Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Information Privacy Act 2000 - SECT 34

Power to obtain information and documents

34. Power to obtain information and documents



(1) If the Privacy Commissioner has reason to believe that a person has
information or a document relevant to a conciliation under this Division, the
Privacy Commissioner may give to the person a written notice requiring the
person-

   (a)  to give the information to the Privacy Commissioner in writing signed
        by the person or, in the case of a body corporate, by an officer of
        the body corporate; or

   (b)  to produce the document to the Privacy Commissioner.

(2) If the Privacy Commissioner has reason to believe that a person has
information relevant to a conciliation under this Division, the Privacy
Commissioner may give to the person a written notice requiring the person to
attend before the Privacy Commissioner at a time and place specified in the
notice to answer questions relevant to the complaint.

(3) The Privacy Commissioner is not entitled to require an agency within the
meaning of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or a Minister to give any
information if the Secretary to the Department of Premier and Cabinet
furnishes to the Privacy Commissioner a certificate certifying that the giving
of that information (including in answer to a question) would involve the
disclosure of information which, if included in a document of the agency or an
official document of the Minister, would cause the document to be an exempt
document of a kind referred to in section 28(1) of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982.

(4) The Privacy Commissioner may not conduct an investigation in respect of a
certificate under subsection (3) or question whether the information is of a
kind referred to in section 28(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or a
decision to sign such a certificate.