New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FAIR TRADING ACT 1987 - SECT 22

22 Preservation of secrecy

(1) Except as provided by subsection (4), a person engaged in the administration of this Act shall not:

(a) in the course of that administration, disclose to another person so engaged any information or evidence given, or the contents of any document produced, in response to a notice under section 20 or 23A without informing the other person that the information or evidence was so given, or the document so produced, or

(b) otherwise than in the course of that administration, disclose any such information, evidence or contents to any person without the written permission of the Minister given in relation to the disclosure.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(2) A person who was, but is no longer, engaged in the administration of this Act shall not, without the written permission of the Minister, disclose to any other person any information or evidence given, or the contents of any document produced, in response to a notice under section 20 or 23A that came to his or her knowledge in the course of that administration.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

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

(4) It is not a contravention of subsection (1) or (2):

(a) if the Director-General communicates to the appropriate Minister or officer of the Crown in right of this or any other State, or of the Commonwealth or any of its Territories, any information or evidence given, or the contents of any document produced, in response to a notice under section 20 or 23A, or

(b) if, in any legal proceedings, a person discloses any such information, evidence or contents in answering a question that the person is compellable to answer in those proceedings.