84Officers to observe secrecy

##### 84 Officers to observe secrecy (1) In this section, officer means: (a) a member; or (aa) a member of a Joint Selection Committee; or (ab) a member of a Review Committee within the meaning of Division 2 of Part II; or or (b) a person appointed or employed, under section 18B of the Public Service Act 1922, for the purposes of this Act; or (c) a person, not being a person referred to in paragraph (b), to whom the Agency has delegated any of its powers or functions under section 78, to whom the Merit Protection Commissioner has delegated any of his or her powers under section 79 or who is an authorized person. (2) Subject to this section, an officer shall not, directly or indirectly, and either while he or she is, or after he or she ceases to be, an officer, make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any information acquired by the officer by reason of his or her being an officer, being information that was disclosed or obtained under the provisions of this Act. Penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months. (3) Subsection (2) does not prevent an officer: (a) from making a record of, or divulging or communicating to any person, information acquired by the officer in the performance of his or her duties as an officer for purposes connected with the exercise of the powers and with the performance of the functions of the Agency under this Act; or (b) from divulging or communicating information to a person: (i) if the information was furnished by an officer of a Department or Commonwealth authority in the performance of his or her duties as such an officer—with the consent of the principal officer of the Department or authority or of the responsible Minister; or (ii) if the information was furnished by a person otherwise than as set out in subparagraph (i)—with the consent of the person who furnished the information. (4) Subsection (2) does not prevent the Agency from disclosing, in a report made under this Act, such matters as, in its opinion, ought to be disclosed in the course of setting out the grounds for the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report. (4A) Subsection (2) does not prevent the Agency, or an officer acting on behalf of the Agency, from giving information or documents under paragraph 49(1A)(e). (5) A person who is or has been an officer is not competent and may not be required, in any proceedings before a court (whether exercising federal jurisdiction or not) or before a person authorized by a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory, or by consent of parties, to hear, receive or examine evidence, to disclose any information acquired by the person by reason of his or her being or having been an officer, being information that was disclosed or obtained under the provisions of this Act. (6) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), nothing in this Act shall be taken to preclude the Merit Protection Commissioner from disclosing information, or making a statement, to any person or to the public or a section of the public with respect to the performance of a function of the Agency under this Act if, in the opinion of the Merit Protection Commissioner, it is in the interests of any Department, Commonwealth authority or person, or is otherwise in the public interest, so to disclose that information or to make that statement. (7) The Merit Protection Commissioner shall not disclose information or make a statement under subsection (6) with respect to a particular review, investigation or inquiry where the disclosure of that information, or the making of that statement, is likely to interfere with the carrying out of that review, investigation or inquiry or of any other review, investigation or inquiry. (8) The Merit Protection Commissioner shall not, in disclosing information or making a statement under subsection (6) with respect to a particular review or investigation, disclose the name of an applicant or any other matter that would enable an applicant to be identified unless it is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.