The government has released a Treasury consultation paper titled ASIC’s Access to Telecommunications Intercept Material, which is open for public submissions until 17 August.
The proposals are a product of the ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce, which has also led to Treasury papers looking to beef up ASIC’s search warrant powers, licensing powers and oversight of industry codes of conduct.
The new paper on ‘telecommunications intercepts’ proposes that ASIC be given access to information derived from intercepts conducted by other government agencies under warrant.
Currently, such information can only be provided to ASIC as part of investigations by external agencies.
In Australia, the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, also known as the TIA Act, prohibits the interception of and unlawful access to communications without the knowledge of the parties to the communication.
Treasury has proposed that ASIC should be able to receive material received from telecommunication intercept warrants (TI material) to investigate and prosecute serious offences.
“ASIC should be able to receive lawfully intercepted TI material for the purposes of investigating and prosecuting offences, within its jurisdiction, that are defined under the TIA Act as ‘serious offences’, including the serious Corporations Act offences,” said the paper.
The paper points to examples of attempted ASIC prosecutions of insider trading that have been undermined due to ASIC’s difficultly in accessing telecommunication intercept material.
“The current position is … somewhat of a paradox: ASIC can access information that is obtained with greater invasion of privacy and less discrimination, but cannot access intercepted information,” said Treasury.
I get that access to phone & email tapping is important in cases of insider trading, it’s just the potential for ‘mission creep’ that has people concerned.
Although when ASIC can put in place a permanent ban simply because an adviser put a client into an SMSF/LRBA arrangement with no further information provided, do we really need to be worrying about phone taps? Advisers will just get banned simply for being advisers and advising clients on structures and strategies that ASIC doesn’t like.
well, put. but that is how it is, as the law is applied by them. who is going to challenge them? look at the forum, people (including me) can’t even put their names to their comments. shows you the kind of environment we work in. disgraceful. P.S. ASIC if you are reading this, I really love you and the work that you are doing, it’s all the other bad advisers look at them not me. I am the good one.
ASIC is so nice, they are friendly, caring and just doing an all round nice job. I really respect their work. I’m assuming access to the TIA Act grants them powers to access not just phone but email and other electronic communications. If it doesn’t then……lazy sods, there’s plenty of other people they need to be targeting and you don’t need to be Einstein to find them….but if it does.. i love ASIC…just in case
I’m thinking of re-registering with ASIC as Authorised Representative Agent 86 and installing a cone of silence !
How ludicrous, anyone would think Australia was the instigator of the GFC…
Covert, exert, alert, inert, insert, assert, reassert, subvert, expert, dessert.
Perhaps ASIC could bug a meeting of the FSC. I’m sure they would find cartel behaviour and corruption at its best.
you do not bug your masters
For heaven’s sake we are talking about advice NOT national security or drug deals issues.
If treasury got off their collective back…s & actually did some work , there would be no issue
Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink.