Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES (TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS AND CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) ACT 1989No. 63, 1989 - SECT 5

5. After Part VII of the Principal Act the following Parts are inserted:

"PART VIIA- OFFENCES RELATING TO POSTAL SERVICES Interpretation-definitions

"85E. In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
'article in the course of post' means an article that is being carried by
post, an dincludes an article that has been collected or received by Australia
Post for carriage by post, but has not been delivered by Australia Post;
'Australia Post' means the Australian Postal Corporation;
'employee', in relation to Australia Post, includes a person who performs
services for or on behalf of Australia Post and an employee of such a person;
'mail-bag' includes a package, parcel, container or wrapper belonging to
Australia Post in which articles in the course of post are customarily
contained, whether or not it actually contains such articles;
'postal message' means"

   (a)  a material record of an unwritten communication:
          (i)    carried by post; or

          (ii)   collected or recieved by Australia Post for carriage
by post; or

   (b)  a material record issued by Australia Post as a record of an unwritten
        communication:
          (i)   carried by post; or


        (ii)   collected or recieved by Australia Post for carriage by post.
               Interpretation - expressions used in
               Australian Postal Corporation Act

"85F. Unless the contrary intention appears, expressions used in this Part,
and in the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989, have the same respective
meanings as in that Act. Forgery of postage stamps etc.

"85G. (1) A person shall not forge a postage stamp.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.

"(2) A person shall not utter a postage stamp knowing it to be forged.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.

"(3) A person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse, make, use, have
in his or her possession, or sell or otherwise dispose of, any paper or
article that has affixed to it, or printed on it, a mark, label or design
resembling, apparently intended to resemble or pass for, or likely to be
mistaken for, a postage stamp, knowing it is not a postage stamp.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

"(4) A person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse, make, use, have
in his or her possession, or sell or otherwise dispose of, any article
resembling, apparently intended to resemble or pass for, or likely to be
mistaken for, an envelope, letter-card, aerogram or other article on which
Australia Post has caused a postage stamp to be affixed or printed, knowing
that it is not such an article.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

"(5) A person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse, make, use, have
in his or her possession, or sell or otherwise dispose of, any die, plate or
instrument capable of making a mark, label or design in the form of, or in a
form resembling, apparently intended to resemble or pass for, or likely to be
mistaken for, a postage stamp, knowing that it is such a die, plate or
instrument.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

"(6) A person shall be taken to utter a forged postage stamp if the person:

   (a)  tenders it or puts it off;

   (b)  attempts to tender it or put it off;

   (c)  uses or deals with it;

   (d)  attempts to use or deal with it; or

   (e)  attempts to induce any person to use, deal with, act on or accept it.
        Special paper for postage stamps

"85H. A person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse:

   (a)  knowingly or recklessly make, use, have in his or her possession, or
        sell or otherwise dispose of, paper:

        (i)    supplied for, or used by, Australia Post for the purpose of
               printing postage stamps; or

        (ii)   resembling, or apparently intended to resemble or pass for,
               paper supplied for, or used by, Australia Post for that
               purpose;

   (b)  knowingly or recklessly make, use, have in his or her possession, or
        sell or otherwise dispose of, paper:

        (i)    supplied for, or used by, a person other than Australia Post
               for the purpose of printing postage stamps for Australia Post;
               or

        (ii)   resembling, or apparently intended to resemble or pass for,
               paper supplied for, or used by, a person other than Australia
               Post for that purpose; or

   (c)  knowingly or recklessly make, use, have in his or her possession, or
        sell or otherwise dispose of, any instrument or thing for making a
        mark, label or design resembling, or apparently intended to resemble
        or pass for, any distinctive mark, label or design used on any paper
        especially supplied for the purpose of the printing of postage stamps
        by or on behalf of Australia Post.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Fraudulently removing postage stamps

"85J. (1) A person shall not fraudulently:

   (a)  remove from an article any postage stamp affixed to, or printed on,
        the article;

   (b)  remove from a postage stamp that has previously been used any postmark
        made on the stamp; or

   (c)  use for postal purposes a postage stamp that has previously been used
        for postal services or has been obliterated or defaced.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year.

"(2) In proceedings for an offence against paragraph (1) (c), proof that the
defendant caused an article to or on which a postage stamp that had previously
been used for postal services, or had been obliterated or defaced, was affixed
or printed to be carried by post is prima facie evidence that the defendant
used the stamp affixed to, or printed on, the article for postal purposes.
Stealing articles in the course of post etc.

