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INTELLIGENCE SERVICES ACT 2001 - SECT 3

Definitions

  (1)   In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"AFP" means the Australian Federal Police.

"agency" means ASIS, AGO or ASD.

"agency head" means:

  (a)   in relation to ASIS--the Director - General of ASIS; and

  (b)   in relation to AGO--the Director of AGO; and

  (c)   in relation to ASD--the Director - General of ASD.

"AGO" means that part of the Defence Department known as the Australian Geospatial - Intelligence Organisation.

"APS Agency" means an Agency within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999 .

"ASD" means the Australian Signals Directorate.

"ASD contract" means a contract, to which ASD is a party, under which services are to be, or were to be, provided to ASD.

"ASIO" means the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

"ASIS" means the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.

"Australia" , when used in a geographical sense, includes the external Territories.

"Australian person" means a person who is:

  (a)   an Australian citizen; or

  (b)   a permanent resident.

"authority" , of another country, has a meaning affected by subsection   (2).

"Chair" means the Chair of the Committee.

"Committee" means the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

"Commonwealth authority" includes:

  (a)   an Agency within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999 ; and

  (b)   a Department within the meaning of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 ; and

  (c)   the Defence Force; and

  (d)   a body (whether incorporated or not) established, or continued in existence, for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth; and

  (e)   a body corporate in which the Commonwealth or a body referred to in paragraph   (d) has a controlling interest.

"contracted service provider" , for an ASD contract, means:

  (a)   a person who is a party to the ASD contract and who is responsible for the provision of services to ASD under the ASD contract; or

  (b)   a subcontractor for the ASD contract.

"court" includes a tribunal, authority or person that has power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

"cybercrime" means activities that involve committing a serious crime by, or facilitated by, the use of electromagnetic energy, whether guided or unguided or both.

"Defence Department" means the Department of State that deals with defence and that is administered by the Defence Minister.

"Defence Minister" means the Minister administering section   1 of the Defence Act 1903 .

"DIO" means that part of the Defence Department known as the Defence Intelligence Organisation.

"Director-General of National Intelligence" means the Director - General of National Intelligence holding office under the Office of National Intelligence Act 2018 .

"Director-General of Security" means the Director - General of Security holding office under the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 .

"emergency response function" includes, but is not limited to, a function in relation to:

  (a)   search and rescue; or

  (b)   emergency rescue; or

  (c)   response to natural disasters.

"Foreign Affairs Minister" means the Minister administering the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1967 .

"foreign power" has the same meaning as in the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 .

"IGIS official" (short for Inspector - General of Intelligence and Security official) means:

  (a)   the Inspector - General of Intelligence and Security; or

  (b)   a person covered by subsection   32(1) of the Inspector - General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 .

"Immigration and Border Protection Department" means the Department administered by the Minister administering the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 .

"incidentally obtained intelligence" means intelligence:

  (a)   that is obtained by ASIS in the course of obtaining intelligence under subsection   6(1) (other than intelligence obtained solely in the course of obtaining intelligence under paragraph   6(1)(da)), by AGO in the course of obtaining intelligence under paragraph   6B(1)(a), (b) or (c) or by ASD in the course of obtaining intelligence under paragraph   7(1)(a); and

  (b)   that is not intelligence of a kind referred to in those provisions.

"Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security" means the Inspector - General of Intelligence and Security appointed under the Inspector - General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 .

"intelligence information" means the following:

  (a)   intelligence obtained by ASIS under subsection   6(1) (other than intelligence obtained solely under paragraph   6(1)(da));

  (b)   intelligence obtained by AGO under paragraph   6B(1)(a), (b) or (c);

  (c)   intelligence obtained by ASD under paragraph   7(1)(a);

  (ca)   intelligence obtained or produced by DIO in the performance of its intelligence functions;

  (d)   incidentally obtained intelligence.

"involved with a listed terrorist organisation" has a meaning affected by subsection   9(1AAB).

