Migration Act 1958

A person commits an offence if:

the person’s conduct causes disclosure of identifying information; and

the disclosure is not a permitted disclosure.

This section 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 subsection (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 or who are of character concern; or

identify persons who may be a security concern to Australia or a foreign country; 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, taken or deported from Australia; or

is for the purpose of administering or managing the storage of identifying information; or

is for the purpose of:

this Act or an instrument made under this Act; or

the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 or an instrument made under that Act; or

the Customs Act 1901 or an instrument made under that Act; or

any other law of the Commonwealth prescribed by the regulations; or

is authorised under section 336F 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 identifying non‑citizens who have a criminal history or who are of character concern; or

is for the purpose of identifying persons who may be a security concern to Australia or a foreign country; or

is for the purpose of a proceeding, before a court, the ART or another tribunal, relating to the person to whom the identifying information in question relates; or

is for the purpose of an IGIS official exercising a power, or performing a function or duty, as an IGIS official in relation to action taken by the Department; or

is for the purpose of an investigation by the Information Commissioner or the Ombudsman relating to action taken by the Department; or

is for the purpose of facilitating or expediting the exercise of powers, or performance of functions, of the Migration Agents Registration Authority; or

is for the purposes of the extradition of persons to or from Australia, including the making of, or the consideration of whether to make, a request for extradition; or

is for the purposes of:

the provision, or proposed provision, of international assistance in criminal matters by the Attorney‑General, or an officer of his or her Department, to a foreign country; or

the obtaining, or proposed obtaining, of international assistance in criminal matters by the Attorney‑General, or an officer of his or her Department, from a foreign country; 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 or the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 or the regulations made under that Act; 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 authorised by section 336FA; or

is authorised by section 336FC.

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.