POLICE ACT 1990 - SECT 96B
Vetting of prospective members of NSW Police Force or consultants
POLICE ACT 1990 - SECT 96B
Vetting of prospective members of NSW Police Force or consultants
96B Vetting of prospective members of NSW Police Force or consultants
(1)
Vetting information that is held by the Commissioner or obtained under this
section may be used in determining whether to appoint an applicant as a member
of the NSW Police Force or to engage an applicant as a consultant to the
NSW Police Force.
(2) For the purposes of this section,
"vetting information" is information of the following kind about an applicant,
or about an associate or relative of an applicant--
(a) any criminal
intelligence report or other criminal information,
(b) information held in
the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register,
(c) information held by Transport
for NSW relating to licences or other authorities, offences or penalties,
(d)
information held by Corrective Services NSW, Department of Attorney General
and Justice,
(e) information held by the Australian Crime Commission,
(f)
information held by a law enforcement agency,
(g) information held by an
agency of the Commonwealth or of the State or another State or Territory
investigating public sector corruption,
(h) information held by an agency of
a jurisdiction outside Australia, being an agency responsible for the
enforcement of laws of that jurisdiction,
(i) information prescribed by the
regulations that is held by a public authority or held by a Government agency
of another jurisdiction (whether in or outside Australia).
(3) The
Commissioner may, with the consent of an applicant, request a public authority
or other person or body to disclose vetting information about the applicant.
(4) The Commissioner may also, without consent, request a public authority or
other person or body (not being an agency of a jurisdiction outside Australia)
to disclose vetting information about associates or relatives of the
applicant.
(5) The Commissioner must notify an applicant that the
Commissioner has the power under this section to request a public authority or
other person or body (not being an agency of a jurisdiction outside Australia)
to disclose vetting information about associates or relatives of the
applicant. The notice must be given when the consent of the applicant is
sought under subsection (3) or, if consent has not been sought for the
purposes of that subsection, before the first request for information about
associates or relatives of the applicant is made under this section.
(6) A
public authority that holds, or is responsible for the disclosure of, vetting
information is authorised to disclose the information to the Commissioner for
the purposes of this section.
(7) The following information about the
criminal history of a person may be disclosed and considered for the purposes
of this section--
(a) information relating to spent convictions, despite
anything to the contrary in the Criminal Records Act 1991 ,
(b) information
relating to criminal charges, whether or not heard, proven, dismissed,
withdrawn or discharged,
(c) information relating to offences, despite
anything to the contrary in section 579 of the Crimes Act 1900 .
(8) For the
purposes of the collection, disclosure or use of vetting information under
this section or section 96C, the information may be collected, disclosed or
used despite any other Act or law.
Note : Section 62 of the Privacy and
Personal Information Protection Act 1998 makes it an offence for a public
sector official (including a member of the NSW Police Force) to disclose
personal information, other than for official purposes, about a person to
which the official has had access in an official capacity.
(9) This section
does not restrict or prevent--
(a) the Commissioner or any other person from
collecting, disclosing or using any information that the Commissioner or other
person may otherwise lawfully collect, disclose or use, or
(b) the
Commissioner from considering information other than vetting information in
determining whether or not to appoint an applicant as a member of the
NSW Police Force or to engage an applicant as a consultant to the
NSW Police Force.
(10) In this section--
"law enforcement agency" means the following--
(a) a Police Force of another
State or Territory,
(b) the Australian Federal Police,
(c) any other
authority or person responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the
Commonwealth or of the State or another State or Territory.
