Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Fuel Prices Regulation Act 1981 - SECT 4

Declaration of secrecy

4. Declaration of secrecy



(1) The Commissioner and every member of any advisory committee and every
other person exercising any power or performing any duty under this Act shall
before entering on his duties under this Act sign a declaration of secrecy in
accordance with the prescribed form.

(2) All such declarations of secrecy shall be lodged with and retained by the
Commissioner.

(3) A person shall not except in the course of his duty under this Act
(including any interchange of information with persons or bodies regulating
prices in other States which is considered expedient in relation to the
co-ordination of the regulation or decontrol of prices by the States) directly
or indirectly communicate or divulge any information relating to any matter
which comes to his knowledge in consequence of his official position under
this Act.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit-

   (a)  the Commissioner, whenever he considers it necessary or desirable in
        the interests of justice so to do-

   (i)  from communicating to the Attorney-General any information which comes
        to his knowledge in consequence of his official position and which
        makes it appear that any person has committed or is suspected of
        having committed or is about to commit an offence against any law
        relating to secret commissions;

   (ii) from producing to the Attorney-General for use in connexion with the
        prosecution of a person for any such offence any documents books or
        papers containing any such information;

   (b)  any person exercising any power or performing any duty under this Act
        from answering any question relating to any such offence which he is
        required to answer when called as a witness in the prosecution of a
        person for that offence.