Environmental Protection Act 1994

This section applies to a person who—

is, or has been, any of the following—

the chief executive;

an authorised person;

a public service employee;

a local government;

an officer or employee of a local government;

a person to whom an entity mentioned in subparagraph (iv) or (v) has subdelegated, under this Act, a function or power delegated to the entity under this Act; and

obtains confidential information about another person in administering, or performing functions or exercising powers under, this Act.

However, this section does not apply to a person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to the extent section 318U applies to the person in relation to the confidential information.

The person must not disclose the information to anyone else, or use the information, other than under this section.Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

The person may disclose or use the confidential information—

to the extent the disclosure or use is—

necessary for the administration of this Act or to perform the person’s functions or exercise the person’s powers under this Act; or

otherwise required or permitted under this Act or another law; or

with the consent of the person to whom the information relates; or

in compliance with a lawful process requiring production of documents to, or giving evidence before, a court or tribunal.

In this section—confidential information—

means any information that—

could identify an individual; or

is about a person’s current financial position or financial background; or

would be likely to damage the commercial activities of a person to whom the information relates; but

does not include—

information that is publicly available; or

statistical or other information that could not reasonably be expected to result in the identification of the individual to whom it relates.