Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION ACT 1979 - SECT 92

             (1)  A person (other than a member of the Committee on Intelligence and Security) shall not, except with the consent in writing of the Minister or of the Director-General, publish or cause to be published in a newspaper or other publication, or by radio broadcast or television, or otherwise make public, any matter stating, or from which it could reasonably be inferred, that a person having a particular name or otherwise identified, or a person residing at a particular address, is an officer (not including the Director-General), employee or agent of the Organisation or is in any way connected with such an officer, employee or agent or, subject to subsection (1B), is a former officer (not including a former Director-General), employee or agent of the Organisation or is in any way connected with such a former officer, employee or agent.

Penalty:  Imprisonment for one year.

          (1A)  A member of the Committee referred to in subsection (1) shall not, except with the consent in writing of the Minister or of the Director-General, make public or authorise the publication of, any information acquired by the person by reason of being such a member, being information from which it could reasonably be inferred that a person having a particular name or otherwise identified, or a person residing at a particular address, is an officer (not including the Director-General), employee or agent or is in any way connected with such an officer, employee or agent or, subject to subsection (1B), is a former officer (not including a former Director-General), employee or agent of the Organisation or is in any way connected with such a former officer, employee or agent.

Penalty:  Imprisonment for one year.

          (1B)  Subsections (1) and (1A) do not apply in relation to action taken in respect of a former officer, employee or agent of the Organisation:

                     (a)  who has consented in writing to the taking of that action; or

                     (b)  who has caused or permitted the fact that the person is a former officer, employee or agent of the Organisation to be made public.

             (2)  Nothing in this section applies to the broadcasting, datacasting or reporting of proceedings in the Parliament (other than proceedings of the Committee referred to in subsection (1)).

             (3)  A prosecution for an offence against this section shall be instituted only by or with the consent of the Attorney-General.