213Secrecy

213 Secrecy

(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is, or has been, an official of the Pricing Authority; and (b) the person has obtained protected Pricing Authority information in the person’s capacity as an official of the Pricing Authority; and (c) the person: (i) discloses the information to another person; or (ii) uses the information.

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

Exceptions (2) Each of the following is an exception to the prohibition in subsection (1): (a) the disclosure or use is authorised by this Part; (b) the protected Pricing Authority information is not health care pricing and costing information or aged care information and the disclosure or use is in compliance with a requirement under: (i) a law of the Commonwealth; or (ii) a prescribed law of a State or a Territory; (c) the protected Pricing Authority information is health care pricing and costing information and the disclosure or use is in compliance with a requirement under a law of the Commonwealth; (d) the protected Pricing Authority information is aged care information and the disclosure or use is in compliance with a requirement under a law of the Commonwealth.

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

(3) Except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of giving effect to this Act, a person who is, or has been, an official of the Pricing Authority is not to be required: (a) to produce to a court or tribunal a document containing protected Pricing Authority information; or (b) to disclose protected Pricing Authority information to a court or tribunal.