Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CRIMES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2002 (NO. 1) 2002 NO. 5

Statutory Rules 2002 No. 5

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Subject: Crimes Act 1914

Crimes Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1)

Section 15XW of the Crimes Act 1914 (Crimes Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, prescribing all matters required or permitted by Part IAC of the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to Part IAC.

The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to amend the Crimes Regulations to enable specified senior officers in Commonwealth agencies to authorise the acquisition and use of assumed identities under Part IAC.

Part IAC provides for the use of assumed identities by participating Commonwealth and State and Territory agencies. Under sections 15XG and 15XH the acquisition and use of an assumed identity may be approved by an "authorising person" in a participating agency. An "authorising person" is defined in subsection 15XA(1) as either the head of a participating agency, or an officer of the agency in a prescribed class who is authorised in writing by the head of the agency.

The proposed Regulations would prescribe classes of persons in Commonwealth participating agencies who may authorise the use of assumed identities. The prescribed classes of persons include specified classes of senior officers in the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Customs Service, the National Crime Authority, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, and the Australian Taxation Office.

Amendments prescribing the class of persons for each State and Territory participating agency will be made at a later date, to enable consultation with those agencies to occur.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.