South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts (1) In this
section—
"prescribed officer" means—
(a) a
person acting under the direction or authority of the Authority; or
(b) a
member of the internal investigation branch or any other designated officer,
but does not include the Authority or the Commissioner;
"relevant person" means—
(a) in
relation to a person who is or has been acting under the direction or
authority of the Authority—the Authority; or
(b) in
relation to a person who is or has been a designated officer—the
Commissioner; or
(c) in
any case—the Minister;
"Tribunal" means the Police Disciplinary Tribunal or the
Protective Security Officers Disciplinary Tribunal, as the case may be.
(2) Except as required
or authorised by this Act or by a relevant person, a person who is, or has
been, a prescribed officer must not, either directly or indirectly, make a
record of, or divulge or communicate, information acquired by reason of his or
her being, or having been, a prescribed officer, being information that was
disclosed or obtained under this Act.
Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.
(3) Where the
Commissioner furnishes to the Authority a certificate certifying that the
divulging or communication of information specified in the certificate, being
information that has been disclosed to the Authority by a designated officer
or obtained by the Authority from records of the police force or
protective security officers, might—
(a)
prejudice present or future police investigations or the prosecution of legal
proceedings whether in the State or elsewhere; or
(b)
constitute a breach of confidence; or
(c)
endanger a person or cause material loss or harm or unreasonable distress to a
person,
then, despite any other provisions of this Act, a person who is, or has been,
the Authority or a person acting under the direction or authority of the
Authority must not, either directly or indirectly, divulge or communicate any
part of the information except with the approval of the Commissioner or the
approval of the Minister given after consultation with the Commissioner.
Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.
(4) This section does
not prevent a person who is or has been a prescribed officer from divulging or
communicating information disclosed or obtained in the course of an
investigation under this Act—
(a) in
proceedings before a court, the Tribunal or the Commissioner in respect
of—
(i)
an offence; or
(ii)
a breach of discipline,
relating to a matter the subject of the investigation; or
(b) as
required in proceedings under the Royal Commissions Act 1917 ; or
(c) as
required by order of a court, the court being satisfied that there are special
reasons requiring the making of such an order and that the interests of
justice cannot adequately be served except by the making of such an order.
(5) This section does
not prevent a person who is or has been a prescribed officer from whom
information has been sought in the course of an investigation under this Act
from consulting—
(a) a
legal practitioner; or
(b) some
other person with the Minister's approval (which may be a general approval or
given in a particular case),
in relation to the matter under investigation.
(6) This section does
not prevent a person who is or has been a designated officer whose conduct has
been under investigation under this Act from divulging or communicating
particulars of the outcome of the investigation as furnished or registered
under section 36 (including any comments made by the Authority when
furnishing any of those particulars).
(7) Despite any other
Act or law, a person who is or has been the Authority or the Commissioner
cannot be required to divulge information disclosed or obtained under this Act
in the course of an investigation except where such a requirement is
made—
(a) in
proceedings before a court or the Tribunal in respect of—
(i)
an offence; or
(ii)
a breach of discipline,
relating to a matter the subject of the investigation; or
(b) in
proceedings under the Royal Commissions Act 1917 ; or
(c) as
required by order of a court, the court being satisfied that there are special
reasons requiring the making of such an order and that the interests of
justice cannot adequately be served except by the making of such an order.
(8) If a person
consulted under subsection (5) obtains information as a result of the
consultation that the person who initiated the consultation is (apart from
that subsection) prohibited from divulging or communicating, the person so
consulted must not divulge or communicate that information.
Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.