Electronic Transactions Act 1999
Act No. 162 of 1999 as amended
This compilation was prepared on 15 July 2005 incorporating amendments up to Act No. 100 of 2005
The text of any of those amendments not in force on that date is appended in the Notes section
The operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section
Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing, Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra
Part 1-Introduction
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Electronic Transactions Act 1999.
2 Commencement
(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
(2) If this Act does not commence under subsection (1) within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.
3 Object
The object of this Act is to provide a regulatory framework that:
(a) recognises the importance of the information economy to the future economic and social prosperity of Australia; and
(b) facilitates the use of electronic transactions; and
(c) promotes business and community confidence in the use of electronic transactions; and
(d) enables business and the community to use electronic communications in their dealings with government.
4 Simplified outline
The following is a simplified outline of this Act:
- For the purposes of a law of the Commonwealth, a transaction is not invalid because it took place by means of one or more electronic communications.
- The following requirements imposed under a law of the Commonwealth can be met in electronic form:
(a) a requirement to give information in writing;
(b) a requirement to provide a signature;
(c) a requirement to produce a document;
(d) a requirement to record information;
(e) a requirement to retain a document.
- For the purposes of a law of the Commonwealth, provision is made for determining the time and place of the dispatch and receipt of an electronic communication.
- The purported originator of an electronic communication is bound by it for the purposes of a law of the Commonwealth only if the communication was sent by the purported originator or with the authority of the purported originator.
5 Definitions
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Commonwealth entity means:
(a) a Minister; or
(b) an officer or employee of the Commonwealth; or
(c) a person who holds or performs the duties of an office under a law of the Commonwealth; or
(d) an authority of the Commonwealth; or
(e) an employee of an authority of the Commonwealth.
consent includes consent that can reasonably be inferred from the conduct of the person concerned.
data includes the whole or part of a computer program within the meaning of the Copyright Act 1968.
data storage device means any article or material (for example, a disk) from which information is capable of being reproduced, with or without the aid of any other article or device.
electronic communication means:
(a) a communication of information in the form of data, text or images by means of guided and/or unguided electromagnetic energy; or
(b) a communication of information in the form of speech by means of guided and/or unguided electromagnetic energy, where the speech is processed at its destination by an automated voice recognition system.
information means information in the form of data, text, images or speech.
information system means a system for generating, sending, receiving, storing or otherwise processing electronic communications.
information technology requirements includes software requirements.
non-profit body means a body that is not carried on for the purposes of profit or gain to its individual members and is, by the terms of the body’s constitution, prohibited from making any distribution, whether in money, property or otherwise, to its members.
place of business, in relation to a government, an authority of a government or a non-profit body, means a place where any operations or activities are carried out by that government, authority or body.
transaction includes a transaction of a non-commercial nature.
Before 1 July 2001, in this Act (other than this section):
law of the Commonwealth means a law of the Commonwealth specified in the regulations.
6 Crown to be bound
This Act binds the Crown in all its capacities.
7 External Territories
This Act extends to all the external Territories.
Section 8
Part 2-Application of legal requirements to electronic communications
Division 1-General rule about validity of transactions for the purposes of laws of the Commonwealth
8 Validity of electronic transactions
(1) For the purposes of a law of the Commonwealth, a transaction is not invalid because it took place wholly or partly by means of one or more electronic communications.
(2) The general rule in subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the validity of a transaction to the extent to which another, more specific provision of this Part deals with the validity of the transaction.
Exemptions
(3) The regulations may provide that subsection (1) does not apply to a specified transaction.
(4) The regulations may provide that subsection (1) does not apply to a specified law of the Commonwealth.
Section 9
Division 2-Requirements under laws of the Commonwealth
9 Writing
Requirement to give information in writing
(1) If, under a law of the Commonwealth, a person is required to give information in writing, that requirement is taken to have been met if the person gives the information by means of an electronic communication, where:
(a) in all cases-at the time the information was given, it was reasonable to expect that the information would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent reference; and
(b) if the information is required to be given to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that the information be given, in accordance with particular information technology requirements, by means of a particular kind of electronic communication-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(c) if the information is required to be given to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that particular action be taken by way of verifying the receipt of the information-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(d) if the information is required to be given to a person who is neither a Commonwealth entity nor a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity-the person to whom the information is required to be given consents to the information being given by way of electronic communication.
