Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979

Overview
The Australian Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act) works in conjunction with the Telecommunications Act 1997 to prohibit the interception, collection, or disclosure of communicationsz unless authorised under the Act.

The TIA Act contains three distinct regimes that regulate the use of powers depending on the sensitivity of the data and the purpose for which it is sought:


 * interception warrants allow for the real-time copying or recording of information passing over a telecommunications system (chapter 2);
 * stored communications warrants allow access to communications stored on the equipment of the carrier (chapter 3); and
 * non warrant based authorisations allow for the disclosure of information about communications but not the communications themselves (chapter 4).

The TIA Act created the position of the Communications Access Coordinator which is located within the Attorney-General's Department, and is the first point of contact for the telecommunications industry, law enforcement agencies and national security agencies under the Act.