AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH ACT 1987 No. 41 of 1987 - SECT 29 Confidentiality

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH ACT 1987 No. 41 of 1987 - SECT 29

29. (1) Subject to this section, a person (in this subsection called the

"informed person") who has:

   (a)  any information concerning another person (which person is in this
section called an "information subject"), being information acquired by the
informed person because of:

        (i)    holding an office, engagement or appointment, or being
               employed, under this Act;

        (ii)   performing a duty or function, or exercising a power, under or
               in connection with this Act; or

        (iii)  doing any act or thing under an agreement or arrangement
               entered into by the Institute; or

   (b)  any document relating to another person (which person is in this
section also called an "information subject"), being a document furnished for
the purposes of this Act; shall not, except for the purposes of this Act,
either directly or indirectly:

   (c)  make a record of any of that information or divulge or communicate any
        of that information to any person (including an information subject);

   (d)  produce that document to any person (including an
        information subject); or

   (e)  be required to divulge or communicate any of that information to a
        court or to produce that document in a court.
Penalty: $2,000 or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

(2) Nothing in this section prohibits:

   (a)  a person from divulging or communicating information, or producing a
        document, to the Minister if it does not identify an
        information subject;

   (b)  a person from divulging or communicating information, or producing a
        document, to:

        (i)    a person specified in writing by the Australian Institute of
               Health Ethics Committee; or

        (ii)   a person specified in writing by the person who divulged or
               communicated the information or produced the document directly
               to the Institute; or

   (c)  the publication of conclusions based on, statistics derived from, or
        particulars of procedures used in, the work of the Institute, if they
        are not published in a manner that identifies an information subject.

(3) A person to whom information is divulged or communicated, or a document is
produced, under paragraph (2) (a) or (b), and any person under the control of
that person is, in respect of that information or document, subject to
subsection (1) as if the person were a person exercising powers, or performing
duties or functions, under this Act and had acquired the information or
document in the exercise of those powers or the performance of those duties or
functions.

(4) In this section:
(a) "court" includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require
the production of documents or the answering of questions;
(b) "person" includes a body or association of persons, whether incorporated
or not, and, in the case of an information subject, also includes a deceased
person;
(c) "produce" includes permit access to;
(d) "publication", in relation to conclusions, statistics or particulars,
includes:

        (i)    the divulging or communication to a court of the conclusions,
               statistics or particulars; and

        (ii)   the production to a court of a document containing the
               conclusions, statistics or particulars; and

   (e)  a reference to information concerning a person includes:

        (i)    a reference to information as to the whereabouts, existence or
               non-existence of a document concerning a person; and

        (ii)   a reference to information identifying a person or body
               providing information concerning a person.