Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Bank Account Debits Tax Administration Act 1982 No. 142 of 1982 - SECT 7

7. (1) In this section, unless the contrary intention appears, ''officer''
means a person-

   (a)  who is or has been appointed or employed by the Commonwealth; or

   (b)  to whom powers or functions have been delegated by the Commissioner,
        and who, by reason of that appointment or employment, or in the course
        of the exercise of those powers or the performance of those functions,
        as the case may be, may acquire or has acquired information with
        respect to the affairs of any other person disclosed or obtained under
        this Act.

(2) Subject to this section, an officer who, either directly or indirectly,
except for the purposes of this Act or otherwise in the performance of his
duties as an officer, and either while he is, or after he ceases to be, an
officer-

   (a)  makes a record of any information with respect to the affairs of a
        second person; or

   (b)  divulges or communicates to a second person any information with
        respect to the affairs of a third person, being information acquired
        by him by reason of, or in the course of, exercising powers or
        performing functions under this Act, is guilty of an offence
        punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or
        imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or both.

(3) An officer shall not be required to produce in court any return,
assessment or notice of assessment or other document made or given in or for
the purposes of this Act, or to divulge or communicate to a court a matter or
thing that has come to his notice in the performance of his duties as an
officer, except when it is necessary to do so for the purpose of carrying into
effect the provisions of this Act.

(4) Nothing in this section prohibits the Commissioner, a Second Commissioner,
a Deputy Commissioner, or a person authorized by the Commissioner, by a
Second Commissioner or by a Deputy Commissioner, from communicating any
information to-

   (a)  a Board of Review;

   (b)  a person performing as an officer a function or duty arising under
        this Act or any other Act administered by the Commissioner, for the
        purpose of enabling that person to carry out that function or duty; or

   (c)  a person performing a function under a law of a State or Territory
        relating to taxation.

(5) Any person to whom information is communicated under sub-section (4) and
any other person under his control are, in respect of that information,
entitled to the same rights and privileges and subject to the same obligations
and liabilities under sub-sections (2) and (3) as if they were officers.

(6) For the purposes of sub-sections (2) and (5), an officer or person shall
be deemed to have communicated information to another person in contravention
of those sub-sections if he communicates that information to any Minister.

(7) An officer shall, if and when required by the Commissioner, a Second
Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner to do so, make an oath or declaration,
in a manner and form specified by the Commissioner, to maintain secrecy in
conformity with the provisions of this section.