Intelligence Services Act 2001

This section applies to limited cyber security information that:

either:

has been voluntarily provided to ASD by, or on behalf of, an entity (the impacted entity), as referred to in paragraph 41BA(2)(a); or

has been acquired or prepared by ASD with the consent of an entity (the impacted entity), as referred to in paragraph 41BA(2)(b); and

has been prepared by, as referred to in paragraph 41BA(2)(b), acquired by, as referred to in paragraph 41BA(2)(a) or (b), or acquired, under subsection 41BB(1) or section 41BC, by a Commonwealth body or a State body; and

is held by the Commonwealth body or State body.

This section does not apply to information held by the Commonwealth body or State body to the extent that it has been otherwise prepared or acquired.

ASD is a Commonwealth body: see the definition of Commonwealth body in subsection 41BA(5) and section 8 of the Cyber Security Act 2024.

For admissibility of information acquired by ASD as referred to in paragraph 41BA(2)(c), see section 42 of the Cyber Security Act 2024.

The limited cyber security information is not admissible in evidence against the impacted entity in any of the following proceedings:

criminal proceedings for an offence against a Commonwealth, State or Territory law, other than:

proceedings for an offence against section 137.1 or 137.2 of the Criminal Code (which deal with false or misleading information or documents) that relates to this Act; or

proceedings for an offence against section 149.1 of the Criminal Code (which deals with obstruction of Commonwealth public officials) that relates to this Act;

civil proceedings for a contravention of a civil penalty provision of a Commonwealth, State or Territory law, other than a civil penalty provision of this Division;

proceedings for a breach of any other Commonwealth, State or Territory law (including the common law);

proceedings before a tribunal of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.

Despite subsection (2), subsection (2) does not apply to the following proceedings:

the proceedings of a coronial inquiry or a Royal Commission in Australia;

proceedings in a federal court exercising original jurisdiction in which a writ of mandamus or prohibition or an injunction is sought against an officer or officers of the Commonwealth.

For federal court, see section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

This section does not limit or affect any right, privilege or immunity that the impacted entity has, apart from this section, as a defendant in any proceedings.