Interpretation
4 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
ACC means the Australian Crime Commission established by section 7.
ACC information means information that is in the ACC’s possession.
accredited body: see subsection 46A(5).
against: a confiscation proceeding is against a person if:
for a proceeding under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002—the person is a suspect (within the meaning of that Act) for the proceeding; or
for a proceeding under a law of a State or Territory—the person is in a corresponding category for that law.
appoint includes re‑appoint.
Australian travel document has the same meaning as in the Australian Passports Act 2005.
Board means the Board of the ACC.
business includes:
any profession, trade, employment or vocational calling;
any transaction or transactions, whether lawful or unlawful, in the nature of trade or commerce (including the making of a loan); and
any activity, whether lawful or unlawful, carried on for the purposes of gain, whether or not the gain is of a pecuniary nature and whether the gain is direct or indirect.
CEO means the Chief Executive Officer of the ACC.
charged: a person is charged with an offence if a process for prosecuting the person for the offence commences.
Charges Act means the Australian Crime Commission (National Policing Information Charges) Act 2016.
child means any person who is under 18 years of age.
child abuse means an offence relating to the abuse or neglect of a child (including a sexual offence) that is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 3 years or more.
Commonwealth officer:
has the meaning given by subsection 3(1) of the Crimes Act 1914; and
includes members of the staff of the ACC.
Comptroller‑General of Customs means the person who is the Comptroller‑General of Customs in accordance with subsection 11(3) or 14(2) of the Australian Border Force Act 2015.
confiscation proceeding means a proceeding under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1987 or the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, or under a corresponding law within the meaning of either of those Acts, but does not include a criminal prosecution for an offence under either of those Acts or a corresponding law.
constable means a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police or a member of the police force or police service of a State.
CSC (short for Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation) has the same meaning as in the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011.
derivative material means any evidence, information, document or thing obtained directly or indirectly from examination material.
disclose, for examination material or derivative material, includes:
to make available; and
to disclose copies, contents or descriptions of that material.
document has the same meaning as in the Evidence Act 1995.
eligible Commonwealth Board member means the following members of the Board:
the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police;
the Secretary of the Department;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs;
the Chairperson of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission;
the Director‑General of Security holding office under the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979;
the Commissioner of Taxation.
eligible person means:
an examiner; or
a member of the staff of the ACC who is also a constable.
examination means an examination under Division 2 of Part II.
examination material has the meaning given by subsection 4B(1).
examinee has the meaning given by subsection 4B(3).
examiner means a person appointed under subsection 46B(1).
federal aspect, in relation to an offence against a law of a State, has the meaning given by subsection 4A(2).
Federal Court means the Federal Court of Australia.
federally relevant crime means a relevant crime that is:
an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory; or
an offence against a law of a State that has a federal aspect.
Finance Minister means the Minister administering the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
foreign law enforcement agency means:
a police force (however described) of a foreign country; or
any other authority or person responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the foreign country.
IGIS official (short for Inspector‑General of Intelligence and Security official) means:
the Inspector‑General of Intelligence and Security; or
any other person covered by subsection 32(1) of the Inspector‑General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986.
Immigration and Border Protection Department means the Department administered by the Minister administering the Australian Border Force Act 2015.
imminent:
a charge against a person is imminent if:
the person is a protected suspect; or
the person is under arrest for an offence, but has not been charged with the offence; or
a person with authority to commence a process for prosecuting the person for an offence has decided to commence, but not yet commenced, the process; or
a confiscation proceeding against a person is imminent if a person with authority to commence the proceeding has decided to commence, but has not yet commenced, the proceeding.
Subparagraph (a)(iii) applies, for example, if a person with authority to lay the charge has decided to lay, but not yet laid, the charge.
in contempt of the ACC has the meaning given by section 34A.
Indigenous person means a person (including a child) who is:
a person of the Aboriginal race of Australia; or
a descendant of an Indigenous inhabitant of the Torres Strait Islands.
Indigenous violence or child abuse means serious violence or child abuse against an Indigenous person.
integrity authority means:
an integrity testing controlled operations authority under Part IAB of the Crimes Act 1914 authorising a controlled operation under that Part; or
an integrity testing authority under Part IABA of the Crimes Act 1914 authorising an integrity testing operation under that Part.
integrity operation means:
a controlled operation authorised by an integrity testing controlled operation authority granted under Part IAB of the Crimes Act 1914; or
an integrity testing operation authorised by an integrity testing authority granted under Part IABA of the Crimes Act 1914.
intelligence operation means an operation that is primarily directed towards the collection, correlation, analysis or dissemination of criminal information and intelligence relating to a federally relevant crime, but that may involve undertaking investigations relating to a federally relevant crime.
