Assemblage, counter-law and the legal architecture of Australian covert surveillance

Surveillance practices are typically divisible between the activities of private and state actors. A complex system of regulated and unregulated activity is interfaced with legal architectures deployed to authorise, prohibit, regulate and often legitimate those activities. In this chapter we explore the Australian legal architecture of surveillance. A brief history of Australian surveillance legislation, a discussion of the current regulatory framework at the State and Federal level, and consideration of issues of privacy, accessible technology and the justifications for strategic targeted surveillance operations in the context of a risk society comprise this chapter. By framing the legal architectures, we illustrate how developed legal systems organise and articulate surveillance practices, and consider several uses and effects of these articulations.