copying of any record or thing found therein, and conduct of an ordinary or frisk search of a person if they are at or near a premises specified in the warrant. The Director-General also has the power to independently issue a warrant should a serious security situation arise and a warrant requested of the Attorney-General has not yet been granted. An ASIO officer may, without warrant, ask an operator of an aircraft or vessel questions about the aircraft or vessel, its cargo, crew, passengers, stores or voyage; and to produce supporting documents relating to these questions. Special terrorism investigative powers When investigating terrorism, the Director-General may also seek a warrant from an independent judicial authority to allow: the compulsory questioning of suspects, the detention of suspects by the Australian Federal Police, and their subsequent interrogation by ASIO officers, ordinary, frisk or strip search of suspects by AFP officers upon their detainment, the seizure of passports, and the prevention of suspects leaving Australia. The Director-General is not empowered to independently issue a warrant in relation to the investigation of terrorism. Immunity from prosecution While the Act does not define any activities specifically to be legal, that is, to grant immunity for any specific crime, it does provide exceptions that will not be granted immunity. Section 35k (1) defines these activities as not being immune from liability for special intelligence conduct during special intelligence operations. That is to say, an ASIO operative would be deemed to have committed a crime if they were to participate in any of the following activities under any circumstances: an activity that causes death or serious injury, torture, if the activity involves the commission of a sexual offence against any person, or if the activity causes significant loss of, or serious damage to property. Collection of foreign intelligence ASIO also has the power to collect foreign intelligence within Australia at the request of the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister for Defence. Known as Joint Intelligence Operations, and usually conducted in concert with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service the purpose of these operations is the gathering of security intelligence on and from foreign officials, organisations or companies. Accountability Because of the nature of its work, ASIO does not make details of its activities public and law prevents the identities of ASIO officers from being disclosed. ASIO and the Australian Government say that operational measures ensuring the