Commonwealth Numbered Acts

HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ACT 1986 No. 125 of 1986 - SECT 49

49. (1) A person who is, or has at any time been, a member of the Commission
or a member of the staff referred to in section 43 or is acting, or has at any
time acted, on behalf of the Commission shall not, either directly or
indirectly, except in the performance of a duty under or in connection with
this Act or in the course of acting on behalf of the Commission-

   (a)  make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any
        information relating to the affairs of another person acquired by the
        first-mentioned person by reason of that person's office or employment
        under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person
        acting, or having acted, on behalf of the Commission;

   (b)  make use of any such information as is mentioned in paragraph (a); or

   (c)  produce to any person a document relating to the affairs of another
        person furnished for the purposes of this Act.
Penalty: $5,000 or imprisonment for 1 year, or both.

(2) A person who is, or has at any time been, a member of the Commission or a
member of the staff referred to in section 43 or is acting, or has at any time
acted, on behalf of the Commission shall not be required-

   (a)  to divulge or communicate to a court any information relating to the
        affairs of another person acquired by the first-mentioned person by
        reason of that person's office or employment under or for the purposes
        of this Act or by reason of that person acting, or having acted, on
        behalf of the Commission; or

   (b)  to produce in a court a document relating to the affairs of another
        person of which the first-mentioned person has custody, or to which
        that person has access, by reason of that person's office or
        employment under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that
        person acting, or having acted, on behalf of the Commission, except
        where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of this Act.

(3) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from-

   (a)  making a record of information that is, or is included in a class of
        information that is, required or permitted by an Act to be recorded,
        if the record is made for the purposes of or pursuant to that Act;

   (b)  divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, to an
        instrumentality of a State in accordance with an arrangement in force
        under section 16; or

   (c)  divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, that
        is, or is included in a class of information that is or class of
        documents that are, required or permitted by an Act to be divulged,
        communicated or produced, as the case may be, if the information is
        divulged or communicated, or the document is produced, for the
        purposes of or pursuant to that Act.

(4) Nothing in sub-section (2) prevents a person being required, for the
purposes of or pursuant to an Act, to divulge or communicate information, or
to produce a document, that is, or is included in a class of information that
is or class of documents that are, required or permitted by that Act to be
divulged, communicated or produced.

(5) In this section-

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

"produce" includes permit access to.