(1) Within 30 days after the Governor receives the report of a Royal Commission, the Premier must cause the following material (the Royal Commission material ) to be laid before each House of Parliament or, if neither House is then sitting, to be given to the clerk of each House—
(a) a copy of the report; or
(b) a copy of part of the report, together with a statement that the remaining part of the report is not to be tabled in Parliament at this time, including the reasons why it is not to be tabled; or
(c) a statement that the report has been received but is not to be tabled in Parliament at this time, including the reasons why it is not to be tabled.
(2) If the Premier proposes to give the Royal Commission material to the clerk of each House, the Premier must—
(a) give at least one business day's notice of the Premier's intention to do so to the clerk of each House; and
(b) give the Royal Commission material to the clerk of each House on the day indicated in the notice.
(3) The clerk of each House must—
(a) notify each member of the House of the receipt of a notice under subsection (2)(a) on the same day that the clerk receives that notice; and
(b) make available copies of the Royal Commission material for each member of the House as soon as practicable after the Royal Commission material is received under subsection (2)(b); and
(c) cause the Royal Commission material to be laid before the House on the next sitting day of the House.
(4) Royal Commission material that is given to the clerks under subsection (2)(b) is taken to have been published by order, or under the authority, of the Houses of Parliament.
(5) The publication of Royal Commission material in accordance with this section is absolutely privileged and the provisions of sections 73 and 74 of the Constitution Act 1975 and of any other enactment or rule of law relating to the publication of the proceedings of Parliament apply to and in relation to the publication of the Royal Commission material as if it were a report to which those sections applied and had been published by the Government Printer under the authority of Parliament.
(6) If the report of a Royal Commission is not tabled, or is tabled in part, under this section and the Premier subsequently determines that the report, or a further part or parts of the report, should be tabled, this section applies, with any necessary modifications, to the tabling and publication of the report or the relevant part or parts of the report.
Division 9—Protection from legal liability