South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts13—Confidentiality of notification of abuse or neglect
(1) For the purposes
of this section, a notifier is a person who notifies the Department that he or
she suspects that a child has been or is being abused or neglected.
(2) Subject to this
section, a person who receives a notification of child abuse or neglect from a
notifier, or who otherwise becomes aware of the identity of a notifier, must
not disclose the identity of the notifier to any other person unless the
disclosure—
(a) is
made in the course of official duties to another person acting in the course
of official duties; or
(b) is
made with the consent of the notifier; or
(c) is
made by way of evidence adduced in accordance with subsections (3) and
(4).
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
(3) Subject to
subsection (4)—
(a) no
evidence as to the identity of a notifier, or from which the identity of the
notifier could be deduced, may be adduced in proceedings before a court
without the permission of the court; and
(b)
unless such permission is granted, a party or witness in those proceedings
must not be asked, and, if asked, cannot be required to answer, any question
that cannot be answered without disclosing the identity of, or leading to the
identification of, the notifier.
(4) A court cannot
grant permission under subsection (3) unless—
(a) the
court is satisfied that the evidence is of critical importance in the
proceedings and that failure to admit it would prejudice the proper
administration of justice; or
(b) the
notifier consents to the admission of the evidence in the proceedings.
(5) An application for
permission to adduce evidence under subsection (3)—
(a) must
not, except as authorised by the court, be heard and determined in public; and
(b) must
be conducted in such a manner as to protect, so far as may be practicable, the
identity of the notifier pending the determination of the application.