39Effect of preliminary advice by Organisation

#### 39 Effect of preliminary advice by Organisation (1) Subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), a Commonwealth agency shall not take, refuse to take or refrain from taking prescribed administrative action on the basis of any communication in relation to a person made by the Organisation not amounting to a security assessment or on the basis of an adverse or qualified security assessment made by the Organisation before the commencement of this Act. (2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a Commonwealth agency from taking action of a temporary nature to prevent: (a) access by a person to any information or place access to which is controlled or limited on security grounds; or (b) a person from performing an activity in relation to, or involving, a thing (other than information or a place), if the person’s ability to perform that activity is controlled or limited on security grounds; if, on the basis of a preliminary communication by the Organisation, the Commonwealth agency is satisfied that the requirements of security make it necessary to take that action as a matter of urgency pending the furnishing of an assessment by the Organisation. (3) Subsection (1) does not prevent a Commonwealth agency from taking prescribed administrative action within the meaning of paragraph (h) of the definition of prescribed administrative action in subsection 35(1): (a) on the basis of a communication made under subsection 18(3) or 19A(4) to a staff member of the Commonwealth agency; or (b) without limiting paragraph (a), for the purposes of a firearms background check (within the meaning of the AusCheck Act 2007). (4) Subsection (1) does not prevent a Commonwealth agency from taking action that is of a temporary nature and is: (a) of a kind referred to in paragraph (g) or (h) of the definition of prescribed administrative action in subsection 35(1); or (b) of a kind: (i) referred to in paragraph (i) of the definition of prescribed administrative action in subsection 35(1); and (ii) prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph; if, on the basis of a preliminary communication by the Organisation, the Commonwealth agency is satisfied that the requirements of security make it necessary to take that action as a matter of urgency pending the furnishing of an assessment by the Organisation.