25Secrecy

25 Secrecy

25 Secrecy

(1) This section applies to the following persons—

(a) the Minister,

(b) the Secretary and a person who is or was employed in the Department,

(c) a person who is or was a member of the Expert Panel.

(2) A person to whom this section applies must not, directly or indirectly, except for the purposes of this Act or otherwise in connection with the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act—

(a) make a record of any information, acquired by the person by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act, or

(b) divulge or communicate to any person any such information.

Maximum penalty—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

(3) A person to whom this section applies cannot be required—

(a) to produce to any person or body any document or other thing that has come into the person’s possession, custody or control by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act, or

(b) to divulge or communicate to any person or body any matter or thing that has come to the person’s notice in the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act.

(4) Despite this section, a person to whom this section applies may divulge any such information—

(a) for the purposes of and in accordance with this Act, or

(b) for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act, or

(c) in accordance with a direction of the Secretary, if the Secretary certifies that it is necessary to do so in the public interest, or

(d) to any person or body prescribed by the regulations.

(5) A person or body to whom information is divulged under subsection (4), and any person or employee under the control of that person or body, is subject to the same rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities under subsections (2) and (3) in respect of that information as if he or she were a person to whom this section applies and had acquired the information in the exercise of functions under this Act.