25Maintaining confidentiality in dealings with government

25 Maintaining confidentiality in dealings with government

Disclosure (1) Unless you have a legal duty to do so, you must not disclose any information you have received, directly or indirectly, from an Australian government agency, in connection with any activities you undertake with the agency in a professional capacity, except to the extent that all of the following apply: (a) it is reasonable to conclude that the information received from the agency was authorised by that agency for further disclosure; and (b) any further disclosure of the information is done consistently with the agency’s authorisation (whether express or implied, and as reasonably concluded).

Note: This subsection would not prohibit disclosure information released by an agency to the general public as it would be reasonable to conclude that such information was authorised for further disclosure. However, further disclosure of that information may be subject to conditions that are expressly imposed by an agency (such as limits on how the information is to be reproduced if attributed to the agency).

Note: Example: Where a tax agent or BAS agent receives information from an Australian government agency, when engaging with that agency for and on behalf of a client, it would be reasonable to conclude that the information received from the agency was authorised for disclosure to the client.

Use for personal advantage (2) You must not use any information you have received, directly or indirectly, from an Australian government agency, in connection with any activities you undertake with the agency in a professional capacity, for your personal advantage, or for the advantage of an associate, employee, employer or client of yours, except to the extent that all of the following apply: (a) it is reasonable to conclude that the information received from the agency was authorised by that agency to be used in a way that may provide for such an advantage; and (b) any further use of the information was done consistently with the agency’s authorisation (whether express or implied, and as reasonably concluded).