Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

DISABILITY SERVICES AND INCLUSION ACT 2023 - SECT 29

Use or disclosure in the administration of this Act

  (1)   An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information for the purposes of:

  (a)   performing functions or duties, or exercising powers, under this Act; or

  (b)   assisting another person to perform functions or duties, or exercise powers, under this Act.

Use or disclosure for purpose determined by Secretary

  (2)   An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the use or disclosure is for a purpose specified in a determination made under subsection   (3).

  (3)   The Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make a determination for the purposes of subsection   (2).

  (4)   An instrument made under subsection   (3) must specify the legislative power or powers of the Parliament in respect of which the instrument is made.

Commonwealth purposes

  (5)   An entrusted person may disclose relevant information:

  (a)   to the Secretary of a Department of State of the Commonwealth, or to the head of an authority of the Commonwealth, for the purposes of that Department or authority; or

  (b)   to the Chief Executive Centrelink for the purposes of a centrelink program; or

  (c)   to the Chief Executive Medicare for the purposes of a medicare program.

State or Territory purposes

  (6)   An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to the head (however described) of a Department of State of a State or Territory, or of an authority of a State or Territory, if the disclosure is for a purpose specified in a determination made under subsection   (7).

  (7)   The Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make a determination for the purposes of subsection   (6).

  (8)   An instrument made under subsection   (7) must specify the legislative power or powers of the Parliament in respect of which the instrument is made.

Disclosure to a court, tribunal etc.

  (9)   An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to a court exercising federal jurisdiction.

  (10)   An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to:

  (a)   a court; or

  (b)   a tribunal, authority or person that has the power to require the answering of questions or the production of documents;

for the purposes of the enforcement of a law of the Commonwealth or to assist the court, tribunal, authority or person to make or review an administrative decision that is required or authorised to be made or reviewed under a law of the Commonwealth.

Use or disclosure for purposes of preventing threat to life, health or safety of a person with disability

  (11)   An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the entrusted person reasonably believes that doing so is necessary to lessen or prevent a threat to the life, health or safety of a person with disability.

Use or disclosure of statistics

  (12)   An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the information is statistics (within the meaning of paragraph   51(xi) of the Constitution) that are not likely to enable the identification of a person.

Use or disclosure with consent

  (13)   An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information that relates to a person if:

  (a)   the person, or an agent of the person, has consented to the use or disclosure; and

  (b)   the use or disclosure is in accordance with that consent.

Disclosure to person to whom information relates

  (14)   An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to the person to whom the information relates.

Use or disclosure of information that is already public

  (15)   An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the information has already been lawfully made available to the public.