Commonwealth Numbered Acts

DISABILITY SERVICES ACT 1986 No. 129 of 1986 - SECT 28

28. (1) A person shall, if the Secretary so directs, before performing any
duties or exercising any powers under this Part, make before a Justice of the
Peace or a Commissioner for Declarations a declaration in accordance with a
form approved for the purpose by the Secretary.

(2) Subject to sub-section (5), a person shall not, directly or indirectly,
except in the performance of duties or exercise of powers under this Part or
for the purposes of the administration of the Social Security Act 1947, make a
record of, or divulge to any person, any information with respect to the
affairs of another person acquired by the first-mentioned person in the
performance of duties or exercise of powers under this Part.

(3) A person who contravenes sub-section (2) is guilty of an offence against
that sub-section.

(4) Subject to sub-section (7), a person shall not, except for the purposes of
this Part or the Social Security Act 1947, be required-

   (a)  to produce in court any document that has come into his or her
        possession or under his or her control in the performance of duties or
        exercise of powers under this Part; or

   (b)  to divulge to a court any matter or thing that has come to his or her
        notice in the performance of duties or exercise of powers under this
        Part.

(5) A person may-

   (a)  divulge specified information to such persons as the Secretary directs
        if the Secretary certifies that it is necessary in the public interest
        that the information should be so divulged;

   (b)  divulge any information to any prescribed authority or person; or

   (c)  divulge any information to a person who is expressly or impliedly
        authorised by the person to whom the information relates to obtain it.

(6) An authority or person to whom information is divulged under sub-section
(5), and any person or employee under the control of that authority or person,
shall, in respect of that information, be subject to the same rights,
privileges, obligations and liabilities under this section as if that
authority or person were a person performing duties under this Part and had
acquired the information in the performance of those duties.

(7) Where-

   (a)  the Secretary certifies that it is necessary in the public interest
        that specified information should be divulged to a court; or

   (b)  a person to whom information relates has expressly authorised it to be
        divulged to a court, a person may be required-

   (c)  to produce in court any document containing the information; or

   (d)  to divulge the information to the court.
(8) In this section, "court" includes any tribunal, authority or person having
power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.