Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Where the Attorney - General furnishes to the Commissioner a certificate certifying that the giving to the Commissioner of information concerning a specified matter (including the giving of information in answer to a question), or the production to the Commissioner of a specified document or other record, would be contrary to the public interest because it would:
(a) prejudice the security, defence or international relations of Australia;
(b) involve the disclosure of communications between a Minister of the Commonwealth and a Minister of a State, being a disclosure that would prejudice relations between the Commonwealth Government and the Government of a State;
(c) involve the disclosure of deliberations or decisions of the Cabinet or of a Committee of the Cabinet;
(d) involve the disclosure of deliberations or advice of the Executive Council;
(e) prejudice the conduct of an investigation or inquiry into crime or criminal activity that is currently being pursued, or prejudice the fair trial of any person;
(f) disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential source of information in relation to the enforcement of the criminal law;
(g) prejudice the effectiveness of the operational methods or investigative practices or techniques of agencies responsible for the enforcement of the criminal law; or
(h) endanger the life or physical safety of any person;
the Commissioner must not exercise a power under this Act that requires a person to give any information concerning the matter or to produce the document or other record.
(2) Without limiting the operation of subsection (1), where the Attorney - General furnishes to the Commissioner a certificate certifying that the giving to the Commissioner of information as to the existence or non - existence of information concerning a specified matter (including the giving of information in answer to a question) or as to the existence or non - existence of any document or other record required to be produced to the Commissioner would be contrary to the public interest:
(a) by reason that it would prejudice the security, defence or international relations of Australia; or
(b) by reason that it would prejudice the proper performance of the functions of the ACC; or
(c) by reason that it would prejudice the proper performance of the functions of the National Anti - Corruption Commissioner or the Inspector of the National Anti - Corruption Commission;
the Commissioner is not entitled, pursuant to this Act, to require a person to give any information as to the existence or non - existence of information concerning that matter or as to the existence of that document or other record.