New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WORKPLACE SURVEILLANCE ACT 2005 - SECT 35

35 Report on use of authority

(1) The employer or employer’s representative to whom a covert surveillance authority is issued must furnish a report in compliance with this section to the Magistrate who issued the authority within 30 days after the expiry of the authority.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(2) The report is to be in writing, setting out briefly the result of the surveillance carried out and specifying the following:

(a) if practicable, the name of any employee who was the subject of the surveillance,

(b) the period during which the surveillance was conducted,

(c) details of the type of surveillance device used and of the type of place where any surveillance device was installed or used,

(d) whether any surveillance device has been removed and, if not, why not,

(e) details of the conditions of the covert surveillance authority,

(f) details of any surveillance record made as a consequence of the surveillance,

(g) any action taken or proposed to be taken in light of the information obtained,

(h) any reason why an employee who was the subject of the surveillance should not be informed of the surveillance,

(i) details of any previous use of covert surveillance in connection with suspected unlawful activity with which the authority is concerned.

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

(4) If the Magistrate who issued a covert surveillance authority has died, has ceased to be a Magistrate or is absent, the report is to be furnished to another Magistrate.

(5) The Magistrate to whom the report is furnished may make such orders as the Magistrate thinks appropriate with respect to the use or disclosure of any surveillance record made as a consequence of surveillance conducted in accordance with the authority, including either or both of the following orders:

(a) an order that a surveillance record made as a consequence of the surveillance be delivered up to the Magistrate to be kept in the custody of the Magistrate or dealt with as the Magistrate may otherwise order,

(b) an order that a specified person or body be informed of the surveillance and given access to, or to part of, any surveillance record made as a consequence of the surveillance.

(6) A Magistrate must make an order under subsection (5) (b) in favour of a person who was the subject of surveillance unless the Magistrate is satisfied that there is good reason for not making the order.

(7) In considering whether there is good reason for not making an order under subsection (5) (b) in favour of a person, the Magistrate is to give consideration to whether the surveillance was justified and whether the surveillance was an unnecessary interference with privacy.