Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Act 2016

A person who has been served with a witness summons is guilty of contempt of the Commission if the person without reasonable excuse—

fails to attend an examination as required by the summons, or

having been released under a release order on condition that the person appear and report for an examination, fails so to appear and report, or

fails to produce any document or other thing in the person’s custody or control that the person is required by the summons to produce, or

when called or examined as a witness at an examination, refuses to be sworn or to make an affirmation or refuses or otherwise fails to answer any question put to the person by a Commissioner.

A person is guilty of contempt of the Commission if the person without reasonable excuse during an examination—

wilfully threatens or insults—

a Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner or other officer of the Commission, or

an Australian legal practitioner appointed to assist the examining Commissioner as counsel, or

any witness or person summoned to attend before the examining Commissioner, or

an Australian legal practitioner or other person authorised to appear before the examining Commissioner, or

misbehaves himself or herself, or

interrupts the proceedings, or

obstructs or attempts to obstruct the examining Commissioner, or

does any other thing that, if the Commission were a court of law having power to commit for contempt, would be contempt of that court.

A person (other than an officer of the Commission) is guilty of contempt of the Commission if the person without reasonable excuse discloses, or permits or allows to be disclosed, any evidence given at an examination held in private or any of the contents of a document produced at an examination held in private, except to an officer of the Commission or as permitted by the examining Commissioner or by the regulations.

A person is guilty of contempt of the Commission if the person without reasonable excuse discloses, or permits or allows to be disclosed, any evidence given before an examining Commissioner or any of the contents of a document produced at an examination which the Commissioner has ordered not to be disclosed.

Despite subsections (3) and (4), a person is not guilty of contempt of the Commission if the person discloses evidence referred to in those subsections to a medical practitioner or psychologist for the purposes of that health practitioner providing medical or psychiatric care, treatment or counselling (including but not limited to psychological counselling) to a person who has given or may be about to give evidence before an examining Commissioner.

In this section—