No evidential burden for IGIS officials in relation to defences to secrecy offences
34C No evidential burden for IGIS officials in relation to defences to secrecy offences
Despite subsections 13.3(2) and (3) of the Criminal Code, in a prosecution for any offence of:
disclosing, making a record of, or using, information or a document; or
causing information or a document to be disclosed, recorded or used;
an IGIS official does not bear an evidential burden in relation to whether the disclosure, record or use is for the purposes of, or in connection with, that or any other IGIS official exercising a power, or performing a function or duty, as an IGIS official.
Subsection (1) applies even if the offence referred to in that subsection has additional physical elements to those referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b).
To avoid doubt:
an offence may be covered by subsection (1) even if the offence does not refer to disclosing, making a record of, or using, information or a document; and
without limiting paragraph (a):
disclosing information or a document includes communicating information or a document; and
making a record of information or a document includes reproducing information or a document; and
using information or a document includes dealing with, reading or examining information or a document.
This Act’s bill:Second reading speech
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