Phone SeizedAustraliaNSW digital evidence access orders: what LEPRA lets police require
NSW digital evidence access orders: what LEPRA lets police require
What you must do, what you can refuse, and what they can do
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You must
Refusing is a criminal offence.
A digital evidence access order lets the executing officer direct you to give any information or assistance that is reasonable and necessary to access data held in, or accessible from, the computer specified in, or within the scope of, the order.
Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), s.76AM(1) — effect of a digital evidence access order
“The executing officer for a digital evidence access order may direct the specified person to—give the officer any information or assistance reasonable and necessary to enable the officer to access data held in or accessible from a computer specified in, or within the scope of, the order”
Read it at legislation.nsw.gov.auquote checked 2026-09-08
Once an executing officer gives you a direction under a digital evidence access order, you must comply with it — failing to do so, without a reasonable excuse, is an offence under s.76AO carrying a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.
Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), s.76AO(1) — failure to comply, offence and maximum penalty
“A specified person for a digital evidence access order must not, without reasonable excuse—fail to comply with a direction given, in accordance with the order, by the executing officer for the order—Maximum penalty—100 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.”
Read it at legislation.nsw.gov.auquote checked 2026-09-09
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
A digital evidence access order applies only to a computer specified in the order, or within its scope — not to devices generally.
Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), s.76AM(1) — effect of a digital evidence access order
“The executing officer for a digital evidence access order may direct the specified person to—give the officer any information or assistance reasonable and necessary to enable the officer to access data held in or accessible from a computer specified in, or within the scope of, the order”
Read it at legislation.nsw.gov.auquote checked 2026-09-08
The offence for failing to comply with a direction under a digital evidence access order arises only where you have no reasonable excuse for the failure.
Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), s.76AO(1) — failure to comply, offence and maximum penalty
“A specified person for a digital evidence access order must not, without reasonable excuse—fail to comply with a direction given, in accordance with the order, by the executing officer for the order—Maximum penalty—100 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.”
Read it at legislation.nsw.gov.auquote checked 2026-09-09
New South Wales law, not Commonwealth
This page covers New South Wales law specifically — the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA). It sits alongside, not instead of, the Commonwealth s.3LA order covered on this site’s Crimes Act page; which one is used depends on which police force is investigating.
What a digital evidence access order requires
A digital evidence access order lets the executing officer direct you to give any information or assistance that is reasonable and necessary to access data held in, or accessible from, the computer the order specifies or that falls within its scope.
Once given that direction, you must comply with it. Failing to do so, without a reasonable excuse, is itself an offence under s.76AO.
The limits on the order
The order only reaches a computer specified in it, or within its scope — not devices generally, and not anything outside what the order actually names.
The offence for failing to comply also only arises where you have no reasonable excuse for the failure — the Act builds that qualification directly into s.76AO.
Recent law
This scheme is recent. LEPRA’s Part 5, Division 4A — the source of the digital evidence access order power — was inserted into the Act by the 2022 amending Act (2022 No 47).
See how this compares with the Commonwealth’s s.3LA order, Queensland’s device information orders, Victoria’s s.465AA orders, and when you must give police the code generally.
Last reviewed 2026-09-08. Next review due 2027-03-08. No lawyer has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.