(a) a person who is or was an officer of the Commission, and
(b) a person who is or was an Australian legal practitioner appointed to assist the Commission or who is or was a person who assists, or performs services for or on behalf of, such an Australian legal practitioner in the exercise of the Australian legal practitioner’s functions as counsel to the Commission, and
(c) a person who conducts a review under section 104D, but only in relation to the person’s functions under that section, and
(d) a person or body referred to in section 14 (3), 16 (4) or 53 (6), and
(e) a person who is or was an officer of the Inspector.
(2) A person to whom this section applies shall not, directly or indirectly, except for the purposes of this Act or otherwise in connection with the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act—
(a) make a record of any information, or
(b) divulge or communicate to any person any information,
being information acquired by the person by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.
(3) A person to whom this section applies shall not be required—
(a) to produce in any court any document or other thing that has come into the person’s possession, custody or control by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act, or
(b) to divulge or communicate to any court any matter or thing that has come to the person’s notice in the exercise of the person’s functions under this Act,
except for the purposes of a prosecution or disciplinary proceedings instituted as a result of an investigation conducted by the Commission in the exercise of its functions.
(4) Despite this section, a person to whom this section applies may divulge any such information—
(a) for the purposes of and in accordance with this Act, or
(a1) if the disclosure is of identifying information and is made for a reason mentioned in section 79Q(2), or
(b) for the purposes of a prosecution or disciplinary proceedings instituted as a result of an investigation conducted by the Commission in the exercise of its functions, or
(c) in accordance with a direction of a Commissioner or Inspector, if a Commissioner or Inspector certifies that it is necessary to do so in the public interest, or
(d) to any prescribed authority or person, or
(e) if the disclosure is made to a medical practitioner or psychologist in relation to the provision by that health practitioner of medical or psychiatric care, treatment or counselling (including but not limited to psychological counselling) to a person to whom this section applies.
(4A) A direction under subsection (4)(c) may specify—
(a) that the authority or person to whom information is divulged, or a person or employee under the control of the authority or person, may—
(i) make a record of the information, or
(ii) divulge or communicate the information to another person, and
(b) conditions or restrictions that apply to the making of the record or divulging or communicating of the information.
(5) An authority or person to whom information is divulged under subsection (4), and any person or employee under the control of that authority or person, shall, in respect of that information, be subject to the same rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities under subsections (2) and (3) as if he or she were a person to whom this section applies and had acquired the information in the exercise of functions under this Act.
(5A) Subsection (5) does not apply in relation to an authority or person to whom information is divulged under subsection (4)(c), or a person or employee under the control of the authority or person, to the extent the authority, person or employee is acting in accordance with the direction under that paragraph, including any conditions or restrictions to which the direction is subject.
(6) In this section—
court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.
identifying information has the same meaning as in section 79Q.
produce includes permit access to.
s 111: Am 1988 No 42, Sch 1 (3); 1996 No 29, Sch 3 (13); 2005 No 10, Sch 1 [59] [60]; 2006 No 29, Sch 1 [3]; 2006 No 120, Sch 3.12 [2] [7]; 2013 No 35, Sch 1 [3]; 2016 No 61, Sch 7.2 [1]; 2016 No 65, Sch 1 [3]; 2022 No 14, Sch 4[10]–[12]; 2024 No 17, Sch 1[1] [2].