Commonwealth Numbered Acts

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ACT 1981 No. 24 of 1981 - SECT 34

34. (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 27 or is, or has at any time
been, authorized to perform or exercise any function or power of the
Commission or any function or power 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 performance or exercise of such a function
or power -

   (a)  make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any
        information relating to the affairs of another person acquired by him
        by reason of his office or employment under or for the purposes of
        this Act or by reason of his being or having been so authorized;

   (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.

(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 27 or is, or has at any time been,
authorized to perform or exercise any function or power of the Commission or
any function or power 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 him by reason of his office or
        employment under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of his
        being or having been so authorized; or

   (b)  to produce in a court a document relating to the affairs of another
        person of which he has custody, or to which he has access, by reason
        of his office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act or
        by reason of his being or having been so authorized, except where it
        is necessary to do so for the purposes of this Act.

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

   (a)  divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, to an
        authority of a State or of the Northern Territory in accordance with
        an arrangement in force under section 11; or

   (b)  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 produced,
        divulged or communicated, as the case may be.

(4) 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.

Penalty: $1,000 or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.