(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information the disclosure of which is prohibited by any of the following laws (which are referred to in this Act as
"overriding secrecy laws" ), whether or not the prohibition is subject to specified qualifications or exceptions and whether or not a breach of the prohibition constitutes an offence--Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 --Part 3 (Central register)Bail Act 2013 -- section 89 (Restrictions on publication of association conditions)Biofuels Act 2007 -- section 25 (Secrecy)Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 --section 21E (Prohibited disclosure of information concerning registrable persons)Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 --section 194 (Security of certain information) and regulations under section 283 (Regulations)Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 -- section 109 (Disclosure of information)Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 --sections 51B (Certain information not to be published or broadcast) and 100H (Certain information not to be published or broadcast)Criminal Procedure Act 1986 --regulations under section 351 (Regulations with respect to the provision or disclosure of information in connection with intervention programs)Criminal Records Act 1991 -- section 13 (Unlawful disclosure of information concerning spent convictions)Dust Diseases Tribunal Act 1989 --section 32I (Information about claims)Education Act 1990 --provision made by or under section 18A (Publication of school results) or Division 2 (Obtaining information about students) of Part 5AElectoral Act 2017 -- sections 43 (Electoral Information Register not available for public inspection), 55 (Privacy--non-disclosure of information), 159 (Secrecy relating to technology assisted voting), 175 (Security of election materials and electronic resources) and 268 (Disclosure of information)Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007 -- section 17 (Secrecy)Health Administration Act 1982 --Division 6B (Quality assurance committees) of Part 2, Part 2A (Response to incidents) and section 23 (Specially privileged information)Health Care Complaints Act 1993Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988Jury Act 1977Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Act 2016Parliamentary Budget Officer Act 2010 -- section 17 (Confidentiality of information or documents relating to election policy costings)Police Act 1990 --section 169A (Identity of complainant not to be disclosed)Police Regulation 2015 --clause 54 (Secrecy as to complaints about conduct)Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 -- section 64 (Identifying information not to be disclosed)Public Lotteries Act 1996 -- section 80 (Secrecy)State Records Act 1998 -- section 73 (Authority's duty of confidentiality) but only in respect of information to which a person gains access in the exercise of functions under that Act as a result of the information having been acquired in the course of the administration of another Act mentioned in this ScheduleTotalizator Act 1997 -- section 105 (Secrecy)Witness Protection Act 1995
(2) Subclause (1) does not apply in relation to the disclosure of a spent conviction (within the meaning of the Criminal Records Act 1991 ) to the person who was convicted.
(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information (referred to in this Act as
"Cabinet information" ) contained in any of the following documents--(a) a document that contains an official record of Cabinet,(b) a document prepared for the dominant purpose of its being submitted to Cabinet for Cabinet's consideration (whether or not the document is actually submitted to Cabinet),(c) a document prepared for the purpose of its being submitted to Cabinet for Cabinet's approval for the document to be used for the dominant purpose for which it was prepared (whether or not the document is actually submitted to Cabinet and whether or not the approval is actually given),(d) a document prepared after Cabinet's deliberation or decision on a matter that would reveal or tend to reveal information concerning any of those deliberations or decisions,(e) a document prepared before or after Cabinet's deliberation or decision on a matter that reveals or tends to reveal the position that a particular Minister has taken, is taking, will take, is considering taking, or has been recommended to take, on the matter in Cabinet,(f) a document that is a preliminary draft of, or a copy of or part of, or contains an extract from, a document referred to in paragraphs (a)-(e).
(2) Information contained in a document is not Cabinet information if--(a) public disclosure of the document has been approved by the Premier or Cabinet, or(b) 10 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the document came into existence.
(3) Information is not Cabinet information merely because it is contained in a document attached to a document referred to in subclause (1).
(4) Information is not Cabinet information to the extent that it consists solely of factual material unless the information is contained in a document that, either entirely or in part, would--(a) reveal or tend to reveal information concerning any Cabinet decision or determination, or(b) reveal or tend to reveal the position that a particular Minister has taken, is taking or will take on a matter in Cabinet.
(5) In this clause,
"Cabinet" includes a committee of Cabinet and a subcommittee of a committee of Cabinet.
(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information (referred to in this Act as
"Executive Council information" ) contained in any of the following documents--(a) a document that contains an official record of the Executive Council,(b) a document prepared for the purpose of being submitted to the Executive Council (whether or not that is the only or the dominant purpose for which it was prepared and whether or not the document is actually submitted to the Executive Council),(c) a document prepared after the Executive Council's deliberation or advice on a matter that would reveal or tend to reveal information concerning that deliberation or advice,(d) a document that is a preliminary draft of, or a copy of or part of, or contains an extract from, a document referred to in paragraphs (a)-(c).
(2) Information contained in a document is not Executive Council information if--(a) public disclosure of the document has been approved by the Governor or the Premier, or(b) 10 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the document came into existence.
