What restrictions are in place to limit use of crypto in Australia?
There are currently no direct controls limiting the import of cryptographic software or hardware to Australia, nor for the domestic use of cryptography within Australia (export of cryptographic technology is a different story). Even so, there are some limits in place or currently planned which can have a similar effect. The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment Bill 1997 was passed by the Senate in November 1997. For a good analysis of the Bill, see Nigel Waters’ article “Telecommunications Interception – extending the reach or maintaining the status quo?”, published in 4 Privacy Law & Policy Reporter 110, November 1997. The purpose of the bill was to amend several existing Acts including the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979. The amendments implemented requirements for carriage service providers (CSPs) to provide, at the CSP’s expense, access to any data or communications which they transmitted for their customers. CSPs include a wide range of telecommunications service pr
