Obligation on further use or disclosure of disclosed information
(3G) A person or body that receives information under subsection (3) or (3F) for a specified purpose must ensure that any further use or disclosure of the information is only for that purpose.
Authorisation—use or disclosure by officer in certain circumstances
(4) An officer may use or disclose information of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(c) if:
(a) the information is lawfully in the public domain; or
(b) the person to whom the information relates has expressly or impliedly consented to the use or disclosure; or
(c) the use or disclosure is for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice; or
(d) if the disclosure is to a person or body—the information relates to that person or body; or
(e) if the disclosure (the present disclosure) is to a person or body—the information has lawfully been disclosed to that person or body previously (the previous disclosure), and the present disclosure is for the same purpose as the previous disclosure.
Authorisation—statistical information
(5) An officer may use or disclose information of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(c) for the purpose of deriving or publishing statistics that do not enable the identification of any person (other than the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory).
(5A) Statistics relating to the supply of pharmaceutical benefits may be published in spite of the fact that the manufacturer of any of those benefits may be identified through those statistics.
Authorisation—data‑matching by a Commonwealth entity
(5D) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), the Secretary or the Chief Executive Medicare may provide information to an authorised Commonwealth entity (within the meaning of Part VIIIA) for the purpose of facilitating the matching of that information by the Commonwealth entity under subsection 132B(1).
Authorisation—disclosing information relating to convictions etc.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), where:
(a) a person has been convicted of:
(i) an offence against this Act; or
(ii) an offence against section 6 of the Crimes Act 1914, or section 11.1, 11.4 or 11.5 of the Criminal Code, that relates to an offence against this Act; or
(b) an order has been made in relation to a person under section 19B of the Crimes Act 1914 in relation to an offence referred to in subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii); or
(c) a Committee of Inquiry reports adversely on the conduct of a practitioner or pharmacist in relation to a matter upon which the Committee makes inquiry;
the Secretary may disclose any information acquired by an officer in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under this Act that concerns a matter referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) to:
(d) the Secretary of the Department of Social Security; or
(e) the Secretary of the Veterans’ Affairs Department; or
(ea) the Chief Executive Centrelink or a person engaged (whether as an employee or otherwise) by Services Australia; or
(f) a person or persons who, under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of hospitals, nursing homes or similar institutions, is or are, responsible for the administration of that law or who is, or are, empowered to investigate persons in connection with contraventions of that law; or
(g) a person or persons who, under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of practitioners, pharmacists or pharmaceutical chemists is, or are, empowered to take disciplinary action with respect to practitioners, pharmacists or pharmaceutical chemists or to investigate practitioners, pharmacists or pharmaceutical chemists in connection with the taking of such disciplinary action; or
(ga) a person or persons who, under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration of midwives, or the authorisation (however described) of persons to practise midwifery, are empowered to:
(i) take disciplinary action with respect to midwives; or
(ii) investigate midwives in connection with the taking of such disciplinary action; or
(gb) a person or persons who, under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration of nurse practitioners, or the authorisation (however described) of persons to practise as nurse practitioners, are empowered to:
(i) take disciplinary action with respect to nurse practitioners; or
(ii) investigate nurse practitioners in connection with the taking of such disciplinary action; or
(h) a person or persons who, under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory relating to drugs or poisons, is, or are, responsible for the administration of that law or who is, or are, empowered to investigate persons in connection with contraventions of that law; or
(j) a director, secretary or employee of a private health insurer who is authorized by the Secretary, by instrument in writing, for the purposes of this subsection.
