Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person required to give evidence or to produce documents at a hearing must not:
(a) fail to attend as required by the notice; or
(b) fail to appear and report from day to day unless excused or released from further attendance.
Penalty: Imprisonment for one year.
(1A) A person required to give evidence or to produce documents at a hearing must not:
(a) fail to attend as required by the notice; or
(b) fail to appear and report from day to day unless excused or released from further attendance.
(1B) Subsection (1A) is a civil penalty provision.
(2) A person required to answer a question, to give evidence or to produce documents under this Part must not:
(a) when required to take an oath or make an affirmation, refuse or fail to take the oath or make the affirmation; or
(b) refuse or fail to answer a question that the person is required to answer; or
(c) refuse or fail to produce a document that the person is required to produce.
Penalty: Imprisonment for one year.
(2AA) A person required to answer a question, to give evidence or to produce documents under this Part must not:
(a) when required to take an oath or make an affirmation, refuse or fail to take the oath or make the affirmation; or
(b) refuse or fail to answer a question that the person is required to answer; or
(c) refuse or fail to produce a document that the person is required to produce.
(2AB) Subsection (2AA) is a civil penalty provision.
(2A) Subsections (1), (1A), (2) and (2AA) do not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse.
Note: In criminal proceedings, a defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2A) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).
(2B) A person who wishes to rely on subsection (2A) in proceedings for a civil penalty order bears an evidential burden in relation to that matter.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that it is a reasonable excuse for a person to refuse to answer a question or to produce a document if the answer to the question or the production of the document would tend to incriminate the person.
(4) It is a reasonable excuse for a person to refuse to answer a question or to produce a document if:
(a) the person is a journalist; and
(b) the answer to the question or the production of the document would tend to disclose the identity of a person who supplied information in confidence to the journalist; and
(c) the information has been used for the purposes of:
(i) a television or radio program; or
(ii) datacasting content.
(5) For the purposes of this section, journalist means a person engaged in the profession or practice of reporting for, photographing, editing, recording or making:
(a) television or radio programs; or
(b) datacasting content;
of a news, current affairs, information or documentary character.