63Disclosure of records or reports of Courts of Inquiry

63 Disclosure of records or reports of Courts of Inquiry

Offence relating to disclosure (1) A person to whom this regulation applies commits an offence if: (a) the person does any of the following things: (i) discloses to a person, or makes available to the public generally, information contained in the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; (ii) copies a document, or part of a document, that forms part of the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; (iii) discloses to a person, or makes available to the public generally, a document, part of a document, or a copy of all or part of a document, that forms part of the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; and (b) the information or document referred to in paragraph (a) came to the knowledge, or into the possession, of the person in the course of the person’s employment as a person to whom this regulation applies; and (c) the information or document referred to in paragraph (a) does not relate to oral evidence given in public in the course of an inquiry.

Penalty: 10 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months.

Defence (2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subregulation (1) that the person: (a) is authorised under subregulation (4) or (6) to disclose the information or document; and (b) disclosed the information or document in accordance with the authorisation.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in subregulation (2) (see section 13.3 of the Criminal Code).

(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subregulation (1) that the information, document, or part of a document has previously been made available to the public generally in accordance with an authorisation under: (a) subregulation (4) or (6); or (b) regulation 63 of these Regulations as in force at any time before this paragraph commences.

Note 1: This regulation was repealed and replaced in 2013.

Note 2: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in subregulation (3) (see section 13.3 of the Criminal Code).

General authority to disclose or copy (4) A person to whom this regulation applies is authorised to: (a) disclose to a person, or make available to the public generally, information contained in the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; and (b) copy a document, or part of a document, that forms part of the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; and (c) disclose to a person, or make available to the public generally: (i) a document that forms part of the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; or (ii) a part of a document that forms part of the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; or (iii) a copy of all or part of a document that forms part of the records or report of a Court of Inquiry; in the performance of the person’s duties as a person to whom this regulation applies. Ministerial directions about duties of person to whom this regulation applies (5) For subregulation (4): (a) the Minister may, in writing, direct a person to whom this regulation applies as to when doing a thing referred to in subregulation (4) is, or is not, in the performance of the person’s duties as a person to whom this regulation applies; and (b) a person’s authorisation under subregulation (4) applies subject to any direction by the Minister; and (c) a direction is not a legislative instrument.