80Secrecy

80 Secrecy

80 Secrecy

(1) A relevant person must not, directly or indirectly, make a record of, or disclose, including to a court, information acquired because of, or in connection with, the Commission’s activities unless the information relates only to the Commission acting solely in its corporate capacity.

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

(2) The Commission is not taken to act solely in its corporate capacity only because the Commission—

(a) enters into a contract or agreement for the purpose of acquiring—

(i) intelligence, or

(ii) other information for an investigation, or

(b) acquires or uses technology for the purpose of the Commission’s investigative functions.

(3) A relevant person must not be required—

(a) to produce in a court a document or other thing that has come into the person’s possession, custody or control because of, or during, the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act, or

(b) to disclose to a court a matter or thing that has come to the person’s attention in the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act.

(4) Proceedings for an offence under this section may be commenced within, but not later than, 3 years after the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.

(5) In this section—

court includes a tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

disclose includes communicate.

produce includes permit access to or inspection of.

relevant person means the following—

(a) an executive officer,

(b) a member of staff of the Commission,

(c) a person involved in an investigation or in the exercise of the Commission’s functions under this Act,

(d) an Australian legal practitioner who assists, or performs services for or on behalf of, the Commission,

(e) a member of a task force assisting the Commission in accordance with an arrangement under section 58,