(1) A witness summoned to attend or appearing before the Commission at a
hearing is not (except as provided by section 40) excused from answering any
question or producing any document or thing on the ground that the answer or
production may incriminate or tend to incriminate the witness, or on any other
ground of privilege, or on the ground of a duty of secrecy or other
restriction on disclosure, or on any other ground.
(2) An answer made, or
document or thing produced, by a witness at a hearing before the Commission is
not admissible in evidence against the person in civil, criminal or
disciplinary proceedings other than a proceeding for--
(a) the falsity of
evidence given by the witness, or
(b) a relevant order unless the proceedings
for the order have commenced or are imminent.
(3) Nothing in this section
makes inadmissible--
(a) any answer, document or thing in proceedings for an
offence against this Act or in proceedings for contempt under this Act, or
(b) any answer, document or thing in any civil or criminal proceedings or in
any disciplinary proceedings if the witness does not object to giving the
answer or producing the document or other thing irrespective of the provisions
of subsection (1), or
(c) any document in any civil proceedings for or in
respect of any right or liability conferred or imposed by the document, or
(d) any answer made, or document or thing produced, by a corporation at a
hearing before the Commission.
(4) If--
(a) an Australian legal practitioner
or other person is required to answer a question or produce a document or
thing at a hearing before the Commission, and
(b) the answer to the question
would disclose, or the document or thing contains, a privileged communication
passing between the legal practitioner (in his or her capacity as a legal
practitioner) and a person (the
"client" ),
the legal practitioner or client is entitled to refuse to comply
with the requirement, unless the privilege is waived by a person having
authority to do so.
(5) However, the Australian legal practitioner must, if
so required by the executive officer presiding at the hearing, furnish to the
Commission the name and address of the client to whom or by whom the
privileged communication was made.
(6) The executive officer presiding at the
hearing may declare that all or any classes of answers given by a witness or
that all or any classes of documents or other things produced by a witness
will be regarded as having been given or produced on objection by the witness,
and there is accordingly no need for the witness to make an objection in
respect of each such answer, document or other thing.
