Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsOffence
(1) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person is, or was at any time, an entrusted public official; and
(b) the person has, or has at any time had, a duty, function or power under this Act; and
(c) the person discloses information to another person; and
(d) the information is protected information; and
(e) the disclosure is not an authorised disclosure.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both.
Entrusted public official
(2) Each of the following persons is an entrusted public official :
(a) the Chief Executive Medicare;
(b) a Human Services employee;
(c) a consultant to the Human Services Department;
(d) the Secretary of the Department administered by the Minister who administers this Act;
(e) an APS employee in that Department;
(f) any other person employed or engaged by that Department.
Protected information
(3) Information is protected information if the information relates to a person other than the person who obtained it and:
(a) the information is obtained by a person in the course of performing duties or functions, or exercising powers, under this Act; or
(b) the information was information to which paragraph (a) applied and is obtained by a person by way of an authorised disclosure under section 36.
Authorised disclosure
(4) A disclosure of information is an authorised disclosure if the disclosure is one that a person may make under section 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 or 41.