Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

TAX AGENT SERVICES ACT 2009 - SECT 70.35

Offence--recording or disclosing official information

  (1)   A person commits an offence if:

  (a)   the person:

  (i)   is or has been a * Board member or a member of a * committee; or

  (ii)   is or has been an APS employee whose services were made available to the Board by the Commissioner; or

  (iii)   is or has been a person appointed or employed by, or a provider of services for, the Commonwealth; and

  (b)   the person:

  (i)   makes a record of information; or

  (ii)   discloses information to another person (other than the person to whom the information relates or that person's * agent in relation to the information) or to a court or tribunal; and

  (c)   the information is * official information; and

  (d)   the information was acquired by the first - mentioned person in the course of, or because of, his or her duties under or in relation to this Act or the regulations.

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 2 years.

Consent is not a defence

  (2)   It is not a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection   (1) that the entity to whom the information relates has consented to:

  (a)   the making of the record; or

  (b)   the disclosure of the information.

Limits on disclosure to courts and tribunals

  (3)   A person mentioned in paragraph   (1)(a) is not required to disclose to a court or tribunal * official information that was acquired by the person in the course of, or because of, his or her duties under or in relation to this Act or the regulations except if it is necessary to do so for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act or the regulations.