Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 243

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 243

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Communications and the Arts

Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989

Australian Postal Corporation Regulations (Amendment)

Section 102(b) of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed.

Subsection 92(1) of the Act prohibits an employee of Australia Post from disclosing any fact or document relating to:

•       the contents of articles carried by post;

•       postal or telecommunications services provided to another person by Australia Post; or

•       the affairs or personal particulars (including any address) of another person;

that has come to the employee's knowledge or possession as a consequence of the person's employment with Australia Post.

Subsection 92(2) provides that the prohibition on disclosure does not apply where the disclosure is made by an employee in the performance of his or her duties, as a witness summonsed to give evidence or to produce documents in a court of law, under the requirements of a law of the Commonwealth or in circumstances prescribed under paragraph 92(2)(d).

Regulation 20 of the Australian Postal Corporation Regulations (the Regulations) prescribes the following circumstances for the purposes of paragraph 92(2)(d):

•       a disclosure relating to services provided by Australia Post or the affairs or personal particulars of a person (but not the contents of postal articles) where the disclosure is made:

-       to an authorised officer or employee of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization; or

-       because it is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of a Commonwealth, State or Territory criminal law, a Commonwealth law imposing a pecuniary penalty or for the protection of the public revenue;

•       a disclosure relating to the contents of postal articles:

-       under a search warrant issued under a Commonwealth, State or Territory law; or

-       in response to an order for production issued by the Crimes Commission or the Independent Commission Against Corruption of New South Wales or the Criminal Justice Commission of Queensland;

The Regulations were given a sunset period of 12 months, pending the passage of legislation to bring the Regulations into the Act. The sunset provision was included to comply with an undertaking made to the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances by the previous Minister for Land Transport, Bob Brown MP.

Regulation 20 was remade on 2 September 1993 extending the period until 30 June 1994. This extension was expected to be sufficient to allow the amendment of the Act.

The amendments to the Regulations extended the period of operation of Regulation 20 to 31 December 1994 to ensure that there is continued access to postal information for law enforcement matters, pending the Parliament's consideration of the proposed amendments to the Act in the Spring sittings of Parliament. The amending Regulations commenced on the date of Gazettal.