Disclosing identifying information
53 Disclosing identifying information
A person commits an offence if:
the person’s conduct causes disclosure of identifying information; and
the disclosure is not a permitted disclosure.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.
This clause does not apply if the person believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of the person or of any other person.
A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subclause (1A) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).
A permitted disclosure is a disclosure that:
is for the purpose of data‑matching in order to:
identify, or authenticate the identity of, a person; or
facilitate the processing of persons entering or departing from Australia; or
identify non‑citizens who have a criminal history, who are of character concern (as defined in the Migration Act 1958) or who are of national security concern; or
combat document and identity fraud in immigration matters; or
ascertain whether an applicant for a protection visa had sufficient opportunity to avail himself or herself of protection before arriving in Australia; or
inform the governments of foreign countries of the identity of non‑citizens who are, or are to be, removed from Australia; or
is for the purpose of administering or managing the storage of identifying information; or
is authorised under clause 54 and is for the purpose, or one or more of the purposes, for which the disclosure is authorised; or
is for the purpose of making the identifying information in question available to the person to whom it relates; or
is to an agency of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory in order to verify that a person is an Australian citizen or holds a visa of a particular class; or
takes place under an arrangement entered into with an agency of the Commonwealth, or with a State or Territory or an agency of a State or Territory, for the exchange of identifying information; or
is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or
is required by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or
is for the purpose of a proceeding, before a court or tribunal, relating to the person to whom the identifying information in question relates; or
is for the purpose of an investigation by the Information Commissioner or the Ombudsman relating to action taken by the Department; or
is made to a prescribed body or agency for the purpose of the body or agency inquiring into the operation of provisions of this Act relating to:
carrying out an identification test; or
requiring the provision of a personal identifier; or
is a disclosure of an audio or a video recording for the purposes of:
this Act or the regulations; and
transcribing or translating the recording, or conducting language analysis or accent analysis of the recording; or
takes place with the written consent of the person to whom the identifying information in question relates; or
is a disclosure authorised by clause 59 (about disclosure of information about a person who has been in detention, for the purposes of the immigration detention or removal of the person).
However, a disclosure is not a permitted disclosure if:
it is a disclosure of identifying information relating to a personal identifier of a prescribed type; and
it is for the purpose of:
investigating an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; or
prosecuting a person for such an offence.
This clause corresponds closely to section 336E of the Migration Act 1958.
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