27Annual reports

27 Annual reports

(1) The Council shall, as soon as practicable after each 30 June, prepare and furnish to the Minister a report of the operations of the Council during the year that ended on that date. (2) Subject to subsection (3), a report prepared under subsection (1) shall set out all requests made by the Minister under subsection 6(1), and all directions given by him under section 8, during the year to which the report relates. (3) A report prepared under subsection (1) shall not, without the consent of the Minister, disclose the contents of a report furnished to the Minister under section 6 before the report so furnished has been laid before either House of the Parliament. (4) Subject to subsection (5), the Minister shall cause a report furnished to him under subsection (1) to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is received by the Minister. (5) Where the laying of a report before the Parliament in accordance with subsection (2) would result in:

(a) the disclosure of information that would, in the opinion of the Minister, be contrary to the public interest by reason that it would prejudice the security, defence or international relations of the Commonwealth or relations between the Commonwealth and any State; or

(b) the disclosure of information received by the Council in confidence;

the Minister shall, in his discretion:

(c) cause the report to be laid before the Parliament with such deletions as he thinks necessary to avoid that result; or

(d) cause the report not to be laid before the Parliament until he is satisfied that laying the report before the Parliament would not have that result.