The prohibition in s 135A(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (Cth) on divulging or communicating information 'to any person' does not prevent production of Medicare records to a court pursuant to a subpoena. The 1983 repeal of the former sub-s (3), which had expressly prohibited production to courts, was deliberate and cannot be treated as an oversight giving rise to a negative implication. Production to a court under compulsory process does not constitute 'indirect' disclosure to a person.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 14 later cases that cite this judgment.
3 of the 14 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.