However, an intelligence operation does not include an integrity operation.
Inter‑Governmental Committee or Committee means the Inter‑Governmental Committee referred to in section 8.
issuing officer means:
a Judge of the Federal Court; or
a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2); or
a Judge of a court of a State or Territory.
law enforcement agency means:
the Australian Federal Police;
a Police Force of a State; or
any other authority or person responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth or of the States.
legal aid officer means:
a member, or member of staff, of an authority established by or under a law of a State or Territory for purposes that include providing legal assistance; or
a person to whom the Attorney‑General has delegated his or her powers and functions under section 27.
legal practitioner means a barrister, a solicitor, a barrister and solicitor, or a legal practitioner, of the High Court or of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.
member of the staff of the ACC means:
a member of the staff referred to in subsection 47(1); or
a person participating in a special ACC operation/investigation; or
a member of a task force established by the Board under paragraph 7C(1)(f); or
a person engaged under subsection 48(1); or
a person referred to in section 49 whose services are made available to the ACC; or
a legal practitioner appointed under section 50 to assist the ACC as counsel.
national policing information means information that:
is collected by any of the following in the performance or exercise of its functions or powers:
the Australian Federal Police;
the police force of a State;
a body prescribed by the regulations; and
is of a kind prescribed by the regulations;
but does not include the following:
any further information, opinion, interpretation or conclusion derived by the ACC from collected information;
any collected information included in an analysis, report or other presentation by the ACC of material referred to in paragraph (c).
national policing information functions means the ACC’s functions set out in paragraph 7A(fa).
officer of a State includes:
a Minister of the Crown of a State;
a member of either House of the Parliament of a State or, if there is only one House of the Parliament of a State, a member of that House;
a person holding or acting in an office (including a judicial office) or appointment, or employed, under a law of a State; and
a person who is, or is a member of, an authority or body established for a public purpose by or under a law of a State or is an officer or employee of such an authority or body.
officer of a Territory includes:
a person holding or acting in an office (including a judicial office) or appointment, or employed, under a law of a Territory; and
a person who is, or is a member of, an authority or body established for a public purpose by or under a law of a Territory or is an officer or employee of such an authority or body.
officer of the Commonwealth includes:
a Minister of State of the Commonwealth;
a member of either House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth;
a person holding or acting in an office (including a judicial office) or appointment, or employed, under a law of the Commonwealth; and
a person who is, or is a member of, an authority or body established for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth or is an officer or employee of such an authority or body;
but does not include an officer of a Territory.
official matter means any of the following (whether past, present or contingent):
a determination referred to in subsection 28(2);
a special ACC operation/investigation;
an examination held by an examiner;
a court proceeding.
ONI means the Office of National Intelligence.
participating State means a State the Premier of which:
has notified the Prime Minister that the State will participate in the activities of the Inter‑Governmental Committee; and
has not subsequently notified the Prime Minister that the State will not participate in the activities of the Committee.
passport means an Australian passport or a passport issued by the Government of a country other than Australia.
permissible purpose means one or more of the following purposes:
performing functions referred to in section 7A or 7C;
preventing, detecting, investigating, prosecuting or punishing:
criminal offences or activities that might constitute criminal offences (including under a law of a foreign country); or
contraventions of a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory imposing a penalty or sanction (including taking civil remedies in relation to contraventions of such laws); or
seriously improper conduct (including professional misconduct or misconduct by a public official);
preventing, detecting or investigating threats to national security;
preventing serious threats to an individual’s life, health or safety, or to public health or public safety;
enforcing laws (including laws of foreign countries) relating to proceeds of crime;
enforcing laws (including laws of foreign countries) relating to unexplained wealth;
protecting public revenue;
developing government policy;
researching criminology;
any other purpose prescribed by the regulations.
post‑charge:
a use or disclosure of examination material or derivative material is a post‑charge use or disclosure if the use or disclosure happens at a time when:
the examinee has been charged with a related offence and that charge is still to be resolved; or
such a charge is imminent; or
material is post‑charge examination material if the material becomes examination material at a time when:
the examinee has been charged with a related offence and that charge is still to be resolved; or
such a charge is imminent; or
an examination is a post‑charge examination if the examination commences at a time when:
the examinee has been charged with a related offence and that charge is still to be resolved; or
such a charge is imminent; or
a summons is a post‑charge summons if the summons is issued to a person at a time when:
the person has been charged with a related offence and that charge is still to be resolved; or
such a charge is imminent.
