New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WORKPLACE SURVEILLANCE ACT 2005 - SECT 23

23 Application for covert surveillance authority

(1) An employer or employer’s representative may apply to a Magistrate for the issue to the employer of an authority authorising covert surveillance generally of employees while at work for the employer for the purpose of establishing whether one or more particular employees are involved in any unlawful activity while at work for the employer.

(2) The application for the authority must include the following:

(a) a statement of the grounds the employer or employer’s representative has for suspecting that a particular employee is or employees are involved in unlawful activity, together with the names of those employees (unless it is not practicable to name them),

(b) a statement as to whether other managerial or investigative procedures have been undertaken to detect the unlawful activity and what has been their outcome,

(c) the names of the employees or (if it is not practicable to name them) a description of the group or class of employees who will regularly or ordinarily be the subject of the covert surveillance,

(d) a description of the premises, place, computer, vehicle or other thing that will regularly or ordinarily be the subject of the covert surveillance,

(e) a statement as to the kind of covert surveillance (camera, computer or tracking) that is proposed to be conducted,

(f) the dates and times during which the covert surveillance is proposed to be conducted,

(g) a statement as to whether any previous application for a covert surveillance authority has been made in respect of the proposed covert surveillance and a statement as to the results of the application and of any covert surveillance conducted under a covert surveillance authority issued as a result of the previous application,

(h) in the case of an application made by an employer’s representative, verification acceptable to the Magistrate of the employer’s authority for the person to act as an employer’s representative for the purposes of the covert surveillance operation.

(3) The regulations may require an application for an authority to include other specified information and may require the application to be in a form prescribed by the regulations.

(4) An application for an authority must also nominate one or more persons to oversee the conduct of covert surveillance to be authorised by the authority.

(5) A Magistrate must not issue an authority unless the information given by the applicant in or in connection with the application is verified before the Magistrate on oath or affirmation or by affidavit.

(6) A Magistrate may administer an oath or affirmation or take an affidavit for the purposes of an application for an authority.

(7) The applicant must provide (either orally or in writing) such further information as the Magistrate requires concerning the grounds on which the authority is being sought.