Private Health Insurance Act 2007

A person commits an offence if:

the person has, or has at any time had, a duty, function or power (other than an *APRA private health insurance duty, function or power) under this Act; and

the person *uses or *discloses information; and

the information is *protected information.

Subsection (1) does not apply if the *use or *disclosure is:

required or authorised under a provision of this Act; or

otherwise required or authorised under an Australian law.

The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection. See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

Provisions of this Act that authorise the use or disclosure of information include sections 323‑5, 323‑10, 323‑15, 323‑20, 323‑30, 323‑33, 323‑35, 324‑5 and 324‑10.

An APRA private health insurance duty, function or power is a duty, function or power of *APRA, or that a person has in the person’s capacity as an officer (within the meaning of section 56 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998), under any of the following:

this Act;

the Private Health Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2015;

the Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies Collection Act 1998, as that Act applies in relation to levies imposed on private health insurers;

the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, as that Act applies in relation to private health insurers.

The disclosure of information regime for information obtained under APRA private health insurance duties, functions and powers is Part 6 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (rather than this Division).

Information is protected information if the information:

relates to a person (including a deceased person) other than the person who obtained or generated the information; and

either:

is obtained or generated by a person in the course of performing or exercising a duty, function or power under this Act (other than an *APRA private health insurance duty, function or power); or

was information to which subparagraph (i) applied and is obtained by a person by way of a *disclosure under section 323‑10, 323‑15 or 323‑20.