6ESecrecy

6E Secrecy

[Section 6E Inserted by No. 9 of 1982, s. 7 and Sched. 10 ]

(1)  *[Section 6E Subsection (1) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ]*Subject to this section, a person who is, or has at any time been, a Commissioner or a person who is appointed for the purposes of this Act or of any other law in force in Tasmania that confers functions or powers on the Commissioner, or is authorized to perform or exercise any function or power of the Commissioner under this Act or any other Act or law or any such function or power on behalf of the Commissioner, shall not, except to the extent necessary to perform his official duties, or to perform or exercise such a function or power, either directly or indirectly, make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any information that is or was acquired by him by reason of his being or having been so appointed or authorized, or make use of any such information, for any purpose other than the performance of his official duties or the performance or exercise of that function or power.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year, or both.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not preclude a person from –

(a) producing a document to a court in the course of proceedings for an offence or in the course of any proceedings under any prescribed Act;

(b) divulging or communicating to a court in the course of any proceedings referred to in paragraph (a) any matter or thing coming under his notice in the performance of his official duties, or in the performance of a function or the exercise of a power referred to in that subsection;

(c) producing a document, or divulging or communicating information, to a person to whom, in the opinion of the Commissioner, it is in the public interest that the document be produced, or the information be divulged or communicated; or

(d) producing a document, or divulging or communicating information that is required or permitted by any law in force in Tasmania, or of another State, or a Territory of the Commonwealth, to be produced, divulged, or communicated, as the case may be.

(3)  [Section 6E Subsection (3) omitted by No. 42 of 2001, Sched. 1, Applied:15 Jul 2001] .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .