Queensland Consolidated Acts Queensland Consolidated Acts(1) A chairperson may apply to a Supreme Court judge for an approval to use a listening device.
(2) The application—
(a) shall be made by or on behalf of the chairperson and shall be accompanied by the chairperson's certificate that the chairperson is satisfied by evidence upon oath (or by affirmation or declaration instead of upon oath where, if the evidence were given by a witness before the commission, such evidence may be given by affirmation or declaration instead of upon oath), which oath, affirmation, or declaration the chairperson is hereby authorised to administer or take, as the case may be, that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the use of a listening device may produce information relevant to the commission's inquiry with respect to any offence; and
(b) shall be made ex parte and be heard in the judge's chambers.
(2A) No notice or report relating to the application shall be published and no record of the application or of any approval or order given or made thereon shall be available for search by any person except by direction of a judge of the Supreme Court.
(3) In considering such an application a judge of the Supreme Court shall have regard to—
(a) the gravity of the matters being investigated; and
(b) the extent to which the privacy of any person is likely to be interfered with; and
(c) the extent to which the prevention or detection of the offence in question is likely to be assisted;
and the judge may grant approval subject to such conditions, limitations and restrictions, and may grant such powers and authorities including an authority to enter any place, building, vehicle, aircraft or vessel, using such force as is necessary, as are, in the judge's opinion, necessary in the public interest and as are specified in the approval.
(4) A person who uses a listening device under and in accordance with an approval given under this section to overhear, record, monitor or listen to any private conversation to which the person is not a party shall not communicate or publish the substance or meaning of that private conversation other than to the chairperson who authorised the person to use the device or other person nominated by the chairperson to receive such information.
(4A) Information obtained by the use of a listening device under and in accordance with an approval given under this section shall not be used for any purpose, including the commission's inquiry in connection with which the approval was obtained, without the chairperson's approval or a further approval of a judge of the Supreme Court obtained in the same manner as is prescribed by subsections (2) and (3).
(5) As soon as is practicable after a record (in writing or in any other form) has been made of information obtained by the use of a listening device under and in accordance with an approval given under this section the chairperson shall cause so much of the record to be destroyed as does not relate, directly or indirectly, to the commission of an offence or to any other matter relevant to the commission's inquiry.