Commonwealth Numbered Acts

POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AMENDMENT ACT 1983 No. 147, 1983 - SECT 5

5. After section 9 of the Principal Act the following sections are inserted:
Courier Service

''10. (1) The Commission may operate a courier service, being a service that
provides for the collection, at the request of a person using the service, of
an article, being an article transmissible by courier service, from a place in
Australia specified by or on behalf of the person and the conveyance and
delivery of the article to another place in Australia that is so specified.

''(2) The courier service may, subject to and in accordance with the By-laws,
provide for-

   (a)  the collection from an office of the Commission of a postal article
        transmitted by post to the office of the Commission and the conveyance
        and delivery of the article to a place other than an office of the
        Commission; and

   (b)  the collection of a postal article from a place other than an office
        of the Commission and the conveyance and delivery of the article to an
        office of the Commission and the lodging of the article (on behalf of
        the person using the service) for transmission by post to another
        place.

''(3) In this section, 'article transmissible by courier service' means an
article transmissible by post and any other article that, under the By-laws,
is transmissible by courier service. Electronic mail

''10A. (1) The Commission may operate electronic mail services, being services
for the transmission of information-

   (a)  in part by means of electromagnetic energy; and

   (b)  in part by means of any one or more of the following:

        (i)    accepting delivery of or collecting;

        (ii)   carrying or conveying;

        (iii)  delivering or making available for collection,

a document containing that information.

''(2) Subject to sub-section (5), the Commission may operate electronic mail
services, being services for the transmission of information solely by means
of electromagnetic energy, if-

   (a)  in the case of a transmission of information solely within
        Australia-it has obtained the consent of the Australian
        Telecommunications Commission; or

   (b)  in the case of a transmission of information that originates from, or
        has as its final destination, a person or body in a foreign country-it
        has obtained the consent of the Overseas Telecommunications Commission
        (Australia).

''(3) For the purposes of sub-section (2), a consent may be given in respect
of a specified transmission or a specified class of transmissions.

''(4) In conjunction with the operation of electronic mail services, the
Commission may-

   (a)  enhance, sort or modify the presentation or addressing of the
        information; and

   (b)  transfer to a document or documents the information transmitted by
        electromagnetic energy, and make such preparation of the document or
        documents for delivery as it thinks fit.

''(5) The Commission shall not operate an electronic mail service in which
information is transmitted between Australia and a foreign country by means of
electromagnetic energy unless the person or body in the foreign country to
whom or from whom the transmission takes place is a prescribed user.

''(6) No action for defamation (whether civil or criminal), breach of
confidence or infringement of copyright lies against the Commission, an
officer or an employee in respect of anything done in accordance with this
section.

''(7) The transmission of information to a person in accordance with this
section shall not be taken, for the purposes of the law relating to
defamation, breach of confidence or copyright, to constitute an authorization
or approval of anything done in respect of that information by that person.

''(8) In this section-

'document' includes-

   (a)  a book, plan, paper, parchment or other material on which there is
        writing or printing, or on which there are marks, symbols or
        perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;
        and

   (b)  a disc, tape, paper or other device from which sounds or messages are
        capable of being reproduced;

'prescribed user' means-

   (a)  a postal administration of a foreign country; or

   (b)  a person or body declared by the Minister, by notice published in the
        Gazette, to be a prescribed user for the purposes of this section.''.