Amphetamine-type stimulants—A general term for the amphetamine-based group of drugs including MDMA (ecstasy) and methylamphetamine (ice).

Availability (of systems)—Our system availability reporting provides the percentage of time systems were available, excluding scheduled outages. We provide our systems nationally to multiple agencies. Many of our systems are integrated or routed via partner agency systems, meaning issues unrelated to our service can also affect availability. As a result, we derive national availability reporting from user notifications of outages across multiple jurisdictions.

Coercive powers—See ‘Special powers’.

Controlled operation—An operation to obtain evidence that may lead to the prosecution of a person for a serious Commonwealth offence, or a serious state offence with a federal aspect, that may involve an ACIC officer or supervised civilian in acts or omissions that would (but for the operation of a legal indemnity) constitute an offence.

Deconfliction—Deconfliction is a process that enables police and law enforcement to be aware of each other’s activities against criminal targets, subjects or cases that are active across more than one jurisdiction or regional area. Outcomes from deconfliction can be:

• investigative efforts are not jeopardised
• investigative efforts are enhanced by new information being provided
• opportunities for joint efforts are identified.

Determination—When authorising the ACIC to undertake an intelligence operation or an investigation, the ACIC Board can determine that the ACIC can use special powers. Before issuing a determination, the ACIC Board must consider whether normal intelligence collection methods or ordinary police methods of investigation have been or are likely to be effective.

Disruption of criminal activity—Disrupting criminal activity may include interrupting the flow or continuity of the criminal behaviour and/or enterprises of a criminal entity as a direct result of ACIC or joint agency operational activity. This may also occur by undermining criminal businesses by exposing their methodologies, releasing intelligence alerts and warnings on their activities and reducing their ability to operate in the criminal markets of their choice.

Disruption operational activities may include arrests, seizure of illegal commodities (such as drugs or firearms), proceeds of crime and/or prosecutions.

The level of disruptive impact achieved by law enforcement is deemed to be either ‘significant’ or ‘severe’:

• Severe—The dismantling/complete disruption of a serious organised crime entity with the cessation of their serious and organised crime activities.
• Significant—While not resulting in the complete disruption/dismantling of a serious organised crime entity and the cessation of their serious organised crime activities, the disruptive impact is assessed as 'significant'. This assessment is informed by the disruptive impact caused by arrests, seizures (drugs, cash, assets), tax liabilities raised, and any other disruptive results achieved.

Estimated street value—The cost to purchase a drug at the end of the supply chain or ‘on the street’, estimated by considering such factors as (though not limited to) drug purity, location of drug seized, wholesale supply and distribution. Data for calculating the estimated street value is provided by operational areas of the ACIC and partner agencies.

Examinations—ACIC examiners can summons a person to attend a compulsory examination and answer questions under oath. The person is entitled to legal representation and the examination is held in private. The evidence gained from an examination cannot be used against the person in a criminal proceeding. A person summonsed to an examination cannot disclose that summons to any person other than their legal representative, unless permitted by the examiner.

Examiners—Examiners are independent statutory officers and experienced legal practitioners who may exercise the ACIC’s special (coercive) powers for the purposes of an ACIC special investigation or special operation.

Federally relevant criminal activity—The ACIC looks at serious and organised crime that is an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a territory; or an offence against a law of a state and has a federal aspect. A state offence can have a federal aspect if it potentially falls within Commonwealth legislative power or where the ACIC’s interest in the state offence is incidental to ACIC operations/investigations relating to Commonwealth or territory offences.

Intelligence systems—Information technology-based systems that facilitate dissemination and sharing of criminal intelligence, including databases containing intelligence holdings that can be accessed and analysed by approved users.

MDMA—MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), commonly known as ecstasy, is an amphetamine-type stimulant.

Proceeds of crime—The profits of criminal activity. Legislation provides for these proceeds to be controlled, confiscated and potentially forfeited to the Commonwealth to discourage criminal activity and to prevent reinvestment in further criminal activity.

Serious and organised crime—According to the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002, serious and organised crime constitutes an offence that involves two or more offenders, substantial planning and organisation, and the use of sophisticated methods and techniques, that is committed (or of a kind that is ordinarily committed) in conjunction with other offences of a like kind, and is punishable by imprisonment for three or more years.

Special investigations—Special investigations are designed to disrupt and deter criminal groups by collecting evidence and intelligence about criminal activity. Coercive powers may be used in combination with a range of other investigative tools, including telecommunications intercepts, surveillance and controlled operations.

Special operations—Special operations focus on gathering intelligence around particular criminal activity so decisions are informed by the true extent, impact and threat of that criminal activity. Coercive powers may be used as well as other investigative tools if appropriate. These operations can help determine if a special investigation is warranted.

Special powers—The ACIC has coercive powers similar to those of a royal commission, which may be exercised only by ACIC examiners for special intelligence operations or special investigations. The special powers allow the ACIC to summons a person to give evidence under oath, require the production of documents, demand information from Commonwealth agencies, apply for a search warrant, and require the production of a passport.