post‑confiscation application:
a use or disclosure of examination material or derivative material is a post‑confiscation application use or disclosure if the use or disclosure happens at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has commenced against the examinee and that proceeding is still to be resolved; or
such a proceeding is imminent; or
material is post‑confiscation application examination material if the material becomes examination material at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has commenced against the examinee and that proceeding is still to be resolved; or
such a proceeding is imminent; or
an examination is a post‑confiscation application examination if the examination commences at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has commenced against the examinee and that proceeding is still to be resolved; or
such a proceeding is imminent; or
a summons is a post‑confiscation application summons if the summons is issued to a person at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has commenced against the person and that proceeding is still to be resolved; or
such a proceeding is imminent.
pre‑charge:
a use or disclosure of examination material or derivative material is a pre‑charge use or disclosure if the use or disclosure happens at a time when:
the examinee has not been charged with a related offence, and such a charge is not imminent; or
all such charges have been resolved; or
material is pre‑charge examination material if the material becomes examination material at a time when:
the examinee has not been charged with a related offence, and such a charge is not imminent; or
all such charges have been resolved; or
an examination is a pre‑charge examination if the examination commences at a time when:
the examinee has not been charged with a related offence, and such a charge is not imminent; or
all such charges have been resolved.
pre‑confiscation application:
a use or disclosure of examination material or derivative material is a pre‑confiscation application use or disclosure if the use or disclosure happens at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has not commenced against the examinee, and such a proceeding is not imminent; or
all such proceedings have been resolved; or
material is pre‑confiscation application examination material if the material becomes examination material at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has not commenced against the examinee, and such a proceeding is not imminent; or
all such proceedings have been resolved; or
an examination is a pre‑confiscation application examination if the examination commences at a time when:
a related confiscation proceeding has not commenced against the examinee, and such a proceeding is not imminent; or
all such proceedings have been resolved.
proceeds of crime authority means:
a proceeds of crime authority within the meaning of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; or
an authority of a State or Territory responsible for conducting a confiscation proceeding under a corresponding law (within the meaning of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002).
prosecuting authority means an individual, or authority, authorised by or under a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory to prosecute an offence.
prosecutor, of an examinee, means an individual:
who is a prosecuting authority or is employed or engaged by a prosecuting authority; and
who:
makes, or is involved in the making of, a decision whether to prosecute the examinee for a related offence; or
is one of the individuals engaging in such a prosecution of the examinee.
protected suspect means:
a protected suspect (within the meaning of Part IC of the Crimes Act 1914); or
a person who would be covered by paragraph (a) if the definition of Commonwealth offence in section 23B of that Act included any offence against a law of a State or Territory.
related confiscation proceeding means:
for examination material, derivative material or an examinee—a confiscation proceeding if the subject matter of the relevant examination relates to the subject matter of the proceeding; or
for a summons—a confiscation proceeding if the subject matter of the summons relates to the subject matter of the proceeding.
related offence means:
for examination material, derivative material or an examinee—an offence if the subject matter of the relevant examination relates to the subject matter of the offence; or
for a summons—an offence if the subject matter of the summons relates to the subject matter of the offence.
relevant crime means a serious and organised crime or Indigenous violence or child abuse:
that may have been, may be being, or may in future be, committed; and
that is an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory.
See also subsection (2) (which expands the meaning of relevant crime in certain circumstances).
resolved has the meaning given by section 4C.
returnable item means:
a thing seized under a warrant issued under section 22; or
a thing, or a document, produced:
under a notice issued under section 21A; or
during an examination conducted under Division 2 of Part II.
secrecy provision means:
a provision of a law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, being a provision that purports to prohibit; or
anything done, under a provision of a law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, to prohibit;
the communication, divulging or publication of information, the production of, or the publication of the contents of, a document, or the production of a thing.
