Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

WATER ACT 2007 - SECT 215U

Inspector - General must protect confidential information

  (1)   The Inspector - General must take reasonable measures to protect from unauthorised use or disclosure information:

  (a)   that is confidential information; and

  (b)   that is given to the Inspector - General in, or in connection with, the performance of the Inspector - General's functions or the exercise of the Inspector - General's powers.

Authorised uses and disclosures

  (2)   For the purposes of subsection   (1), the disclosure of summaries of information or statistics derived from information is authorised use and disclosure of the information, provided that information relating to any particular person cannot be found out from those summaries or statistics.

  (3)   For the purposes of subsection   (1), the disclosure of information as required or permitted by a law of the Commonwealth or a prescribed law of a State is taken to be authorised use and disclosure of the information.

  (4)   For the purposes of subsection   (1), the disclosure of information to either of the following is authorised use and disclosure of the information:

  (a)   the Minister;

  (b)   the Secretary of the Department, or an officer or employee in the Department, for the purpose of advising the Minister.

  (5)   For the purposes of subsection   (1), the disclosure of information by a person for the purpose of:

  (a)   performing functions or exercising powers as:

  (i)   the Inspector - General; or

  (ii)   a member of the Inspector - General's staff; or

  (iii)   a delegate of the Inspector - General; or

  (iv)   an authorised compliance officer; or

  (v)   a person who is authorised to perform a function or exercise a power of, or on behalf of, the Inspector - General; or

  (b)   the performance of functions or exercise of powers by the person by way of assisting the Inspector - General or a delegate of the Inspector - General;

is taken to be authorised use and disclosure of the information.

  (6)   Regulations made for the purposes of this subsection may specify uses of information and disclosures of information that are authorised uses and authorised disclosures for the purposes of subsection   (1).

  (7)   Nothing in subsection   (2), (3), (4) or (5), or in regulations made for the purposes of subsection   (6), limits:

  (a)   anything else in any of those subsections or those regulations; or

  (b)   what may otherwise constitute, for the purposes of subsection   (1), authorised use or disclosure of information.