Crimes Act. Australia
A constable or Commonwealth officer may use a thing seized under this Part, or the original or a copy of a document produced under Division 4B, for any other use that is required or authorised by or under a law of a State or a Territory.
(3) A constable or Commonwealth officer may make available to another constable or Commonwealth officer to use a thing seized under this Part, or the original or a copy of a document produced under Division 4B, for any purpose for which the making available of the thing or document is required or authorised by a law of a State or Territory.
(4) To avoid doubt, this section does not limit any other law of the Commonwealth that:
(a) requires or authorises the use of a document or other thing; or
(b) requires or authorises the making available (however described) of a document or other thing.
Sharing thing or document for use by State, Territory or foreign agency
(5) A constable or Commonwealth officer may make a thing seized under this Part, or the original or a copy of a document produced under Division 4B, available to:
(a) a State or Territory law enforcement agency; or
(b) an agency that has responsibility for:
(i) law enforcement in a foreign country; or
(ii) intelligence gathering for a foreign country; or
(iii) the security of a foreign country;
to be used by that agency for a purpose mentioned in subsection (1), (2) or (3) and the purpose of any or all of the following (but not for any other purpose):
(c) preventing, investigating or prosecuting an offence against a law of a State or Territory;
(d) proceedings under a corresponding law (within the meaning of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1987 or the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002);
(e) proceedings for the forfeiture of the thing under a law of a State or Territory;
(f) deciding whether to institute proceedings or to take any other action mentioned in any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (l) (inclusive), subsection (2) or (3) or paragraph (c), (d) or (e) of this subsection.
Ministerial arrangements for sharing
(6) This Division does not prevent the Minister from making an arrangement with a Minister of a State or Territory for:
(a) the making available to a State or Territory law enforcement agency of that State or Territory, for purposes mentioned in subsections (1), (3) and (5), of things seized under this Part and originals and copies of documents produced under Division 4B; and
(b) the disposal by the agency of such things, originals and copies when they are no longer of use to that agency for those purposes.
Note: This subsection does not empower the Minister to make such an arrangement.
Definition
(7) In this section:
State or Territory law enforcement agency means:
(a) the police force or police service of a State or Territory; or
(b) the New South Wales Crime Commission constituted by the New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985 of New South Wales; or
(c) the Independent Commission Against Corruption constituted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 of New South Wales; or
(d) the Police Integrity Commission constituted by the Police Integrity Commission Act 1996 of New South Wales; or
(e) the Office of Police Integrity continued by the Police Integrity Act 2008 of Victoria; or
(f) the Crime and Misconduct Commission of Queensland; or
(g) the Corruption and Crime Commission established by the Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 of Western Australia.
3ZQV Operating seized electronic equipment
(1) This section applies to electronic equipment seized under this Part or moved under section 3K.
(2) The electronic equipment may be operated at any location after it has been seized or moved, for the purpose of determining whether data that is evidential material is held on or accessible from the electronic equipment, and obtaining access to such data.
(3) The data referred to in subsection (2) includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) data held on the electronic equipment, including data held on the electronic equipment when operated under this section that was not held on the electronic equipment at the time the electronic equipment was seized;
(b) data not held on the electronic equipment but accessible by using it, including data that was not accessible at the time the electronic equipment was seized.
(4) If the electronic equipment was seized under a warrant or moved under section 3K, the electronic equipment may be operated before or after the expiry of the warrant.
(5) This section does not limit the operation of other provisions of this Part that relate to dealing with items seized under this Part or moved under section 3K.
Note: For example, this section does not affect the operation of the time limits in section 3K on examination or processing of a thing moved under that section.
3ZQW Compensation for damage to electronic equipment
(1) This section applies if:
(a) as a result of equipment being operated as mentioned in section 3ZQV:
(i) damage is caused to the equipment; or
(ii) damage is caused to data recorded on the equipment or data access to which was obtained from the operation of the equipment; or
(iii) programs associated with the use of the equipment, or with the use of the data, are damaged or corrupted; and
(b) the damage or corruption occurs because:
(i) insufficient care was exercised in selecting the person who was to operate the equipment; or
(ii) insufficient care was exercised by the person operating the equipment.
(2) The Commonwealth must pay the owner of the equipment, or the user of the data or programs, such reasonable compensation for the damage or corruption as the Commonwealth and the owner or user agree on.
(3) However, if the owner or user and the Commonwealth fail to agree, the owner or user may institute proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction for such reasonable amount of compensation as the court determines.
(4) In determining the amount of compensation payable, regard is to be had to whether any appropriate warning or guidance was provided, before the equipment was operated, on the operation of the equipment.
(5) Compensation is payable out of money appropriated by the Parliament.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (1):
damage, in relation to data, includes damage by erasure of data or addition of other data.
Subdivision B
Returning things seized and documents produced
3ZQX When things seized or documents produced under Division 2, 4 or 4B must be returned
When things seized under Division 2 or 4 must be returned
(1) If the Commissioner is satisfied that a thing seized under Division 2 or 4 is not required (or is no longer required) for a purpose mentioned in section 3ZQU or for other judicial or administrative review proceedings, the Commissioner must take reasonable steps to return the thing to the person from whom it was seized or to the owner if that person is not entitled to possess it.
(2)