(3) Information is not Executive Council information merely because it is contained in a document attached to a document referred to in subclause (1).
(4) Information is not Executive Council information to the extent that it consists solely of factual material unless the information would reveal or tend to reveal information concerning any deliberation or advice of the Executive Council.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information the public disclosure of which would, but for any immunity of the Crown--
(a) constitute contempt of court, or
(b) contravene any order or direction of a person or body having power to receive evidence on oath, or
(c) infringe the privilege of Parliament.
(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information that would be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of client legal privilege (legal professional privilege), unless the person in whose favour the privilege exists has waived the privilege.
(2) If an access application is made to an agency in whose favour legal professional privilege exists in all or some of the government information to which access is sought, the agency is required to consider whether it would be appropriate for the agency to waive that privilege before the agency refuses to provide access to government information on the basis of this clause.
(3) A decision that an agency makes under subclause (2) is not a reviewable decision under Part 5.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in a document that, in response to a court order, subpoena or otherwise--
(a) was a document a person objected to producing in any court proceedings on the grounds that the document was a privileged document, and
(b) was not compelled by a court to be given or produced on the grounds of privilege.
(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information that is excluded information of an agency, other than information that the agency has consented to the disclosure of.
(2) Before an agency decides an access application by refusing to provide access to information on the basis that it is excluded information of another agency, the agency is required to ask the other agency whether the other agency consents to disclosure of the information.
(3) A decision that an agency makes to consent or to refuse to consent to the disclosure of excluded information of the agency is not a reviewable decision under Part 5.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in any of the following documents--
(a) a document created by the former Information and Intelligence Centre of the Police Service or the former State Intelligence Group,
(b) a document created by the State Intelligence Command or the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command of the NSW Police Force, the former Counter Terrorist Co-ordination Command of the NSW Police Force, the former Protective Security Group of the Police Service, the former Special Branch of the Police Service or the former Bureau of Criminal Intelligence,
(c) a document created by the State Crime Command of the NSW Police Force in the exercise of its functions concerning the collection, analysis or dissemination of intelligence,
(d) a document created by the Corrections Intelligence Group of Corrective Services NSW, Department of Justice, in the exercise of its functions concerning the collection, analysis or dissemination of intelligence,
(e) a document created by the Security and Intelligence Unit of Juvenile Justice, Department of Justice, in the exercise of its functions concerning the collection, analysis or dissemination of intelligence,
(f) a document concerning law enforcement and public safety created by another entity established under a law of another jurisdiction, including a jurisdiction outside Australia, whose functions substantially correspond with an entity referred to in paragraphs (a)-(e), including any entity declared by the regulations to be a corresponding entity for the purposes of this clause.
(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information that would disclose matter relating to an investigation or inquiry into a transport accident or incident under section 46BA or 46BC of the Passenger Transport Act 1990 .
(3) Despite subclause (1), information about a matter referred to in that subclause ceases to be covered by this clause when the report into the investigation or inquiry is tabled before both Houses of Parliament.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information that would disclose--
(a) matter relating to adoption procedures under the Adoption Act 2000 , or
(b) matter relating to the receipt of an amended or original birth certificate or of prescribed information under the Adoption Act 2000 .
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in a report to which section 29 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 applies.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information the disclosure of which would disclose information contained in the Register of Interests kept by or on behalf of the Premier pursuant to the Code of Conduct for Ministers of the Crown adopted by Cabinet.
(1) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in a document that is the subject of a declaration referred to in section 161 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 .
(2) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information that has been provided to the Scientific Committee under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 if the Minister has, under section 4.20 of that Act, authorised the Scientific Committee to restrict access to the information.
(3) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information in a public register required to be kept under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 if the Environment Agency Head (within the meaning of that Act) has, under section 9.10 of that Act, restricted access to the information.
(4) It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in a plan of management or draft plan of management for an area of community land under Division 2 of Part 2 of Chapter 6 of the Local Government Act 1993 that is the subject of a resolution of confidentiality referred to in section 36DA (2) of that Act (which relates to the disclosure of the nature and location of a place or an item of Aboriginal significance).
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information provided by the Judicial Commission to the Minister administering the Judicial Officers Act 1986 under section 37A of that Act.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in any document prepared for the purposes of or in connection with an authorised transaction under the Electricity Network Assets (Authorised Transactions) Act 2015 other than a document the public disclosure of which has been approved by the Treasurer.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in any document prepared for the purposes of or in connection with the authorised transaction under the Land and Property Information NSW (Authorised Transaction) Act 2016 other than a document the public disclosure of which has been approved by the Treasurer.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in any document prepared for the purposes of the High Risk Offenders Assessment Committee established by the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 or any of its subcommittees.
It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information contained in a document prepared for the assessment of an eligible data breach under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 , Part 6A, if the information could worsen a public sector agency's cyber security or lead to further data breaches.