New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LAW ENFORCEMENT (POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES) ACT 2002 - SECT 75B

75B Access to and downloading of data from computers (including access to computers outside premises the subject of a warrant)

(1) The person executing or assisting in the execution of a warrant to which this Division applies may operate equipment at the premises the subject of the warrant to access data (including data held at premises other than the subject premises) if the person believes on reasonable grounds that the data might be data that could be seized under the warrant.

Note--: Under section 49, data may be seized under a warrant if connected with an offence. Section 46(3) provides that a thing is connected with an offence if, for example, it will provide evidence of the commission of the offence.

(2) The person executing or assisting in the execution of the warrant may--

(a) copy any accessed data to a disk, tape or other data storage device brought to the premises, and

(b) with the approval of the occupier of the premises, copy any accessed data to a disk, tape or other data storage device already at the premises, and

(c) take the disk, tape or other data storage device from the premises to examine the accessed data to determine whether it (or any part of it) is data that could be seized under the warrant.

(3) The person executing or assisting in the execution of the warrant may operate the equipment to put any data that could be seized in documentary form and seize the document so produced.

(4) The person executing or assisting in the execution of the warrant may seize the equipment and any disk, tape or other data storage device--

(a) if it is not practicable to exercise the powers referred to in subsection (2) or (3) in relation to the data, or

(b) if possession by the occupier of the equipment or device could constitute an offence.

(5) This section does not authorise the operation of equipment already at the premises the subject of the warrant to access data unless the person operating the equipment has reasonable grounds to believe that the equipment can be operated without damaging the equipment or the data.

(6) The responsible officer for an authority must arrange for the removal of any data obtained by the exercise of a power referred to in this section by a member of the authority from any device under the control of the authority and the destruction of any other reproduction of the data in the control of the authority if the responsible officer is satisfied that the data is data that could not be seized under the warrant.

(7) Subsection (6) does not require the destruction of court records.

(8) In this section,
"responsible officer for an authority" means the following--

(a) in relation to data obtained by a police officer--the Commissioner of Police,

(b) in relation to data obtained by a member of staff of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission--the Chief Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission,

(c) in relation to data obtained by a member of staff of the New South Wales Crime Commission--the Commissioner for the New South Wales Crime Commission,

(d) in relation to data obtained in execution of a search warrant issued under a provision of an Act specified in Schedule 2--the person prescribed by the regulations.