Commonwealth Numbered Acts

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES AND ENERGY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1993 No. 94, 1993 - SECT 4

4. Section 20 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is
substituted: Disclosure of confidential commercial information

"20.(1) This section applies to:

   (a)  a person who was:

        (i)    a member (including the Chairperson) of the former Council; or

        (ii)   a member of the staff of the former Council; or

        (iii)  a member of a committee of the former Council; or

   (b)  a person who is or has been:

        (i)    a director of the NRA; or

        (ii)   the Chief Executive Officer of the NRA; or

        (iii)  a member of the staff of the NRA; or

        (iv)   a consultant to the NRA; or

        (v)    a member of a committee of the NRA.

"(2) Except in the performance of functions or duties, or the exercise of
powers, under this Act, a person must not intentionally or recklessly
disclose, directly or indirectly, to another person any information about a
chemical product or any of its constituents that:

   (a)  the person knows to be confidential commercial information; and

   (b)  was acquired by the person in the performance of such functions or
        duties or the exercise of such powers. Penalty: Imprisonment for 2
        years.

"(3) Subsection (2) does not prohibit the disclosure of information about a
chemical product or constituent to a court in any proceeding but the court
must do all things necessary to prevent disclosure of that information to any
other person except for the purpose of the proceeding.

"(4) Despite subsection (2), a person (the 'authorised person') that the NRA
has authorised to act under this subsection may:

   (a)  disclose confidential commercial information about a chemical product
        or any of its constituents:

        (i)    if the product contains an active constituent that, before the
               clearance of the product, was not contained in a chemical
               product used in Australia-by disclosing a summary of an
               assessment that the NRA has made of the product; or

        (ii)   for the purposes of the NRA's reconsideration of the clearance
               of the product under section 17-by disclosing particulars of
               the product; or

        (iii)  by disclosing, subject to any conditions prescribed by the
               regulations, information about the toxicology of the product;
               or

   (b)  disclose confidential commercial information about a chemical product
        or any of its constituents to:

        (i)    a Government or authority of the Commonwealth, of a State or of
               a Territory; or

        (ii)   an overseas authority having similar functions to the NRA; or

        (iii)  a prescribed international organisation; or

        (iv)   any other prescribed authority or prescribed person; or

        (v)    a person who, in the opinion of the authorised person, is
               expressly or impliedly authorised by the person who applied for
               clearance of the chemical product to obtain the information.

"(5) A person who acquires information because of a disclosure under
subsection (4), and any person under the control of that person, is, in
respect of that information, subject to the same obligations and liabilities
under subsection (2) as if that person were a person performing duties under
this Act and had acquired the information in the performance of those duties.

"(6) Despite subsection (2), the authorised person may permit confidential
commercial information about a chemical product or any of its constituents to
be disclosed to a Government, authority, organisation or person for the
purpose of enabling the Government, authority, organisation or person to give
advice to the NRA in accordance with section 19.

"(7) Except for the purpose of providing advice to the NRA in accordance with
section 19, a person who acquires information because of a disclosure under
subsection (6), and any person who is or has been under the control of that
person, must not intentionally or recklessly disclose that information,
directly or indirectly, to any person if the person disclosing the information
knows that the information is confidential commercial information. Penalty:
Imprisonment for 2 years.

"(8) If a person has disclosed to another person, except under subsection (4)
or (6), any confidential commercial information about a chemical product or
any of its constituents that was acquired by the first-mentioned person in the
performance of functions or duties, or the exercise of powers, under this Act,
the other person, and any person who is or has been under the control of the
other person, must not intentionally or recklessly disclose that information,
directly or indirectly, to any person if the person disclosing the information
knows that the information is confidential commercial information. Penalty:
Imprisonment for 2 years.

"(9) The powers conferred by subsection (6) are in addition to, and do not
prejudice, the powers conferred by subsection (4).

"(10) This section does not preclude the institution of an action or other
civil proceeding against a person in respect of the disclosure, or the
proposed, threatened or likely disclosure, by that person of confidential
commercial information about a chemical product or any of its constituents.

"(11) This section does not affect the operation of the Freedom of 
Information Act 1982 .

"(12) In this section:
'court' includes a tribunal, authority or person having power to require the
production of documents or the answering of questions;
'disclose', in relation to information, means give or communicate in any
way.".