New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MENTAL HEALTH AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT FORENSIC PROVISIONS ACT 2020 - SECT 161

161 Exchange of information

(1) The Secretary of the Ministry of Health, the Commissioner of Corrective Services and the Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice may enter into arrangements (
"information sharing protocols" ) with each other to enable information held by their Departments and associated agencies to be shared or exchanged between those Departments and agencies.

(2) The information to which an information sharing protocol may relate is limited to the following--

(a) information concerning forensic patients and correctional patients,

(b) other information that may be prescribed by the regulations.

(3) The Commissioner of Victims Rights and the President of the Tribunal may enter into arrangements with each other to exchange information held by the Department of Communities and Justice, the Commissioner or the Tribunal for the purposes of the Victims Register and notifications under Part 8.

(4) Under an information sharing protocol or other arrangement under this section, each Department and associated agency the subject of the arrangement is authorised, without obtaining the consent of any person whose consent would otherwise be required--

(a) to request and receive information held by another Department or associated agency the subject of the arrangement, and

(b) to disclose information to any of those Departments or associated agencies.

(5) The authority conferred by this section relates only to information that is reasonably necessary--

(a) in the case of information exchanged under an information sharing protocol, to assist in the exercise of functions under this Act or the functions of the relevant Departments or associated agencies concerned, or

(b) in the case of information exchanged under an arrangement under subsection (3), for the purposes of the Victims Register and notifications under Part 8.

(6) This section does not limit the operation of an Act under which the Department or associated agency concerned is authorised or required to disclose information to another person or body.

(7) This section has effect despite the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 or the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 .

(8) The provision of information under this section does not constitute a contravention of the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 or the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 .

(9) In this section--

"associated agency" means any of the following--

(a) a local health district (within the meaning of the Health Services Act 1997 ),

(b) a statutory health corporation (within the meaning of the Health Services Act 1997 ),

(c) the Tribunal,

(d) the Commissioner of Victims Rights.