31Preservation of confidentiality

31 Preservation of confidentiality

(1)  A person must not record, disclose or use confidential information gained by the person through involvement in the administration of this Act, unless the person does so –

(a) when necessary for the purposes of this Act; or

(b) when expressly authorised or required under this or another Act; or

(c) when expressly authorised or required under the regulations; or

(d) when expressly authorised, in writing, by the person to whom it relates.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(2)  Except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of this Act, a person is not required –

(a) to disclose confidential information gained by the person through involvement in the administration of this Act to a court or tribunal; or

(b) to produce that part of a document that contains confidential information gained by the person through involvement in the administration of this Act to a court or tribunal.

(3)  For the purposes of this section, a person gains information through involvement in the administration of this Act if the person gains the information –

(a) in the course of the involvement; or

(b) because of opportunity provided by the involvement.

(4)  This section does not apply to the recording, disclosure or use of statistical or other information that could not reasonably be expected to lead to the identification of any person.