. 114 of 1979 - SECT 21

21. (1) Where, upon application being made to a Judge by an officer of Customs
for the issue of a warrant under this section in relation to a person, the
Judge is satisfied, by information on oath, that-

   (a)  the person has committed, or is suspected on reasonable grounds of
        having committed, or of being likely to commit, a narcotics offence;
        and

   (b)  access by officers of Customs to telegrams lodged by or on behalf of,
        or addressed to or intended to be received by, that person will, or is
        likely to, assist officers of Customs in or in connection with-

        (i)    inquiries that are being made in relation to a
               narcotics offence that the person has committed, or is
               reasonably suspected of having committed; or

        (ii)   if there are circumstances reasonably giving rise to the
               suspicion that the person is likely to commit a
               narcotics offence-inquiries in relation to the likely
               commission, by that person, of that offence, the Judge may, by
               warrant under his hand in accordance with the prescribed form,
               authorize the Commission-

   (c)  to inspect and make copies of telegrams lodged by, or on behalf of
        that person at a specified telegraph office, or addressed to, or
        intended to be received by, that person at a specified place; and

   (d)  to furnish the copies of those telegrams referred to in paragraph (c)
        to the Comptroller-General of Customs.

(2) A Judge may grant a warrant under sub-section (1) in relation to a
telegraph office, or other place, situated anywhere in Australia.

(3) Information furnished to a Judge for the purposes of sub-section (1)-

   (a)  may be given orally or otherwise; and

   (b)  shall include the facts and other grounds on which the applicant
        considers it necessary that the warrant should be issued.

(4) A warrant under this section shall specify the period for which it is to
remain in force, being a period not exceeding 6 months.

(5) Sub-section (4) shall not be construed as preventing the issue of a
further warrant in accordance with this section in relation to a person in
relation to whom a warrant has, or warrants have, previously been issued.

(6) The authority conferred by a warrant issued under this section on the
Commission may be exercised only by-

   (a)  the Managing Director of the Commission; and

   (b)  officers of the Commission approved, for the purposes of that warrant
        or of warrants issued under this section, by the
        Managing Director of the Commission or by an officer of the Commission
        appointed by the Managing Director of the Commission, in writing, to
        be an authorizing officer of the Commission for the purposes of this
        section.

(7) Nothing in the Telecommunications Act 1975 shall be taken to prohibit the
doing of anything in pursuance of, or for the purposes of, a warrant under
this section.

(8) In this section-

   (a)  a reference to a telegraph office shall be read as a reference to a
        place where telegrams may be accepted for transmission by or on behalf
        of the Commission;

   (b)  a reference to telegrams lodged by, or on behalf of, a person shall be
        read as including a reference to telegrams lodged, by means of a
        telecommunications service, by, or on behalf of, a person;

   (c)  a reference to telegrams addressed to, or intended to be received by,
        a person at a specified place shall be read as including a reference
        to-

        (i)    telegrams addressed to, or intended to be received by, a person
               at a specified post office box or at a specified post office
               for collection by that person;

        (ii)   telegrams addressed to a person and intended to be received by
               the person by means of a specified bag service; and

        (iii)  telegrams addressed to a person by reference to the number of a
               telecommunications service.