The Australian High Tech Crime Centre works closely with a range of Government agencies, including the following:
URL: www.ag.gov.au
The Attorney-General's Department serves the people of Australia by providing essential expert support to the Government in the maintenance and improvement of Australia's system of law and justice.
The Department is the central policy and coordinating element of the portfolio, for which the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Customs are responsible.
Within AGD, the Information Law Branch gives legal and policy advice to the Attorney-General and Commonwealth Government on a range of electronic commerce issues, including:
More information on the AGD Information Law Branch can be found on their website.
URL: www.customs.gov.au
Australian Customs manages the security and integrity of Australia's borders. It works closely with other government and international agencies, in particular the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Defence, to detect and deter unlawful movement of goods and people across the border.
URL: www.acpr.gov.au
The ACPR was established in 1983 by way of an Intergovernmental Agreement between Police Ministers at that time with a mandate to coordinate, stimulate, sponsor and, where necessary, undertake research on behalf of policing agencies.
The Centre undertakes a wide range of research and has increasingly become involved in policy development and assisting with the implementation of key initiatives. It liaises closely with other national common police services, the National Institute of Forensic Science, the National Crime Statistics Unit, the Australian Institute of Police Management and CrimTrac. It also links in with relevant research organisations, both here and overseas, and fosters international networks.
One of the emerging issues on the Centre’s program is identity crime, which has been estimated to cost Australians in excess of $4 billion every year. In response to this, the Australian Police Commissioners issued the Australasian Identity Crime Policing Strategy 2003-2005 to ensure coordinated action.
In accordance with the strategy, issued in March 2003, police will be working with a range of stakeholders to prevent and reduce identity crime and assist the victims of “identity theft”. The strategic focus areas to be addressed are prevention, victim assistance, partnerships, education and capability, resources and capacity, regulation and legislation.
More information on the ACPR including a copy of the Strategy can be downloaded from the ACPR website.
If a scam comes calling - Delete it! Hang up! Destroy it!
Eighteen agencies across Australia and New Zealand, including the AFP and AHTCC, joined forces in 2006 to combat consumer fraud in a four-week campaign to help people protect themselves against becoming a victim of scams.
The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce was established in 2005 and forms a part of the collaborative whole of Government approach to combat consumer fraud and scams targeted at consumers. For further information about the campaign and the Taskforce visit www.scamwatch.gov.au.
URL: www.acma.gov.au
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for the regulation of broadcasting, radio communications, telecommunications and online content.
ACMA's responsibilities include:
You can report material you have seen on the Internet which you consider to be prohibited to the ACMA. The ACMA will investigate all valid complaints and takes action in relation to prohibited and potentially prohibited content.
On 1 July 2005 the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) merged to form the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
For more information, or to make a complaint, visit the ACMA website - Internet Content.
URL: www.accc.gov.au
The ACCC is the only national agency dealing generally with competition matters and the only agency with responsibility for enforcement of the Trade Practices Act and the associated State and Territory legislation. It targets online conduct, which involves misleading or deceptive claims, scams, fraud or misuse of personal information.
The ACCC can be contacted via their Infoline on 1300 302 502 or web site.
URL: www.asic.gov.au
An independent Commonwealth Government body, ASIC has regulated financial markets, securities, futures and corporations since January 1991. From 1998, ASIC assumed responsibility for consumer protection in superannuation, insurance and deposit taking, and from 2002, in credit. ASIC also works with other financial and law enforcement agencies in Australia and internationally.
In 1999, ASIC acknowledged the growing importance of electronic enforcement by establishing the Electronic Enforcement Unit (EEU), which has increased ASIC's ability to take swift and effective action against unlawful behaviour on the Internet and build capability within the electronic environment. The EEU assists regions to identify inappropriate Internet-based activity, co-ordinates case selection, enforcement and litigation activity, and provides expert support in web-based enforcement technologies.
More information about ASIC can be found at www.asic.gov.au or through the Infoline on 1300 300 630 for the cost of a local call.
URL: www.dsd.gov.au
The DSD supports the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force with foreign signals intelligence, while providing a range of information security services and advice. This ensures that Commonwealth and Australian Defence Force communications and information systems are secure. Similar advice can be provided to State and Territory government agencies.
The Computer Network Vulnerability Team within the DSD's Information Security Group can provide technical advice and assistance on information security to Government departments and agencies. Some of the team's most commonly provided services are:
DSD also works closely with the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to monitor incidents potentially threatening to Australia's National Information Infrastructure, and can provide technical expertise or advice in the event that such incidents need to be investigated.
Requests for assistance or to find out more about DSD and the Computer Network Vulnerability Team can be made through the Information Security Group Client Services Team:
Email: infosechelp@dsd.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 6265 0197
Fax: +61 2 6265 0328
Web: DSD Information security site
URL: www.dbcde.gov.au
To ensure that Australia takes advantage of the opportunities provided by the information economy, OIE is working with the community and business to make the online environment more secure. This will help businesses make better use of new and emerging e-business practices.
Key issues and activities include:
URL: www.oflc.gov.au
The Office of Film & Literature Classification is the Australian Government agency that provides administrative support to the Classification Board under the national classification scheme for films, computer games and submittable publications.
The national classification scheme and the Classification Board are established under the Commonwealth’s Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995. Complementary classification enforcement legislation is in force in each State and Territory.
Members of the Classification Board, who are representative of the wider Australian community, make these classification decisions. The Classification Board classifies material (films, publications, and computer games) submitted by Commonwealth, State and Territory enforcement agencies for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting an offence against a law in these jurisdictions
Applications for classification are submitted to the Office of Film and Literature Classification.
Protecting Australia's National Information Infrastructure (NII)
The AHTCC is the primary Australian law enforcement unit involved in the investigation of electronic attack against the National Information Infrastructure.
The NII comprises the information networks of essential national services such as telecommunications, banking and finance, transport and distribution, energy and utilities, information services and others such as defence and emergency management.
Under the auspices of the AFP, the AHTCC is party to the formal Joint Operating Arrangement established between the AFP, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Computer Network Vulnerability Team of the Defence Signals Directorate.
URL: www.aic.gov.au
The Australian Institute of Criminology has undertaken research on high tech crime for many years and has worked closely with the AHTCC.
To inform the law enforcement community and the general public of developments in this area, the AIC has published a range of publications on high tech crime which are available from the website.