Authorisation—disclosing certified information for purposes of certain laws or private health insurance
(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), where the Minister, by instrument in writing, certifies that it is desirable for such of the following purposes as the Minister specifies in the certificate, that is to say:
(b) the administration of an Act administered by the Veterans’ Affairs Minister;
(c) the administration of a specified law of a State or Territory, being a law that provides for the registration or licensing of hospitals, nursing homes or similar institutions;
(d) the administration of a specified law of a State or Territory, being a law that provides for the registration or licensing of practitioners or pharmacists;
(da) the administration of a specified law of a State or Territory, being a law that provides for the registration of midwives, or the authorisation (however described) of persons to practise midwifery; or
(db) the administration of a specified law of a State or Territory, being a law that provides for the registration of nurse practitioners, or the authorisation (however described) of persons to practise as nurse practitioners; or
(e) the administration of a specified law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory relating to drugs or poisons; or
(f) the carrying on of the business of a specified private health insurer or a private health insurer included in a specified class of private health insurers;
that information of a kind referred to in the certificate, being information acquired by an officer in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under this Act, should be disclosed, the Secretary may disclose information of that kind:
(h) if the certificate specifies a purpose of the kind referred to in paragraph (b)—to the Secretary of the Veterans’ Affairs Department;
(j) if the certificate specifies a purpose in relation to a specified law of the kind referred to in paragraph (c) or (e)—to the person or persons who, under that law is, or are, responsible for the administration of that law or is, or are, empowered to investigate persons in connection with contraventions of that law;
(k) if the certificate specifies a purpose in relation to a specified law of the kind referred to in paragraph (d)—to the person or persons who, under that law is, or are, empowered to take disciplinary action with respect to practitioners or pharmacists or to investigate practitioners or pharmacists in connection with the taking of such disciplinary action; or
(l) if the certificate specifies a purpose in relation to a specified law of the kind referred to in paragraph (da)—to the person or persons who are empowered to:
(i) take disciplinary action with respect to midwives; or
(ii) investigate midwives in connection with the taking of such disciplinary action; or
(la) if the certificate specifies a purpose in relation to a specified law of the kind referred to in paragraph (db)—to the person or persons who are empowered to:
(i) take disciplinary action with respect to nurse practitioners; or
(ii) investigate nurse practitioners in connection with the taking of such disciplinary action; or
(m) if the certificate specifies a purpose of the kind referred to in paragraph (f)—to a director, secretary or employee of each private health insurer to which the certificate relates, being a director, secretary or employee who is authorized by the Secretary, by instrument in writing, for the purposes of this subsection.
Restrictions on disclosing information relating to rendering of certain professional services
(8) Information relating to the rendering of a medical service, a dental service or an optometrical service, the provision of hospital treatment or the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit must not be disclosed in pursuance of subsection (6) or (7) in a manner that is likely to enable the identification of the person to whom that service was rendered, that treatment or care was provided or that benefit was supplied (in this subsection referred to as the patient) unless:
(a) the patient:
(i) is a person referred to in paragraph (6)(a) or (b); or
(ii) consents in writing to the disclosure of the information; or
(b) the Minister certifies that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the patient has committed, or is committing, an offence of the kind referred to in subparagraph (6)(a)(i) or (ii).
Offence—recipients of information relating to convictions etc. or certified information
(9) A person to whom information is disclosed under subsection (6) or (7) and any person under the control of the first‑mentioned person shall not, directly or indirectly, except:
(aa) in the case of the Chief Executive Centrelink or a person engaged (whether as an employee or otherwise) by Services Australia—in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under an Act administered by the Minister administering the Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997; or
(b) in the case of the Secretary of the Veterans’ Affairs Department or a person under the control of the Secretary—in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under an Act administered by the Veterans’ Affairs Minister; or
(c) in the case of a person or persons referred to in paragraph (6)(f), (g), (ga), (gb) or (h), or (7)(j), (k), (l) or (la), or a person under the control of such a person or persons—in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under the law referred to in that paragraph; or
(d) in the case of a director, secretary or employee of a private health insurer or a person under the control of such a person—in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, in relation to the carrying on of the business of the insurer;
and while the person is, or after the person ceases to be, such a person, use, or further disclose to any person, any information so disclosed.