Queensland Consolidated Acts

CRIME AND CORRUPTION ACT 2001 - SECT 185

185 Refusal to produce—claim of reasonable excuse

(1) A person required to produce a stated document or thing at a commission hearing under an attendance notice or a section 75B requirement must—

(a) in all cases, bring the document or thing to the hearing if the document or thing is in the person’s possession; and

(b) produce the document or thing at the hearing, unless the person has a reasonable excuse.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or 5 years imprisonment.

(2) A claim of privilege, other than legal professional privilege, is not a reasonable excuse for subsection (1) (b) .

Note—

A refusal to produce a document or thing under a claim of legal professional privilege is considered under section 194 .

(3) A claim of legal professional privilege is not a reasonable excuse for subsection (1) (b) if—

(a) the person has authority to waive the privilege and waives it; or

(b) the privilege is waived by a person having authority to waive it.

(4) The presiding officer must decide a claim of reasonable excuse mentioned in subsection (1) (b) under section 194 .

(5) Subsection (6) applies if the person—

(a) at the hearing, refuses to produce the document or thing on the ground that legal professional privilege attaches to the document or thing; and

(b) has no authority to waive the privilege.

(6) The person must, if required by the presiding officer—

(a) tell the presiding officer the name and address of the person entitled to waive the privilege; and

(b) seal the document or thing and, at the hearing, give it to the commission for safe keeping.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or 5 years imprisonment.

(7) The commission must—

(a) give the person a receipt for the sealed document or thing (the
"sealed evidence" ); and

(b) place it in safe custody at the commission’s place of business at the earliest reasonable opportunity.

(8) A person must not open the sealed evidence unless authorised to open it under this Act or a court order.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—85 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment.

(9) The commission must return the sealed evidence to the person who gave it to the commission if the commission has not, within 3 months after the day on which the sealed evidence was given to the commission, given the person entitled to waive the privilege a notice to attend a hearing and to produce the sealed evidence.