New South Wales Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

NATIONAL CRIME AUTHORITY (STATE PROVISIONS) ACT 1984 - SECT 18B

18B Offences of disclosure

(1) A person who is served with, or otherwise given, a summons or notice containing a notation made under section 18A must not disclose:

(a) the existence of the summons or notice or any information about it, or

(b) the existence of, or any information about, any official matter connected with the summons or notice.

Penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months.

(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the person from making a disclosure:

(a) in accordance with the circumstances, if any, specified in the notation, or

(b) to a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to the summons, notice or matter, or

(c) to a legal aid officer for the purpose of obtaining assistance under section 27 of the Commonwealth Act relating to the summons, notice or matter, or

(d) if the person is a body corporate--to an officer or agent of the body corporate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the summons or notice, or

(e) if the person is a legal practitioner:

(i) for the purpose of complying with a legal duty of disclosure arising from his or her professional relationship with a client, or

(ii) for the purpose of obtaining the agreement of another person under section 19 (3) to the legal practitioner answering a question or producing a document at a hearing before the Authority.

(3) If a disclosure is made to a person as permitted by subsection (2) or (4), the following provisions apply:

(a) while he or she is a person of a kind to whom a disclosure is so permitted to be made, he or she must not disclose the existence of, or any information about, the summons or notice, or any official matter connected with it, except as permitted by subsection (4),

(b) while he or she is no longer such a person, he or she must not, in any circumstances, make a record of, or disclose the existence of, the summons, notice or matter, or disclose any information about any of them.

Penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months.

(4) A person to whom information has been disclosed, as permitted by subsection (2) or this subsection, may disclose that information:

(a) if the person is an officer or agent of a body corporate referred to in subsection (2) (d):

(i) to another officer or agent of the body corporate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the summons or notice, or

(ii) to a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to the summons, notice or matter, or

(iii) to a legal aid officer for the purpose of obtaining assistance under section 27 of the Commonwealth Act relating to the summons, notice or matter, or

(b) if the person is a legal practitioner--for the purpose of giving legal advice, making representations, or obtaining assistance under section 27 of the Commonwealth Act, relating to the summons, notice or matter, or

(c) if the person is a legal aid officer--for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to the summons, notice or matter.

(5) This section ceases to apply to a summons or notice after:

(a) the notation contained in the summons or notice is cancelled by section 18A (4), or

(b) 5 years elapse after the issue of the summons or notice,

whichever is sooner.

(6) A reference in this section to disclosing something's existence includes disclosing information from which a person could reasonably be expected to infer its existence.

(7) In this section:
"legal aid officer" means:

(a) a member, or a member of staff, of a legal aid commission within the meaning of the Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977 of the Commonwealth, or

(b) a person to whom the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth has delegated his or her powers and functions under section 27 of the Commonwealth Act.

"official matter" means any of the following (whether past, present or contingent):

(a) a reference under section 13 or 14 of the Commonwealth Act,

(b) an investigation conducted or co-ordinated by the Authority,

(c) a hearing held by the Authority,

(d) court proceedings.