8Secrecy

8 Secrecy

(1) In this section, officer means a person: (a) who is or has been appointed or employed by the Commonwealth, by the Northern Territory or by a State; or (b) to whom powers or functions have been delegated by the Commissioner; and who, by reason of that appointment or employment or in the course of that employment, or by reason of, or in the course of carrying out powers and functions under, the delegation, as the case may be, may acquire or has acquired information with respect to the affairs of any other person disclosed or obtained under this Act. (1A) For the purposes of this section, a person who, although not appointed or employed by the Commonwealth, performs services for the Commonwealth shall be taken to be employed by the Commonwealth. (2) Subject to this section, an officer shall not, either directly or indirectly, except in the performance of his or her duties as an officer, 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 respecting the affairs of another person acquired by the officer as mentioned in subsection (1).

Penalty: $5,000 or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

(3) An officer shall not be required to produce in court a return, assessment or notice made or given for the purposes of this Act, or to divulge or communicate to a court a matter or thing that has come to his or her notice in the performance of his or her duties as an officer, except when it is necessary to do so for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act. (4) Nothing in this section prevents the Commissioner or a Second Commissioner, or a person authorized by the Commissioner or a Second Commissioner, from communicating any information to: (a) the Tribunal in connection with proceedings under an Act of which the Commissioner has the general administration; (b) a person performing, as an officer, a function or duty arising under an Act administered by the Commissioner, for the purpose of enabling that person to carry out that function or duty; or (d) the Australian Statistician, for the purposes of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. (5) A person to whom information is communicated under subsection (4) and an employee or other person under his or her control are, in respect of that information, entitled to rights and privileges, and subject to obligations and liabilities, under subsections (2) and (3) as if they were officers. (6) An officer shall, if and when required by the Commissioner, a Second Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner to do so, make an oath or declaration, in a manner and a form approved by the Commissioner, to maintain secrecy in conformity with the provisions of this section.