86Exchange of information

86 Exchange of information

86 Exchange of information

(1) The Secretary may enter into, or approve of, an arrangement (an information sharing arrangement) with a relevant agency for the purposes of sharing or exchanging information held by the Secretary or the agency.

(2) The information to which an information sharing arrangement may relate is limited to the following—

(a) information concerning investigations into and assessments of the safety of building products,

(b) any other information about building products and the use of building products in buildings relevant to the administration of this Act,

(c) any other information of a type prescribed by the regulations.

(3) Under an information sharing arrangement, the Secretary and the relevant agency are, despite any other Act or law of the State, authorised—

(a) to request and receive information held by the other party to the arrangement, to the extent that the information is reasonably necessary to the exercise of the Secretary’s functions under this Act, the administration or execution of this Act or to protect the safety of a person or property, and

(b) to disclose information to the other party, to the extent that the information is reasonably necessary to the exercise of the other party’s functions or to prevent or eliminate a safety risk that may arise from the use of a building product in a building.

(4) The Secretary may also (whether as part of an information sharing arrangement or otherwise)—

(a) refer any matter with respect to building products or the use of building products to a relevant agency, and

(b) receive any such matter from a relevant agency, and

(c) conduct a joint investigation into any such matter with a relevant agency.

(5) Any such relevant agency is, despite any other Act or law of the State, authorised to refer such a matter to the Secretary or to conduct an investigation into the matter jointly with the Secretary.

(6) This section does not—

(a) limit the functions that may be exercised by the Secretary under other provisions of this Act, or