"85K. (1) A person shall not:

   (a)  fraudulently take a mail-bag, or an article in the course of post,
        from the possession of an employee of Australia Post;

   (b)  fraudulently take a mail-bag, or an article in the course of post,
        from any place appointed by Australia Post for the receipt or delivery
        of mail-bags or such an article; or

   (c)  steal, or fraudulently conceal, misappropriate or destroy, a mail-bag
        or an article in the course of post (including an article that appears
        to have been lost or wrongly delivered by Australia Post or lost in
        the course of delivery to Australia Post).

"(2) A person shall not receive a mail-bag or an article in the course of
post, or any part of a mail-bag or such an article, knowing that it had been
stolen or fraudulently taken, concealed or misappropriated.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Tampering with mail-bags etc.

"85L. (1) A person shall not fraudulently open or tamper with:

   (a)  a mail-bag; or

   (b)  an article in the course of post.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

"(2) A person shall not open:

   (a)  a mail-bag unless the person is authorised to do so by Australia Post;
        or (b) an article in the course of post unless the person is
        authorised to do so by Australia Post or the person to whom the
        article is directed.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years. Improperly obtaining articles in the course
of post

"85M. A person shall not, by a false pretence or false statement, obtain
delivery or receipt of an article in the course of post that is not directed
to the person.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Wrongful delivery of postal article etc.

"85N. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly cause an article in the
course of post to be delivered to, or received by, a person other than the
person to whom it is directed or that person's authorised agent.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Stealing postal messages etc.

"85P. (1) A person shall not:

   (a)  fraudulently or with intent to prevent the due sending, carriage,
        delivery or receipt of a postal message, take a postal message from
        the possession of an employee of Australia Post;

   (b)  fraudulently take a postal message from any place or vehicle in use by
        Australia Post; or

   (c)  steal, or fraudulently conceal, misappropriate or destroy, a postal
        message.

"(2) A person shall not receive a postal message knowing it to have been
stolen, or fraudulently taken, concealed or misappropriated.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Forgery of postal messages etc.

"85Q. (1) A person shall not forge a postal message.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.

"(2) A person shall not utter a postal message knowing it to be forged.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.

"(3) A person shall be taken to utter a forged postal message if the person:

   (a)  tenders it or puts it off;

   (b)  attempts to tender it or put it off;

   (c)  uses or deals with it;

   (d)  attempts to use or deal with it; or

   (e)  attempts to induce any person to use, deal with, act on or accept it.
        Wrongful delivery of postal messages

"85R. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly cause a postal message to be
delivered to or received by a person other than the person to whom it is
directed or that person's authorised agent.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Improper use of postal services

"85S. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly:

   (a)  use a postal or telecommunications service supplied by Australia Post
        to menace or harass another person; or

   (b)  use a postal or telecommunications service supplied by Australia Post
        in such a way as would be regarded by reasonable persons as being, in
        all the circumstances, offensive.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Sending false postal messages

"85T. A person shall not:

   (a)  intentionally and without a person's authority, submit, or cause to be
        submitted, to Australia Post as a postal message signed or to be sent
        by the person, a postal message that was not so signed or to be sent;

   (b)  knowingly or recklessly submit, or cause to be submitted, to Australia
        Post a postal message signed with the name of a fictitious person;

   (c)  intentionally and without the authority of the person sending a postal
        message, alter the postal message; or

   (d)  knowingly or recklessly write, issue or deliver a document purporting
        to be a postal message that has been carried by post knowing that it
        is not such a message.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Obstructing carriage of articles by post

"85U. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly obstruct or hinder the
carriage by post of any article.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years. Interference with property of Australia
Post

"85V. (1) A person shall not, without the authority of Australia Post,
knowingly or recklessly tamper or interfere with a post-box, or stamp vending
machine, erected by Australia Post, or any other property belonging to
Australia Post.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year.