"listed terrorist organisation" has the same meaning as in subsection   100.1(1) of the Criminal Code .

"member" means a member of the Committee, and includes the Chair.

"ONI" means the Office of National Intelligence.

"operational security of ASIS" means the protection of the integrity of operations undertaken by ASIS from:

  (a)   interference by a foreign person or entity; or

  (b)   reliance on inaccurate or false information.

"paid work" means work for financial gain or reward (whether as an employee, a self - employed person or otherwise).

"paramilitary activities" means activities involving the use of an armed unit (or other armed group) that is not part of a country's official defence or law enforcement forces.

"permanent resident" means:

  (a)   a natural person who is a permanent resident within the meaning of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 ; or

  (b)   a body corporate incorporated under a law in force in a State or Territory, other than a body corporate whose activities one or more of the following controls, or is in a position to control, whether directly or indirectly:

  (i)   a foreign power;

  (ii)   a natural person who is neither an Australian citizen nor a person covered by paragraph   (a);

  (iii)   a group of natural persons, none of whom is an Australian citizen or a person covered by paragraph   (a).

"police functions" means:

  (a)   the arrest, charging or detention of suspected offenders; or

  (b)   any other activity undertaken for the purposes of prosecuting, or for determining whether to prosecute, an offence.

"prescribed activity" has the meaning given by subsection   8(1B).

"record" means a document, or any other object by which words, images, sounds or signals are recorded or stored or from which information can be obtained, and includes part of a record.

Note:   For the definition of document , see section   2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .

"responsible Minister" means:

  (a)   in relation to ASIO--the Minister responsible for ASIO; and

  (b)   in relation to an agency--the Minister responsible for the agency; and

  (ba)   in relation to DIO--the Minister responsible for DIO; and

  (c)   in relation to ONI--the Minister responsible for ONI.

"retained data activity" means an activity relating to information, or documents, that a service provider has been required to keep under Part   5 - 1A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 .

"serious crime" means conduct that, if engaged in within, or in connection with, Australia, would constitute an offence against the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory punishable by imprisonment for a period exceeding 12 months.

"service provider" has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 .

"signals" includes electromagnetic emissions.

"staff member" , subject to subsection   41AC(3), means:

  (a)   in relation to ASIO--a member of the staff of ASIO (whether an employee of ASIO, a consultant or contractor to ASIO, or a person who is made available by another Commonwealth or State authority or other person to perform services for ASIO); and

  (b)   in relation to an agency--a member of the staff of the agency (whether an employee of the agency, a consultant or contractor to the agency, or a person who is made available by another Commonwealth or State authority or other person to perform services for the agency); and

  (c)   in relation to DIO--a member of the staff of that part of the Defence Department known as the Defence Intelligence Organisation, whether:

  (i)   an employee, a consultant or contractor that works in that part of the Defence Department; or

  (ii)   a person who is made available by another Commonwealth authority, a State authority or other person to perform services for that part of the Defence Department.

"State authority" includes:

  (a)   a Department of State of a State or Territory or a Department of the Public Service of a State or Territory; and

  (b)   a body (whether incorporated or not) established, or continued in existence, for a public purpose by or under a law of a State or Territory; and

  (c)   a body corporate in which a State, Territory or a body referred to in paragraph   (b) has a controlling interest.

"subcontractor" , for an ASD contract, means a person:

  (a)   who is a party to a contract (the subcontract ):

  (i)   with a contracted service provider for the ASD contract (within the meaning of paragraph   (a) of the definition of contracted service provider ); or

  (ii)   with a subcontractor for the ASD contract (under a previous application of this definition); and

  (b)   who is responsible under the subcontract for the provision of services to ASD, or to a contracted service provider for the ASD contract, for the purposes (whether direct or indirect) of the ASD contract.

  (2)   For the purposes of determining whether a body is an authority of another country, it does not matter whether:

  (a)   the body is established by a law of the country; or

  (b)   the body is connected with an internationally recognised government of the country.


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