Customs Act 1901

An officer may direct a person, including a passenger disembarking from, or embarking on, a ship or aircraft:

not to use:

a camera or sound recorder; or

a mobile phone or other electronic form of communication;

not to operate a camera, or use an appliance to record or transmit sound, at a place (being a place that is part of a ship, of an aircraft or of a wharf) at a time when the personal baggage of passengers or crew disembarking from, or embarking on, a ship or aircraft, is being examined, for the purposes of this Act, at or in the vicinity of that place.

Where an officer gives to a person a direction under subsection (1), the officer shall inform that person that failure to comply with that direction is an offence under this Act.

A person shall not fail to comply with a direction given to that person by an officer in accordance with subsection (1).

Subsection (3) does not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse.

Subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability.

For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.

In any proceedings for the prosecution of a person for an offence against subsection (3), evidence that a sign indicating that the use of:

cameras or sound recorders; or

mobile phones or other electronic forms of communication;

In this section, camera includes any device for making or transmitting, or designed for use in the making or transmission of, images of objects.

For the purposes of this section, a person shall be taken to use an appliance to transmit sound at a place if, and only if, the person uses the appliance to transmit sound, other than sound coming from the appliance, from the place to another place.