New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS ACT 1985 - SECT 44

44 Disclosure of information

(1) Except as provided by section 319 (3)-(5) of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 , a person is guilty of an offence against this Act if the person discloses any information relating to any manufacturing or other industrial or commercial secrets or working processes and obtained in connection with the administration or execution of this Act or the regulations, unless the disclosure of information is:

(a) made, otherwise than in contravention of subsection (4), in connection with the administration or execution of this Act or the regulations,

(b) made with the prior permission of the Minister,

(c) ordered by a court, or by any other body or person authorised by law to examine witnesses, in the course of, and for the purpose of, the hearing and determination by that court, body or person of any matter or thing, or

(d) in accordance with a requirement imposed under the Ombudsman Act 1974 .

(2) The Minister may grant the permission referred to in subsection (1) (b) only if the Minister is satisfied that to do so would be in the public interest.

(4) Except as provided by section 319 (3)-(5) of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 , where an application under Division 3 of Part 3 for an assessment of a chemical or a prescribed activity contains a request of the kind referred to in section 12 (4) or 13 (3), in any publication, whether in writing or not, purporting to be made for the purposes of the administration or execution of this Act or the regulations:

(a) any description of the chemical or of the manner in which it is proposed to carry on the prescribed activity, as the case may be, shall be in such terms, and

(b) any data of the kind prescribed for the purposes of section 12 (4) or 13 (3), as the case may be, shall be limited to such particulars,

as may be agreed between the applicant and the Authority, having regard to:

(c) the applicant’s desire for confidentiality,

(d) the purpose of this Act, and

(e) the public interest,

or, in default of any such agreement, in such terms or with such limitations as may be settled by the Court on the application of the Authority and having regard to the like matters.