Taxation Administration Act 1999

A tax officer may disclose information obtained under or in relation to the administration of a tax law—

with the consent of the person to whom the information relates or of a person acting on behalf of the person to whom the information relates; or

if—

it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain consent under paragraph (a); and

the tax officer reasonably believes that the disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a person’s life, health or safety, or to public health or safety; or

in connection with the administration or execution of a tax law (including for the purpose of any legal proceeding arising out of a tax law or a report of any such proceeding); or

in accordance with a requirement imposed under an Act; or

to any of the following persons, or to a person authorised to receive the information by any of the following people:

the ombudsman;

the integrity commissioner;

for the purpose of investigating an offence against a law of the Territory, the Commonwealth, a State or another Territory—the commissioner of police;

the auditor-general;

for the Workers Compensation Act 1951—the DI fund manager and the director-general for the Workers Compensation Act 1951;

for the Financial Management Act 1996, section 130 (Act of grace payments) or section 131 (Waiver of debts etc)—the Treasurer;

for the administration or execution of a tax law or the Fair Trading (Australian Consumer Law) Act 1992—the commissioner for fair trading;

for the administration or execution of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 (Cwlth) or the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (Cwlth)—the Australian statistician;

for the administration or execution of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cwlth), or a law of the Territory, a State or another Territory that makes provision for the operation of the Commission in the State or Territory—the Australian Crime Commission;

for the administration or execution of the Corporations Act or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cwlth), part 3 (Investigations and information‑gathering)—ASIC;

for investigating an offence against, or enforcing, a law of the Territory, the Commonwealth, a State or another Territory—

a Commonwealth enforcement body, in connection with its functions; or

a Commonwealth intelligence body, in connection with its functions;

for the administration or execution of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cwlth)—the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission;

for the administration or execution of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (Cwlth) or the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cwlth)—the Child Support Registrar;

for the administration or execution of the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cwlth) or the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 (Cwlth)—the Chief Executive Centrelink;

for the administration or execution of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cwlth) and supporting the administration of matters in relation to foreign investment—

the body known as the Foreign Investment Review Board; or

the Treasurer of the Commonwealth;

for supporting the provision of community waste and recycling services, only if the information relates to the ownership of property—the director-general of the administrative unit responsible for transport and city services;

for the administration or execution of the Government Procurement Act 2001, part 2B (Secure local jobs code)—the secure local jobs code registrar;

a Minister, to enable the Minister to respond to a constituent about the constituent’s obligations under a tax law (whether about the payment of tax or otherwise);

a person prescribed by regulation for this section.

If a tax officer may disclose information to a person under subsection (1) (e) (the primary recipient) for a particular purpose, the tax officer may also disclose the information to another person (the secondary recipient) to enable the secondary recipient to exercise a function, for or on behalf of the primary recipient, in relation to that purpose.

In this section:

the Office of National Intelligence established under the Office of National Intelligence Act 2018 (Cwlth), section 6;

that part of the Defence Department known as the Defence Intelligence Organisation;

that part of the Defence Department known as the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation;

the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner appointed under the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (Cwlth), section 241.