Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

NATURE CONSERVATION ACT 2014 - SECT 364

    (1)     A person to whom this section applies commits an offence if—

        (a)     the person uses information; and

        (b)     the information is protected information about someone else; and

        (c)     the person is reckless about whether the information is protected information about someone else.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or both.

    (2)     A person to whom this section applies commits an offence if—

        (a)     the person does something that divulges information; and

        (b)     the information is protected information about someone else; and

        (c)     the person is reckless about whether—

              (i)     the information is protected information about someone else; and

              (ii)     doing the thing would result in the information being divulged to someone else.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or both.

    (3)     Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a person if the information is used or divulged—

        (a)     under this Act or another territory law; or

        (b)     in relation to the exercise of a function, as a person to whom this section applies, under this Act or another territory law; or

        (c)     in a court proceeding.

    (4)     Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to the using or divulging of protected information about a person with the person's consent.

Note     The defendant has an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in s (3) and s (4) (see Criminal Code

, s 58).

    (5)     A person to whom this section applies need not divulge protected information to a court, or produce a document containing protected information to a court, unless it is necessary to do so for this Act or another law applying in the territory.

    (6)     In this section:

"court "includes a tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

"divulge "includes—

        (a)     communicate; or

        (b)     publish.

"person to whom this section applies "means—

        (a)     a person who is or has been the conservator; or

        (b)     a person who is or has been a conservation officer; or

        (c)     anyone else who has exercised a function under this Act.

"produce "includes allow access to.

"protected information "means information about a person that is disclosed to, or obtained by, a person to whom this section applies because of the exercise of a function under this Act by the person or someone else.

"use information "includes make a record of the information.