EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 266

 

Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General

 

Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Act 1971

 

Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)

 

Section 13H of the Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Act 1971 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted to be prescribed for the purposes of Part IIA of the Act. Section 13B allows the regulations to prescribe the courts to which Part IIA of the Act applies. Part IIA sets out the provisions for the protective security of prescribed federal courts, tribunals and other bodies having the power under Commonwealth law to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

 

The Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Regulations 1999 (the Principal Regulations) originally prescribed five courts to which Part IIA of the Act applies: the Federal Court of Australia; the Family Court of Australia; the Federal Magistrates Court; the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; and the Australian Crime Commission.

 

The purpose of the new Regulations is to amend the Principal Regulations to prescribe the High Court of Australia for the purposes of the Act. This will enable police and other authorised officers to take protective security measures on the premises of the Court. The Regulations also enable an authorised officer to disclose information obtained under the Act to the Chief Executive, Principal Registrar, Marshal or Deputy Marshal of the Court and include a reference to the High Court of Australia in a note on the application of the Privacy Act 1988 to acts and practices of federal courts.

 

Background on the scope of Part IIA is at Attachment A and details of the Regulations are at Attachment B.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

ATTACHMENT A

 

Background on the scope of Part IIA of the Act

 

Part IIA of the Act provides for court administrators to authorise officers who may, when it is in the interests of security to do so, require persons to provide their name, address of their place of residence, their reason for being on court premises and evidence of their identity. Failing to provide such information on request or providing false information, without reasonable excuse, is an offence. The Act also provides authorised officers with the power to search a person, by frisk or screen search, to search a person’s personal effects or to have the person deposit their personal effects when it is in the interests of security to do so. Where weapons are found during such searches, authorised officers may take and retain possession of such items for such time as it is necessary for the purposes of Part IIA. Where a person has refused to comply with these requirements or has no proper reason for being on court premises, an authorised officer may direct them to leave the court premises.

 

The Principal Regulations provide a scheme for identification of authorised officers (regulation 5) and provide procedures to be followed in the event of a frisk search being conducted on court premises (regulation 6). Each authorised officer, who is not a police officer, is to be issued with an identity card, which is to display a recent photograph and state that the holder of the card is an authorised officer for the purposes of Part IIA of the Act. If a frisk search is to conducted the authorised officer must inform the person to be searched of the procedure that is to occur and the effect of the provisions of subsection 13D(4), (5) and (7) of the Act, which set out certain safeguards.

 

Regulation 8 of the Principal Regulations provides that, where information is obtained under section 13C of the Act, it may be disclosed to the Australian Federal Police or the police force of a State or Territory. An authorised officer may also disclose the information to specified officers of the court of which he or she is an authorised officer. An authorised officer will only be able to disclose the information if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary in the interests of security to do so.

ATTACHMENT B

 

Details of the Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides that the Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Regulations 1999

 

This regulation notes that Schedule 1 amends the Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Regulations 1999.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendment

 

Item [1]

 

This item replaces paragraph 4(d) and substitutes it with a new paragraph which includes the High Court of Australia amongst the courts prescribed for the purposes of Part IIA of the Act.

Item [2]

 

This item inserts a new subregulation 8(5A) which provides that an authorised officer for the High Court of Australia may disclose information obtained under section 13C of the Act to the Chief Executive, Principal Registrar, Marshal or Deputy Marshal of the Court.

 

Item [3]

 

This item inserts a reference to the High Court of Australia into note 1 after regulation 8. Note 1 advises that for the application of the Privacy Act 1988 to an act or practice of the courts listed the reader should see paragraphs 7(1)(a) and (b) of that Act.