Citation[]
Cybercrime Act 2001 (Australia) (full-text).
Overview[]
The Act created a number of investigation powers and criminal offenses designed to protect the security, reliability, and integrity of computer data and electronic communications in the Australian Criminal Code Act 1995. It also amended the Crimes Act 1914 and the Customs Act 1901 to enhance the applicability of the existing search-and-seizure provisions relating to electronically stored data.
The Act gives federal law enforcement agencies the authority to investigate and prosecute groups who use the internet to plan and launch cyberattacks (such as hacking, computer virus propagation, or denial-of-service attacks) that could seriously interfere with the functioning of the government, the financial sector, and industry.