23Unauthorised disclosure of draft review reports etc.

23 Unauthorised disclosure of draft review reports etc.

(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person receives any of the following: (i) a draft review report; (ii) a document relating to a preliminary finding or a proposed recommendation included in a draft review report; (iii) an extract from a report or document referred to in this paragraph; and (b) the person discloses any information in the report, document or extract.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the information is disclosed: (a) in a comment made in accordance with subsection 21(3); or (b) in a response given in accordance with subsection 22(1); or (c) to a lawyer for the purpose of obtaining legal advice in connection with making such a comment or giving such a response; or (d) to the Commonwealth Ombudsman, or another officer within the meaning of subsection 35(1) of the Ombudsman Act 1976; or (e) with the consent of the Inspector‑General.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to a matter in subsection (2): see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.