Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts5. After Part I of the Principal Act the following Part is inserted:
“8A. (1) The Minister may, by instrument, appoint suitably qualified persons to be Environmental Health Officers for the purposes of this Act.
“(2) A health officer shall, subject to this Act, perform such duties as the Minister directs.
“8B. (1) The Minister shall issue to each health officer an identity card that specifies the name and appointment of the person and on which appears a recent photograph of the person.
“(2) A former health officer shall not, without reasonable excuse, fail to return his or her identity card to the Minister upon ceasing to be a health officer.
Penalty for contravention of subsection (2): $100.
“8C. (1) The Minister may, by instrument, appoint suitably qualified persons to be analysts for the purposes of this Act—
(a) in respect of a particular type of analysis specified in the instrument; or
(b) in respect of all types of analyses.
“(2) Within 4 weeks of the first appointment under subsection (1), and thereafter annually, the Minister shall publish, by notice in the Gazette , the name and address of each person currently appointed as an analyst.
“8D. (1) A person to whom this section applies shall not, directly or indirectly, except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of this Act or the regulations—
(a) make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any confidential commercial information in respect of food or information concerning the affairs of another person; or
(b) produce to a person a document produced to, or otherwise acquired by, the first-mentioned person;
being information or a document acquired or obtained under this Act or the regulations.
Penalty: $5,000 or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.
“(2) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from disclosing information or producing a document—
(a) with the prior consent in writing of the Minister, if the Minister is satisfied that such disclosure is in the public interest;
(b) with the consent of the person who has a proprietary interest in the information or the document; or
(c) to a court in proceedings arising out of this Act or the regulations.
“(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) (c), a health officer appearing as a witness in any proceedings arising out of this Act or the regulations shall not be compelled to produce a report made or received confidentially in his or her official capacity or containing confidential commercial information in respect of food.
“(4) In this section—
(a) a trade secret relating to food; or
(b) any other information relating to food that has a commercial value that would be, or could be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were disclosed;