CHILD SUPPORT (REGISTRATION AND COLLECTION) ACT 1988 - SECT 110X Restrictions on publication of review proceedings

CHILD SUPPORT (REGISTRATION AND COLLECTION) ACT 1988 - SECT 110X

Offence of publishing identifying accounts

  (1)   A person commits an offence if:

  (a)   the person:

  (i)   publishes in a newspaper or periodical publication, by radio broadcast or television or by other electronic means; or

  (ii)   otherwise disseminates to the public or to a section of the public by any means;

    any account of any designated review proceedings; and

  (b)   the account identifies:

  (i)   a party to the proceedings (other than the Registrar); or

  (ii)   a person (other than the Registrar) who is related to, or associated with, a party to the proceedings or is, or is alleged to be, in any other way concerned in the matter to which the proceedings relate; or

  (iii)   a witness in the proceedings.

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 12 months.

  (2)   Without limiting the generality of subsection   (1), an account of proceedings, or of any part of proceedings, referred to in that subsection is taken to identify a person if:

  (a)   it contains any particulars of:

  (i)   the name, title, pseudonym or alias of the person; or

  (ii)   the address of any premises at which the person resides or works, or the locality in which any such premises are situated; or

  (iii)   the physical description or the style of dress of the person; or

  (iv)   any employment or occupation engaged in, profession practised or calling pursued, by the person or any official or honorary position held by the person; or

  (v)   the relationship of the person to identified relatives of the person or the association of the person with identified friends or identified business, official or professional acquaintances of the person; or

  (vi)   the recreational interests, or the political, philosophical or religious beliefs or interests, of the person; or

  (vii)   any real or personal property in which the person has an interest or with which the person is otherwise associated;

    and the particulars are sufficient to identify that person to a member of the public, or to a member of the section of the public to which the account is disseminated, as the case requires; or

  (b)   in the case of a written or televised account or an account by other electronic means--it is accompanied by a picture of the person; or

  (c)   in the case of a broadcast or televised account or an account by other electronic means--it is spoken in whole or in part by the person and the person's voice is sufficient to identify that person to a member of the public, or to a member of the section of the public to which the account is disseminated, as the case requires.

Offence of publishing identifying lists

  (3)   A person commits an offence if:

  (a)   the person:

  (i)   publishes in a newspaper or periodical publication, by radio broadcast or television or by other electronic means; or

  (ii)   otherwise disseminates to the public or to a section of the public by any means (otherwise than by the display of a notice in the premises of the AAT);

    a list of designated review proceedings; and

  (b)   the proceedings are identified by reference to the names of the parties to the proceedings (other than by reference to the Registrar).

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 12 months.

Defence

  (4)   Subsections   (1) and (3) do not apply to, or in relation to:

  (a)   the communication, to persons concerned in proceedings in any court, of any pleading, transcript of evidence or other document for use in connection with those proceedings; or

  (b)   the communication of any pleading, transcript of evidence or other document to:

  (i)   a body that is responsible for disciplining members of the legal profession in a State or Territory; or

  (ii)   persons concerned in disciplinary proceedings, against a member of the legal profession of a State or Territory, before a body that is responsible for disciplining members of the legal profession in that State or Territory; or

  (c)   the communication, to a body that grants assistance by way of legal aid, of any pleading, transcript of evidence or other document for the purpose of facilitating the making of a decision as to whether assistance by way of legal aid should be granted, continued or provided in a particular case; or

  (d)   the publishing of a notice or report in accordance with the direction of a court; or

  (e)   the publication by the AAT of lists of designated review proceedings, identified by reference to the names of the parties, that are to be dealt with by the AAT; or

  (f)   the publishing of any publication intended primarily for use by the members of any profession, being:

  (i)   a separate volume or part of a series of law reports; or

  (ii)   any other publication of a technical character; or

  (g)   the publication or other dissemination of an account of proceedings or of any part of proceedings:

  (i)   to a person who is a member of a profession, in connection with the practice by that person of that profession or in the course of any form of professional training in which that person is involved; or

  (ii)   to an individual who is a party to any proceedings under this Act, in connection with the conduct of those proceedings; or

  (iii)   to a person who is a student, in connection with the studies of that person; or

  (h)   the publication of accounts of proceedings, where those accounts have been approved by the court.

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

Criminal procedure

  (5)   An offence against subsection   (1) or (3) is an indictable offence.

  (6)   Proceedings for an offence against subsection   (1) or (3) must not be commenced except by, or with the written consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Definitions

  (7)   In this section:

"court" includes:

  (a)   an officer of a court investigating or dealing with a matter in accordance with:

  (i)   the Assessment Act; or

  (ii)   this Act; or

  (iii)   regulations made under the Assessment Act or this Act; or

  (iv)   any Rules of Court; and

  (b)   a tribunal established by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or a Territory.

"designated review proceedings" means proceedings:

  (a)   in the AAT for AAT first review or AAT second review; or

  (b)   in a court under Part   IVA of the AAT Act in relation to such a review.

"electronic means" includes:

  (a)   in the form of data, text or images by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy; or

  (b)   in the form of speech by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy, if the speech is processed at its destination by an automated voice recognition system.