serious and organised crime means an offence:
that involves 2 or more offenders and substantial planning and organisation; and
that involves, or is of a kind that ordinarily involves, the use of sophisticated methods and techniques; and
that is committed, or is of a kind that is ordinarily committed, in conjunction with other offences of a like kind; and
that is a serious offence, an offence against Subdivision B or C of Division 471, or D or F of Division 474, of the Criminal Code, an offence of a kind prescribed by the regulations or an offence that involves any of the following:
theft;
fraud;
tax evasion;
money laundering;
currency violations;
illegal drug dealings;
illegal gambling;
obtaining financial benefit by vice engaged in by others;
extortion;
violence;
bribery or corruption of, or by, an officer of the Commonwealth, an officer of a State or an officer of a Territory;
perverting the course of justice;
bankruptcy and company violations;
harbouring of criminals;
forging of passports;
firearms;
armament dealings;
illegal importation or exportation of fauna into or out of Australia;
cybercrime;
matters of the same general nature as one or more of the matters listed above; and
that is:
punishable by imprisonment for a period of 3 years or more; or
a serious offence;
but:
does not include an offence committed in the course of a genuine dispute as to matters pertaining to the relations of employees and employers by a party to the dispute, unless the offence is committed in connection with, or as part of, a course of activity involving the commission of a serious and organised crime other than an offence so committed; and
does not include an offence the time for the commencement of a prosecution for which has expired.
A different definition applies in Part III (see section 52).
serious misconduct, by a member of the staff referred to in subsection 47(1), has the meaning given by subsection 47A(8).
serious offence:
in the definition of serious and organised crime—has the meaning given by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; and
otherwise—has the meaning given by subsection 3C(1) of the Crimes Act 1914.
serious violence means an offence involving violence against a person (including a child) that is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 3 years or more.
special ACC investigation means an investigation relating to a federally relevant crime that the Board has authorised to occur under subsection 7C(3).
A special ACC investigation can occur only while a determination under subsection 7C(3) is in force (see subsection 7C(4F)).
special ACC operation means an intelligence operation that the Board has authorised to occur under subsection 7C(2).
A special ACC operation can occur only while a determination under subsection 7C(2) is in force (see subsection 7C(4E)).
special ACC operation/investigation means:
a special ACC operation; or
a special ACC investigation.
However, a special ACC operation/investigation does not include an integrity operation.
State includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
State or Territory law enforcement agency has the meaning given by subsection 3ZQU(7) of the Crimes Act 1914.
taxation secrecy provision means a secrecy provision that is a provision of a law that is a taxation law for the purposes of the Taxation Administration Act 1953.
Territory does not include the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory.
terrorism offence has the same meaning as in subsection 3(1) of the Crimes Act 1914.
terrorist act has the same meaning as in the Crimes Act 1914.
the Commonwealth Minister or the Minister means the Minister of State administering this Act.
use, for examination material or derivative material, includes use of copies, contents or descriptions of that material.
For all purposes, if an expression defined in subsection (1) contains “ACC”, the expression when used as so defined may also be referred to by replacing “ACC” with any name or acronym specified under subsection 7(1A).
Expressions to which this subsection applies, including the following, may be used in a document by replacing “ACC” with any name or acronym by which the ACC may also be known:
ACC information;
special ACC operation/investigation;
member of the staff of the ACC.
Subsection (1A) does not limit subsection 7(1A).
If the head of a special ACC operation/investigation suspects that an offence (the incidental offence) that is not a relevant crime may be directly or indirectly connected with, or may be a part of, a course of activity involving the commission of a relevant crime (whether or not the head has identified the nature of that relevant crime), then the incidental offence is, for so long only as the head so suspects, taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be a relevant crime.
In this Act:
a reference to the Parliament of a State is to be read as:
in relation to the Australian Capital Territory—a reference to the Legislative Assembly for that Territory; and
in relation to the Northern Territory—a reference to the Legislative Assembly of that Territory; and
a reference to the Governor of a State is to be read as:
in relation to the Australian Capital Territory—a reference to the Governor‑General; and
in relation to the Northern Territory—a reference to the Administrator of that Territory; and
a reference to the Premier of a State is to be read as:
in relation to the Australian Capital Territory—a reference to the Chief Minister of that Territory; and
in relation to the Northern Territory—a reference to the Chief Minister of that Territory; and
a reference to a Minister of the Crown of a State is to be read as:
in relation to the Australian Capital Territory—a reference to a person appointed as a Minister under section 41 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988; and
in relation to the Northern Territory—a reference to a person holding Ministerial office within the meaning of the Northern Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1978.
This provision refers to the regulations (prescribed by the regulations
). Made under this Act:
- Australian Crime Commission Regulations 2018 · under s 62
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