Use or disclosure of information obtained under s. 14
15 Use or disclosure of information obtained under s. 14
This section applies to the Minister, a ministerial officer assisting the Minister, an officer of the Department and a person who was such a person.
Despite anything else in this Act or a relevant Act, a person to whom this section applies must not disclose information obtained, whether directly or indirectly, under section 14 unless —
it is disclosed in the course of duty to a person who is an officer of the Department; or
the Minister considers the disclosure to be in the public interest; or
it is disclosed under a written law.
Penalty: $12 000 and imprisonment for one year.
If the Minister proposes to disclose information under subsection (2)(b), the Minister must notify the person who gave the information under section 14, unless the Minister considers that it would be contrary to the public interest to delay the disclosure.
The Minister must take into account any comments or objections received, within 7 days of giving the notification, from the person notified.
This section does not apply to the extent to which —
the information is already in the public domain; or
the information is summary or statistical information that could not reasonably be expected to enable particulars relating to a person or a particular commercial operation to be ascertained; or
the disclosure of the information is authorised by the person who gave the information under section 14.
In this section —
ministerial officer has the meaning given to that term in the Public Sector Management Act 1994.
[Section 15 inserted: No. 38 of 2007 s. 107.]
Part IIA — The Water Resources Council
[Heading inserted: No. 38 of 2007 s. 107.]
The statute text is free to read above. View subscription options to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.