CORPORATIONS ACT 2001 - SECT 1058 Secrecy

CORPORATIONS ACT 2001 - SECT 1058

  (1)   An AFCA staff member must not directly or indirectly:

  (a)   make a record of, or disclose to any person, court or investigating authority, any information acquired by the staff member under section   1054A or during a conference held under section   1054B in connection with a superannuation complaint; or

  (b)   produce to any person, court or investigating authority a document so acquired; or

  (c)   permit any person, court or investigating authority to have access to a document so acquired.

Penalty:   30 penalty units.

  (2)   Subsection   (1) is an offence of strict liability.

Note:   For strict liability, see section   6.1 of the Criminal Code .

  (2A)   For the purposes of subsection   (1), investigating authority means a tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

  (3)   Subsection   (1) does not apply to the extent that the AFCA staff member makes the record of the information, discloses the information, produces the document or permits access to the document for the purposes of this Part.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection   (3), see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .

  (4)   Subsection   (1) does not apply to the AFCA staff member disclosing information, producing a document or permitting access to a document:

  (a)   to ASIC; or

  (b)   to APRA; or

  (c)   to the Information Commissioner; or

  (d)   to the Commissioner of Taxation; or

  (e)   to a particular party to the complaint if the person who provided the information or document to the staff member consents in writing to the disclosure, production or access.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection   (4), see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .

  (5)   Subsection   (1) does not apply to the AFCA staff member disclosing information if:

  (a)   the disclosure is made in a way that does not enable the identification of the parties to a complaint; or

  (b)   the disclosure is made to a police officer (within the meaning of the Evidence Act 1995 ) because:

  (i)   a threat has been made against an AFCA staff member or another person; or

  (ii)   the AFCA staff member believes that a party to a complaint may commit an act of self - harm.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection   (5), see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .