Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person who is served with, or otherwise given, a summons containing a notation made under section 29A must not disclose:
(a) the existence of the summons or any information about it; or
(b) the existence of, or any information about, any official matter connected with the summons.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the person from making a disclosure:
(a) in accordance with the circumstances, if any, specified in the notation; or
(b) to a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to the summons or matter; or
(c) to a legal aid officer for the purpose of obtaining assistance under section 27 relating to the summons or matter; or
(d) if the person is a body corporate--to an officer or agent of the body corporate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the summons; or
(e) if the person is a legal practitioner--for the purpose of obtaining the agreement of another person under subsection 30(3) to the legal practitioner answering a question or producing a document at an examination before an examiner; or
(f) to the Ombudsman for the purpose of making a complaint under the Ombudsman Act 1976 ; or
(g) as a NACC disclosure (within the meaning of the National Anti - Corruption Commission Act 2022 ).
(3) If a disclosure is made to a person as permitted by subsection (2) or (4), the following provisions apply:
(a) while he or she is a person of a kind to whom a disclosure is so permitted to be made, he or she must not disclose the existence of, or any information about, the summons, or any official matter connected with it, except as permitted by subsection (4);
(b) while he or she is no longer such a person, he or she must not, in any circumstances, make a record of, or disclose the existence of, the summons or matter, or disclose any information about any of them.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both.
(4) A person to whom information has been disclosed, as permitted by subsection (2) or this subsection, may disclose that information:
(a) if the person is an officer or agent of a body corporate referred to in paragraph (2)(d):
(i) to another officer or agent of the body corporate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the summons; or
(ii) to a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to the summons or matter; or
(iii) to a legal aid officer for the purpose of obtaining assistance under section 27 relating to the summons or matter; or
(b) if the person is a legal practitioner--for the purpose of giving or obtaining legal advice or legal representation, making representations, or obtaining assistance under section 27, relating to the summons or matter; or
(c) if the person is a legal aid officer--for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to the summons or matter; or
(d) to the Ombudsman for the purpose of making a complaint under the Ombudsman Act 1976 ; or
(e) by making a NACC disclosure (within the meaning of the National Anti - Corruption Commission Act 2022 ).
(5) This section ceases to apply to a summons after:
(a) the notation contained in the summons is cancelled by subsection 29A(4); or
(b) 5 years elapse after the issue of the summons;
whichever is sooner.
(6) A reference in this section to disclosing something's existence includes disclosing information from which a person could reasonably be expected to infer its existence.