"(2) A person shall not, without the authority of Australia Post, knowingly or
recklessly alter, tamper or interfere with, or obliterate any notice, writing
or other marking on or attached to property belonging to Australia Post.
Penalty: $3,000. Causing narcotic substances to be carried by post

"85W. (1) A person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse, knowingly or
recklessly cause to be carried by post an article that consists of, encloses
or contains a prescribed narcotic substance within the meaning of the
Customs Act 1901.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

"(2) Where an act constitutes an offence against a law of a State or
Territory, the validity of the law is not affected merely because the act also
constitutes an offence against subsection (1). Causing explosives to be
carried by post etc.

"85X. (1) A person shall not knowingly or recklessly cause to be carried by
post an article that consists of, encloses or contains:

   (a)  an explosive; or

   (b)  any prescribed dangerous or deleterious substance.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.

"(2) A person shall not, except with the approval of Australia Post and on
compliance with such conditions (if any) as are determined by Australia Post,
knowingly or recklessly cause to be carried by post an article that consists
of, encloses or contains a dangerous or deleterious substance (other than an
explosive or a substance prescribed under paragraph (1) (b)).
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Hoax explosives etc.

"85Y. A person shall not cause an article to be carried by post with the
intention of inducing a false belief:

   (a)  that the article consists of, encloses or contains an explosive or a
        dangerous or deleterious substance; or

   (b)  that an explosive, or a dangerous or deleterious substance, is or will
        be left in any place.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Articles carried by post to be taken to be
Australia Post's property

"85Z. For the purpose of any prosecution for an offence in relation to an
article carried by post or under the control of Australia Post, the article
shall be taken to be the property of Australia Post. Postage stamps to be
valuable securities etc.

"85ZA. A postage stamp, and any document issued by Australia Post in relation
to the carriage by post of money or a direction to pay an amount of money,
shall be taken to be a valuable security for the purposes of any law relating
to larceny.

"PART VIIB-OFFENCES RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
Interpretation-definitions

"85ZB. In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
'AUSSAT' means AUSSAT Pty Ltd;
'carrier' means Telecom, OTC or AUSSAT;
'communication in the course of telecommunications carriage' means a
communication that is being carried by a carrier, and includes a communication
that has been collected or received by a carrier for carriage by the carrier,
but has not been delivered by the carrier;
'OTC' means OTC Limited;
'Telecom' means the Australian Telecommunications Corporation.
Interpretation-expressions used in Telecommunications Act

"85ZC. Unless the contrary intention appears, expressions used in this Part,
and in the Telecommunications Act 1989, have the same respective meanings as
in that Act. Wrongful delivery of communications

"85ZD. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly cause a communication in the
course of telecommunications carriage to be received by a person or
telecommunications service other than the person or service to whom it is
directed.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Improper use of telecommunications services

"85ZE. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly:

   (a)  use a telecommunications service supplied by a carrier to menace or
        harass another person; or

   (b)  use a telecommunications service supplied by a carrier in such a way
        as would be regarded by reasonable persons as being, in all the
        circumstances, offensive.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Fraudulent representations and devices

"85ZF. A person shall not, by means of an apparatus or device:

   (a)  defraud a carrier of any rental, fee or charge properly payable for or
        in relation to a telecommunications service supplied by the carrier;
        or

   (b)  knowingly or recklessly cause a carrier to supply a telecommunications
        service to another person without payment by that other person of the
        proper rental, fee or charge.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. Interference with telecommunications
services

"85ZG. (1) A person shall not knowingly or recklessly manipulate, or tamper or
interfere with, any facility operated by a carrier in such a way as to hinder
the normal operation of a telecommunications service supplied by the carrier.

"(2) A person shall not knowingly or recklessly use or operate any apparatus
or device (whether or not it is comprised in, connected to or used in
connection with a telecommunications network) in such a way as to hinder the
normal operation of a telecommunications service supplied by a carrier.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years. Sending signals to satellite

"85ZH. A person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse, knowingly or
recklessly transmit a signal to a satellite operated by a carrier.
Penalty: $12,000. Interference with carrier facilities

"85ZJ. A person shall not knowingly or recklessly tamper or interfere with a
facility belonging to a carrier.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year. Equipment used for unlawful purposes etc.

"85ZK. (1) A person shall not:

   (a)  connect equipment to a telecommunications network with the intention
        of using it in, or in relation to, the commission of an offence
        against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or

   (b)  use equipment connected to a telecommunications network in, or in
        relation to, the commission of such an offence.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

"(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to equipment in relation to
which a permit under Division 4 of Part 5 of the Telecommunications Act 1989
is in force.".