Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE ACT 1999 - SECT 32

             (1)  A person who is, or has at any time been, the Director or a member of the staff referred to in section 29 or a consultant engaged under section 30 or is, or has at any time been, authorised to perform or exercise any function or power under an arrangement in force under section 33, shall not, either directly or indirectly:

                     (a)  make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any information relating to a confidential report or confidential information acquired by the first‑mentioned person by reason of that person's office, employment or engagement under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person being or having been so authorised;

                     (b)  make use of any such report or information as is mentioned in paragraph (a); or

                     (c)  produce to any person a confidential report or a document relating to confidential information of another person furnished for the purposes of this Act.

Penalty:  25 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.

          (1A)  Subsection (1) does not apply to a person's conduct:

                     (a)  if the person is:

                              (i)  performing a duty under, or in connection with, this Act; or

                             (ii)  performing a function, or exercising a power, under an arrangement in force under section 33; or

                     (b)  to the extent that the conduct relates to a report, or to information, that is the subject of a consent under subsection 16(2).

Note:          A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (1A) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).

             (2)  A person who is, or has at any time been, the Director or a member of the staff referred to in section 29 or a consultant engaged under section 30 or is, or has at any time been, authorised to perform or exercise any function or power under an arrangement in force under section 33, shall not be required:

                     (a)  to divulge or communicate to a court any information relating to a confidential report or confidential information acquired by the first‑mentioned person by reason of that person's office, employment or engagement under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person being or having been so authorised; or

                     (b)  to produce in a court a confidential report or a document relating to confidential information of which the first‑ mentioned person has custody, or to which that person has access, by reason of that person's office, employment or engagement under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person being or having been so authorised;

except to the extent that the report or information was the subject of a consent under subsection 16(2) or where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of this Act.

             (3)  Nothing in this section prohibits a person from:

                     (a)  divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, to the Agency or an officer of a State, in accordance with an arrangement in force under section 33; or

                     (b)  divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, that is required or permitted by an Act to be divulged, communicated or produced, as the case may be.

             (4)  In this section:

"confidential information" means information which, at the time when it is supplied by a relevant employer, the relevant employer has specified as being supplied in confidence.

"court" includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

"produce" includes permit access to.