GOVERNMENT SECTOR AUDIT ACT 1983 - SECT 36 Access to documents and information

GOVERNMENT SECTOR AUDIT ACT 1983 - SECT 36

36 Access to documents and information

(1) An authorised person is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to the books, records or other documents of or relating to any entity, fund or account or government resources or related money for the purposes of--

(a) any inspection, examination, audit or audit-related services that the Auditor-General is authorised or required to perform by or under this Act or any other law, or

(b) exercising any other function conferred or imposed on the Auditor-General by or under this Act or any other law.

(2) An authorised person is also entitled to make copies of, or take extracts from, any books, records or other documents to which the authorised person is entitled to access under subsection (1).

(3) An authorised person may require a relevant person in relation to the entity, fund or account or government resources or related money concerned to provide to the authorised person, within 14 days, such information in the relevant person's possession, or to which the relevant person has access, as the authorised person considers necessary for any of the purposes referred to in subsection (1) (a) or (b).

(4) The Auditor-General may, by notice in writing signed by the Auditor-General, require a person named in the notice--

(a) to appear personally before the Auditor-General at a time and place specified in the notice, and

(b) to produce to the Auditor-General such books, records or other documents in the person's possession or under the person's control as appear to the Auditor-General to be necessary for the purposes of an audit that the Auditor-General is authorised or required to perform by or under this Act or any other law.

(5) A person must comply with a requirement made of the person under subsection (3) or (4).

: Maximum penalty--20 penalty units.

(6) An authorised person is entitled to exercise functions under this section despite--

(a) any rule of law which, in proceedings in a court of law, might justify an objection to access to books, records, documents or information on grounds of public interest, or

(b) any privilege of an entity that the entity might claim in a court of law, including a claim based on legal professional privilege, or

(b1) any books, records or other documents being accessed, provided or produced being or including Cabinet information, or

(c) any duty of secrecy or other restriction on disclosure applying to an auditable entity or an officer or employee of an auditable entity (including a government officer).

(7) A person who complies with a requirement made of the person under subsection (3) or (4) does not incur civil or criminal liability under any other law because of that compliance.

(9) In this section--


"relevant person" , in relation to an entity, fund or account or government resources or related money, means an officer, employee or other person exercising functions in relation to that entity, fund, account, resources or money.