Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If:
(a) any of the following persons:
(i) the Director - General of Security;
(ii) the Director - General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service;
(iii) the Director - General of the Australian Signals Directorate;
(iv) the chief officer of an interception agency;
requests a designated communications provider to do one or more specified acts or things that:
(v) are in connection with any or all of the eligible activities of the provider; and
(vi) are covered by subsection (2); and
(b) the provider does an act or thing:
(i) in accordance with the request; or
(ii) in good faith purportedly in accordance with the request;
then:
(c) the provider is not subject to any civil liability for, or in relation to, the act or thing mentioned in paragraph (b); and
(d) an officer, employee or agent of the provider is not subject to any civil liability for, or in relation to, an act or thing done by the officer, employee or agent in connection with the act or thing mentioned in paragraph (b).
(2) The specified acts or things must:
(a) be directed towards ensuring that the designated communications provider is capable of giving help to:
(i) in a case where the request is made by the Director - General of Security--ASIO; or
(ii) in a case where the request is made by the Director - General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service--the Australian Secret Intelligence Service; or
(iii) in a case where the request is made by the Director - General of the Australian Signals Directorate--the Australian Signals Directorate; or
(iv) in a case where the request is made by the chief officer of an interception agency--the agency;
in relation to:
(v) the performance of a function, or the exercise of a power, conferred by or under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, so far as the function or power relates to a relevant objective; or
(vi) a matter that facilitates, or is ancillary or incidental to, a matter covered by subparagraph (v); or
(b) be by way of giving help to:
(i) in a case where the request is made by the Director - General of Security--ASIO; or
(ii) in a case where the request is made by the Director - General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service--the Australian Secret Intelligence Service; or
(iii) in a case where the request is made by the Director - General of the Australian Signals Directorate--the Australian Signals Directorate; or
(iv) in a case where the request is made by the chief officer of an interception agency--the agency;
in relation to:
(v) the performance of a function, or the exercise of a power, conferred by or under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, so far as the function or power relates to a relevant objective; or
(vi) a matter that facilitates, or is ancillary or incidental to, a matter covered by subparagraph (v).
(3) A request under paragraph (1)(a) is to be known as a technical assistance request .
(4) Subparagraph (1)(b)(ii) does not apply to an act or thing done by a designated communications provider unless the act or thing is in connection with any or all of the eligible activities of the provider.
Relevant objective
(5) For the purposes of this section, relevant objective means:
(a) in relation to a technical assistance request given by the Director - General of Security--safeguarding national security; or
(b) in relation to a technical assistance request given by the Director - General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service--the interests of Australia's national security, the interests of Australia's foreign relations or the interests of Australia's national economic well - being; or
(c) in relation to a technical assistance request given by the Director - General of the Australian Signals Directorate--providing material, advice and other assistance to a person or body mentioned in subsection 7(2) of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 on matters relating to the security and integrity of information that is processed, stored or communicated by electronic or similar means; or
(d) in relation to a technical assistance request given by the chief officer of an interception agency:
(i) enforcing the criminal law, so far as it relates to serious Australian offences; or
(ii) assisting the enforcement of the criminal laws in force in a foreign country, so far as those laws relate to serious foreign offences.
Listed acts or things
(6) The acts or things that may be specified in a technical assistance request given to a designated communications provider include (but are not limited to) listed acts or things, so long as those acts or things:
(a) are in connection with any or all of the eligible activities of the provider; and
(b) are covered by subsection (2).
Note: For listed acts or things , see section 317E.