Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) An entrusted person commits an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) makes a copy or other record of any protected information or of all or part of any protected document; or
(ii) discloses any protected information to another person or to a court; or
(iii) produces all or part of a protected document to another person or to a court; and
(b) in doing so, the person is not acting in the course of performing or exercising functions, powers or duties under or in relation to this Act.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.
(2) An entrusted person cannot be required to:
(a) disclose any protected information to a court; or
(b) produce all or part of a protected document to a court;
unless that disclosure or production is necessary for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.
(3) In this section:
"court" includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.
"entrusted person" means a person who is or was:
(a) a member of the Commission or an associate member of the Commission; or
(b) a member of the staff of the Commission; or
(c) appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 .
"produce" includes permit access to.
"protected document" means a document that:
(a) is given to or otherwise acquired by the Commission for the purposes of this Part; and
(b) has not been made available to the public by the Commission under this Part.
"protected information" means information that:
(a) is disclosed to, or obtained by, an entrusted person for the purposes of this Part or as permitted by the repealed Part; and
(b) has not been made available to the public under this Part by the Commission and is not contained in oral evidence given in public at the hearing of an inquiry.
"repealed Part" means Part V of the Prices Surveillance Act 1983 , as continued in operation by Schedule 2 to the Trade Practices Legislation Amendment Act 2003 .