Commonwealth Numbered Acts

NATIONAL COMPANIES AND SECURITIES COMMISSION ACT 1979 No. 173, 1979 - SECT 39

39. (1) A person served, as prescribed, with a summons to appear as a witness
at a hearing before the Commission shall not, without reasonable excuse-

   (a)  fail to attend as required by the summons; or

   (b)  fail to attend from day to day unless excused, or released from
        further attendance, by a member or an acting member.

(2) A person appearing as a witness at a hearing before the Commission shall
not, without reasonable excuse-

   (a)  when required pursuant to section 37 either to take an oath or make an
        affirmation-refuse or fail to comply with the requirement;

   (b)  refuse or fail to answer a question that he is required to answer by
        the member or acting member presiding at the hearing; or

   (c)  refuse or fail to produce a document that he was required to produce
        by a summons under this Act served on him as prescribed.

(3) A person shall not, at a hearing before the Commission, give evidence that
is false or misleading.

(4) Where-

   (a)  a duly qualified legal practitioner is required to answer a question
        or produce a document at a hearing before the Commission; and

   (b)  the answer to the question would disclose, or the document contains, a
        privileged communication made by or to the legal practitioner in his
        capacity as a legal practitioner, the legal practitioner is entitled
        to refuse to comply with the requirement unless the person to whom or
        by whom the communication was made agrees to the legal practitioner
        complying with the requirement but, where the legal practitioner
        refuses to comply with the requirement, he shall, if so required by
        the member or acting member presiding at the hearing, furnish to the
        Commission the name and address of the person to whom or by whom the
        communication was made.

(5) It is not a reasonable excuse for the purposes of sub-section (2) for a
person to refuse or fail to answer a question put to him that the answer might
tend to incriminate him but, where the person claims, before answering the
question, that the answer might tend to incriminate him, neither the question
nor the answer is admissable in evidence against him in criminal proceedings
other than proceedings for a contravention of sub-section (3) or proceedings
in relation to a charge of perjury in respect of the answer.

(6) A person who contravenes sub-section (1), (2), (3) or (4) is guilty of an
offence and is punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 months.

(7) Where the Commission is satisfied that-

   (a)  a person served, as prescribed, with a summons to appear as a witness
        at a hearing before the Commission has, without reasonable excuse,
        failed to attend as required by paragraph (1) (a) or (b); or

   (b)  a person appearing as a witness at a hearing before the Commission
        has, without reasonable excuse-

        (i)    when required pursuant to section 37 either to take an oath or
               make an affirmation;

        (ii)   when required by the member or acting member presiding at the
               hearing to answer a question; or

        (iii)  when required to produce a document by a summons under this Act
               served on him as prescribed,

refused or failed to comply with the requirement, a member or acting member
may, by instrument in writing, certify the failure to attend or the refusal or
failure to comply with the requirement, as the case may be, to the Supreme
Court of a State or Territory.

(8) Where a certificate is given under sub-section (7), the Supreme Court may
inquire into the case and, if it is satisfied that the person to whom the
certificate relates has, without reasonable excuse, failed to attend or
refused or failed to comply with a requirement as mentioned in the
certificate-

   (a)  may order the person to attend or to comply with the requirement at a
        hearing before the Commission to be held at a time and place specified
        in the order; or

   (b)  may punish the person in the same manner as if he had been guilty of
        contempt of that Court and, if it thinks fit, also make an order under
        paragraph (a).