Ombudsman Act 1974

The Ombudsman or an officer of the Ombudsman must not disclose information obtained in connection with the administration or execution of this Act unless the disclosure is made as follows—

for information obtained from a public authority—with the consent of—

the head of the authority, or

the responsible Minister,

for information obtained from another person—

with the consent of the person, or

for proceedings relating to the discipline of police officers before the Commissioner of Police or the Industrial Relations Commission,

for information relating to the safety, welfare or well-being of a child or young person—to a police officer, the Department of Communities and Justice or another public authority the Ombudsman considers appropriate in the circumstances,

to a person, if the Ombudsman believes on reasonable grounds that—

disclosure to the person is necessary to prevent or lessen the likelihood of harm being done to a person, and

there is a risk of harm, including self-harm, being done to a person,

for proceedings under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, Part 5 arising as a consequence of a decision made by the Ombudsman in relation to an access application under that Act,

for proceedings under the Police Act 1990, section 167A,

for proceedings under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022, section 33 or 37,

for criminal proceedings resulting from an investigation under this Act, if the investigation related, whether or not entirely, to a matter referred by the Inspector of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission to the Ombudsman for investigation,

for proceedings under or in relation to the following—

this section or section 19A, 19B, 19C, 31H, 31R, 31U or 37,

the Royal Commissions Act 1923, Part 3,

the Special Commissions of Inquiry Act 1983, Part 4,

to a law enforcement agency for an inquiry or investigation to determine whether proceedings referred to in paragraph (i) should be commenced,

to a medical practitioner or psychologist in relation to the provision of medical or psychiatric care, treatment or counselling, including psychological counselling, by the Ombudsman or an officer of the Ombudsman,

if the information is identifying information—for a reason specified in section 31Z(2),

for information that relates or may relate to a breach of a law of the State, another State, the Commonwealth or a Territory—to a law enforcement agency,

to a Commission appointed under the Royal Commissions Act 1923,

to a special inquiry set up under the Special Commissions of Inquiry Act 1983,

in connection with the administration or execution of this Act.

Subsection (1) does not prevent the Ombudsman from disclosing information—

to a person exercising functions under the law of another State, the Commonwealth or a Territory, which are similar to the functions exercised by the Ombudsman, if the Ombudsman is of the opinion the disclosure is appropriate, or

about a decision made by the Ombudsman under section 13, 13AA, 13A or 15, including the commencement, progress, discontinuance or conclusion of an investigation, or

to correct a public record about—

an investigation under this Act, or

the exercise of a function of the Ombudsman.

In this section—

the NSW Police Force, or

a police force of another State or Territory, or

the Australian Federal Police, or

another authority or body responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth or of the State or another State or Territory.