Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00749:section:116:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00749
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 116 (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 504101–506934

116  Issuing of stored communications warrants
 (1) An issuing authority to whom a criminal law‑enforcement agency has applied for a stored communications warrant in respect of a person may, in his or her discretion, issue such a warrant if satisfied, on the basis of the information given to him or her under this Part in connection with the application, that:
 (a) Division 1 has been complied with in relation to the application; and
 (b) in the case of a telephone application—because of urgent circumstances, it was necessary to make the application by telephone; and
 (c) there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a particular carrier holds stored communications:
 (i) that the person has made; or
 (ii) that another person has made and for which the person is the intended recipient; and
 (d) information that would be likely to be obtained by accessing those stored communications under a stored communications warrant would be likely to assist in connection with:
 (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies—the investigation by the agency of a serious contravention in which the person is involved (including as a victim of the serious contravention); or
 (ii) for an international assistance application—the investigation, investigative proceeding, or proceeding by the entity to which the application relates, of a serious foreign contravention to which the application relates and in which the person is involved (including as a victim of the serious foreign contravention); and
 (da) if the stored communications warrant is applied for in relation to a person who is the victim of the serious contravention—the person is unable to consent, or it is impracticable for the person to consent, to those stored communications being accessed; and
 (e) in any case—having regard to the matters referred to in subsection (2) or (2A) (as the case requires), and to no other matters, the issuing authority should issue a warrant authorising access to such stored communications.
 (2) For an application other than an international assistance application, the matters to which the issuing authority must have regard are:
 (a) how much the privacy of any person or persons would be likely to be interfered with by accessing those stored communications under a stored communications warrant; and
 (b) the gravity of the conduct constituting the serious contravention; and
 (c) how much the information referred to in subparagraph (1)(d)(i) would be likely to assist in connection with the investigation; and
 (d) to what extent methods of investigating the serious contravention that do not involve the use of a stored communications warrant in relation to the person have been used by, or are available to, the agency; and
 (e) how much the use of such methods would be likely to assist in connection with the investigation by the