TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION) ACT 1979 No. 114 of 1979 - SECT 5 Interpretation

TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION) ACT 1979 No. 114 of 1979 - SECT 5

5. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

''activities prejudicial to security'' has the same meaning as it has in the
Australian Security Intelligence Organization Act 1979;

''Commission'' means the Australian Telecommunications Commission;

''communication'' includes conversation, message and signal, and any part of a
conversation, message or signal;

''Comptroller-General of Customs'' means the Comptroller-General of Customs
holding office under the Customs Act 1901;

''Managing Director of the Commission'' means the person holding, or
performing the duties of, the office of Managing Director of the Commission
under the Telecommunications Act 1975;

''narcotics offence'' means an offence punishable as provided by section 235
of the Customs Act 1901;

''officer of Customs'' means a person who is an Officer of Customs for the
purposes of the Customs Act 1901;

''officer of the Commission'' includes-

   (a)  an employee of the Commission; and

   (b)  a person, whether or not an officer or employee of the Australian
        Postal Commission, doing any acts or things on behalf of the
        Australian Telecommunications Commission under arrangements made
        between the Australian Postal Commission and the Australian
        Telecommunications Commission by virtue of section 12 of the
        Postal Services Act 1975;

''security'' has the same meaning as it has in the Australian Security 
Intelligence Organization Act 1979 ;

''subscriber'' means a person who is authorized by the Commission to rent,
provide or use a telecommunications service;

''telecommunications service'' means a telecommunications service, within the
meaning of the Telecommunications Act 1975, that is provided or used by, or
used with the authority of, the Commission, and includes such a service,
whether known as a private line or by some other name, that is not connected
to the switching equipment at an exchange operated by or on behalf of the
Commission;

''telecommunications system'' means a system controlled by the Commission in
connection with the provision of a telecommunications service;

''the Director-General of Security'' means the person holding, or performing
the duties of, the office of Director-General of Security under the
Australian  Security Intelligence Organization Act 1979 ;

''the Organization'' means the Australian Security Intelligence Organization;

''warrant'' means a warrant issued under section 9, 10, 11, 20 or 21.

(2) Where a telecommunications service is provided by the Commission for the
use of a person or persons in the service of the Commission (not being a
telecommunications service to which that person is the subscriber or those
persons are subscribers), the Commission shall, for the purposes of this Act,
be deemed to be the subscriber to that telecommunications service.

(3) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

   (a)  a reference to narcotics inquiries that are being made by officers of
        Customs shall be read as a reference to-

        (i)    inquiries that are being made by officers of Customs in
               relation to a narcotics offence that has been committed or is
               reasonably suspected of having been committed; or

        (ii)   in a case where there are circumstances reasonably giving rise
               to the suspicion that a narcotics offence is likely to be
               committed-inquiries by officers of Customs in relation to the
               likely commission of that offence;

   (b)  a reference to narcotics inquiries that have been made by officers of
        Customs shall be read as a reference to-

        (i)    inquiries that have been made by officers of Customs in
               relation to a narcotics offence that has been committed or was
               reasonably suspected of having been committed; or

        (ii)   in a case where there have been circumstances that reasonably
               gave rise to the suspicion that a narcotics offence was likely
               to be committed-inquiries that have been made by officers of
               Customs in relation to the likely commission of that offence;
               and

   (c)  a reference to a telegram shall be read as a reference to a material
        record, held by, or on behalf of, the Commission, of a message
        transmitted, or intended for transmission, as a telegram.

(4) A reference in this Act to the Attorney-General shall, at a time when the
Attorney-General is absent from Australia or when, by reason of illness of the
Attorney-General or for any other reason, the Director-General of Security or
the Comptroller-General of Customs cannot readily communicate with the
Attorney-General, be read as including a reference to a Minister who has been
authorized in writing by the Attorney-General to perform the functions of the
Attorney-General under this Act at such a time.