Permission to give information in writing
(2) If, under a law of the Commonwealth, a person is permitted to give information in writing, the person may give the information by means of an electronic communication, where:
(a) in all cases-at the time the information was given, it was reasonable to expect that the information would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent reference; and
(b) if the information is permitted to be given to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that the information be given, in accordance with particular information technology requirements, by means of a particular kind of electronic communication-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(c) if the information is permitted to be given to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that particular action be taken by way of verifying the receipt of the information-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(d) if the information is permitted to be given to a person who is neither a Commonwealth entity nor a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity-the person to whom the information is permitted to be given consents to the information being given by way of electronic communication.
Certain other laws not affected
(3) This section does not affect the operation of any other law of the Commonwealth that makes provision for or in relation to requiring or permitting information to be given, in accordance with particular information technology requirements:
(a) on a particular kind of data storage device; or
(b) by means of a particular kind of electronic communication.
Giving information
(4) This section applies to a requirement or permission to give information, whether the expression give, send or serve, or any other expression, is used.
(5) For the purposes of this section, giving information includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) making an application;
(b) making or lodging a claim;
(c) giving, sending or serving a notification;
(d) lodging a return;
(e) making a request;
(f) making a declaration;
(g) lodging or issuing a certificate;
(h) making, varying or cancelling an election;
(i) lodging an objection;
(j) giving a statement of reasons.
Note: Section 13 sets out exemptions from this section.
10 Signature
Requirement for signature
(1) If, under a law of the Commonwealth, the signature of a person is required, that requirement is taken to have been met in relation to an electronic communication if:
(a) in all cases-a method is used to identify the person and to indicate the person’s approval of the information communicated; and
(b) in all cases-having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time the method was used, the method was as reliable as was appropriate for the purposes for which the information was communicated; and
(c) if the signature is required to be given to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that the method used as mentioned in paragraph (a) be in accordance with particular information technology requirements-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(d) if the signature is required to be given to a person who is neither a Commonwealth entity nor a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity-the person to whom the signature is required to be given consents to that requirement being met by way of the use of the method mentioned in paragraph (a).
(2) This section does not affect the operation of any other law of the Commonwealth that makes provision for or in relation to requiring:
(a) an electronic communication to contain an electronic signature (however described); or
(b) an electronic communication to contain a unique identification in an electronic form; or
(c) a particular method to be used in relation to an electronic communication to identify the originator of the communication and to indicate the originator’s approval of the information communicated.
Note: Section 13 sets out exemptions from this section.
11 Production of document
Requirement to produce a document
(1) If, under a law of the Commonwealth, a person is required to produce a document that is in the form of paper, an article or other material, that requirement is taken to have been met if the person produces, by means of an electronic communication, an electronic form of the document, where:
(a) in all cases-having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time of the communication, the method of generating the electronic form of the document provided a reliable means of assuring the maintenance of the integrity of the information contained in the document; and
(b) in all cases-at the time the communication was sent, it was reasonable to expect that the information contained in the electronic form of the document would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent reference; and
(c) if the document is required to be produced to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that an electronic form of the document be produced, in accordance with particular information technology requirements, by means of a particular kind of electronic communication-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(d) if the document is required to be produced to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that particular action be taken by way of verifying the receipt of the document-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(e) if the document is required to be produced to a person who is neither a Commonwealth entity nor a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity-the person to whom the document is required to be produced consents to the production, by means of an electronic communication, of an electronic form of the document.
Permission to produce a document
(2) If, under a law of the Commonwealth, a person is permitted to produce a document that is in the form of paper, an article or other material, then, instead of producing the document in that form, the person may produce, by means of an electronic communication, an electronic form of the document, where:
(a) in all cases-having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time of the communication, the method of generating the electronic form of the document provided a reliable means of assuring the maintenance of the integrity of the information contained in the document; and
(b) in all cases-at the time the communication was sent, it was reasonable to expect that the information contained in the electronic form of the document would be readily accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference; and
(c) if the document is permitted to be produced to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that an electronic form of the document be produced, in accordance with particular information technology requirements, by means of a particular kind of electronic communication-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(d) if the document is permitted to be produced to a Commonwealth entity, or to a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity, and the entity requires that particular action be taken by way of verifying the receipt of the document-the entity’s requirement has been met; and
(e) if the document is permitted to be produced to a person who is neither a Commonwealth entity nor a person acting on behalf of a Commonwealth entity-the person to whom the document is permitted to be produced consents to the production, by means of an electronic communication, of an electronic form of the document.
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