Customs Act 1901

PART XII - OFFICERS  

Division 1 - Powers of officers  

Subdivision C - Search warrants in respect of things believed to be evidential material  

SECTION 201A   PERSON WITH KNOWLEDGE OF A COMPUTER OR A COMPUTER SYSTEM TO ASSIST ACCESS ETC  

201A(1)    
An executing officer may apply to a magistrate for an order requiring a specified person to provide any information or assistance that is reasonable and necessary to allow the officer to do one or more of the following:

(a) access data held in, or accessible from, a computer or data storage device that:

(i) is on warrant premises; or

(ii) has been seized under this Subdivision; or

(iii) is found in the course of an ordinary search of a person, or a frisk search of a person, authorised by a search warrant;

(b) copy data held in, or accessible from, a computer, or data storage device, described in paragraph (a) to another data storage device;

(c) convert into documentary form or another form intelligible to an executing officer:

(i) data held in, or accessible from, a computer, or data storage device, described in paragraph (a); or

(ii) data held in a data storage device to which the data was copied as described in paragraph (b).

201A(2)    
The magistrate may grant the order if the magistrate is satisfied that:

(a) there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidential material is held in, or is accessible from, the computer or data storage device; and

(b) the specified person is:

(i) reasonably suspected of having committed the offence stated in the relevant warrant; or

(ii) the owner or lessee of the computer or device; or

(iii) an employee of the owner or lessee of the computer or device; or

(iv) a person engaged under a contract for services by the owner or lessee of the computer or device; or

(v) a person who uses or has used the computer or device; or

(vi) a person who is or was a system administrator for the system including the computer or device; and

(c) the specified person has relevant knowledge of:

(i) the computer or device or a computer network of which the computer or device forms or formed a part; or

(ii) measures applied to protect data held in, or accessible from, the computer or device.

Offences

201A(3)    

A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person is subject to an order under this section; and

(b) the person is capable of complying with a requirement in the order; and

(c) the person omits to do an act; and

(d) the omission contravenes the requirement.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years or 300 penalty units, or both.

201A(4)    

A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person is subject to an order under this section; and

(b) the person is capable of complying with a requirement in the order; and

(c) the person omits to do an act; and

(d) the omission contravenes the requirement; and

(e) the offence to which the relevant warrant relates is a serious offence.

Penalty for contravention of this subsection: Imprisonment for 10 years or 600 penalty units, or both.