"If you are pulled over with reasonable suspicion, i.e. you have smoke coming out of the back of your car, the police can use that as a reason to search."
Police (Unlawfully) Creating reasonable suspicion is like saying someone phoned in the 'dob in a dealer' hotline anonymously, or 'we saw you driving erratically'. Totally unprovable but grounds for detainment and/or search of vehicle and persons
Can police require my passwords?
There is a
legal mechanism for police in Australia to force the disclosure of an individual’s password, personal identification number and private encryption key to facilitate access a smartphone or computer during the investigation of a
Commonwealth offence.
That mechanism is contained in
section 3LA of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) (“the Act”), which provides that “a constable may apply to a magistrate for an order to provide any information or assistance that is reasonable and necessary” to allow them to access data stored on “a computer or data storage device.”
A “constable” is defined by section 3 of the Act as “a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police or a member of the police force or police service of a State or Territory”.
Police can apply to a magistrate for an “assistance order” requiring the owner or user of a computer or data storage device to provide such information they can establish
a reasonable suspicion that the device holds or can enable access to evidential material relevant to a crime.
The subject of the order is not required to be suspected of any crime. He or she merely needs to be the owner of the device that police reasonably suspect holds information relating to an offence.
If the application is successful, the subject will be required to provide the password/s enabling police to gain access to the device/s, as well as any decryption information in order to make data accessible and intelligible to police.
Failure to comply with an assistance order is a criminal offence. When the law was first enacted, the maximum penalty was 6 months imprisonment. However, authorities have since raised the maximum penalty to 2 years behind bars.
The law on whether police in NSW can force individuals to disclose their passwords to computers and smartphones.
www.google.com
Do I have to give an officer my passcode?
Under federal law, forcing an individual to disclose his or her password, personal identification number or private encryption keys to enable access to a smartphone or a computer requires a warrant.
Section 3LA of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) sets out that a constable may apply to a magistrate for an order requiring an individual provide them with access to their electronic device if it’s suspected to hold evidence of a crime. And the owner doesn’t have to be a suspect of the wrongdoing.
A constable is defined in
section 3 of the Crimes Act as a member of the Australian federal police or any state or territory police force.
And it’s a crime not to comply with an assistance order. A person who doesn’t is liable to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $63,000. However, if the assistance order is in relation to a serious crime or serious terrorism offence, 10 years behind bars applies, as well as a $126,000 fine
Despite it being a commonly held belief, police don’t actually have the power to simply walk up to someone on the street, demand they hand over their…
www.lexology.com
They both say essentially the same thing. Yes they can search your phone without a warrant in some situations. but you aren’t required to give them your password without a warrant under federal law.
www.abc.net.au
