South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts (1) An
approved auditor or inspector employed or appointed to make any audit or
examination of any accounts and records of a legal practitioner or firm of
legal practitioners for the purposes of this Division must not (otherwise than
is permitted or required by or under this Act) communicate any matter of which
he or she is informed or which comes to his or her knowledge in the course of
the audit or examination to any person except in the course of the report.
(1a) A person who
contravenes subsection (1) is (in addition to the penalty provided by
this section and in addition to any liability the person may incur to the
legal practitioner or firm of legal practitioners) subject to the same
liabilities to a client or cestui que trust of the practitioner or firm as
those to which the practitioner or firm would be subject if the practitioner
or firm divulged such matters.
(2) Neither
the Society, nor any officer or employee of the Society, may divulge any
information disclosed in a report furnished to the Society under this Division
except—
(a) for
the purpose of confidential consideration of the report by the Council; or
(b) in
the performance of a duty.
(3) A person who
contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of this section is, in
addition to any other penalty or punishment to which the person may be liable,
guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(4) The duty of
confidentiality imposed by this section does not prevent the Society, an
officer or employee of the Society, or an auditor or inspector from divulging
information arising out of an audit or inspection—
(a) to a
member of a law enforcement or prosecution authority of a State, or of the
Commonwealth, relating to a matter referred to the authority by the
Attorney-General or reported to the authority by the Board, to which the
information is relevant; or
(b) to
the Board; or
(ba) to
a regulatory authority of a participating State; or
(c) to a
court in which criminal proceedings arising from matters subject to the audit
or examination have been brought.
(5) If an auditor
divulges information under subsection (4), the auditor may inform
the Society and the practitioner or firm of practitioners by which he or she
was employed to make the audit of that fact.