Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) This section
applies to every person who is or has been a member, the deputy of a member,
the Director, a member of the staff, a member or acting member of a legal aid
committee, a member, substitute member or acting member of a review committee
or a member of a consultative committee.
(2) Subject to
subsections (2a) and (2c), a person to whom this section applies shall
not, either directly or indirectly, except for the purposes of this
Act —
(a) make
a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any information
concerning the affairs of another person acquired by him by reason of his
office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act; or
(b)
produce to any person a document relating to the affairs of another person
furnished for the purposes of this Act.
Penalty: $1 000.
(2a) Notwithstanding
anything contained in subsection (2), the Director may —
(a)
disclose any administrative information to any person; or
(b) with
the approval of the Chairman or the Commission, disclose any information
referred to in subsection (2), other than administrative information, to
any person if —
(i)
the person to whom that information relates has in
writing consented to that disclosure and waived legal professional privilege
in respect thereof; or
(ii)
that disclosure is necessary to correct or refute a
statement made by the person to whom that information relates.
(2b) In
subsection (2a) —
administrative information
means —
(a) the
date or purpose of any application for legal aid and how that application was
made;
(b) the
date on which any application for legal aid was received by the Commission or
on which that application was considered;
(c) the
date on which any decision was reconsidered under section 48, reviewed
under section 49 or dealt with under section 49A;
(d)
whether or not any application for legal aid has been granted;
(e) if
an application for legal aid has been granted, whether or not it has been
granted subject to any conditions;
(f) the
conditions, if any, subject to which an application for legal aid has been
granted;
(g) the
name of the legal practitioner by whom the legal services involved in
providing the legal aid concerned are to be, are being or have been performed;
or
(h) such
information, other than information referred to in paragraphs (a) to (g),
as may be specified in the rules;
disclose includes disclose by producing any
relevant document and disclosure shall be construed accordingly.
(2c) Notwithstanding
anything contained in subsection (2), a person to whom this section
applies may, with the approval of the Chairman or the Commission, disclose any
information referred to in subsection (2) to the Legal Practice Board for
the purposes of the Legal Profession Act 2008 and, in construing this
subsection, disclose includes disclose by producing any relevant document.
(3) A person to whom
this section applies shall not be required to produce before a court any
document relating to the affairs of another person of which he has the
custody, or to which he has access, by virtue of his office or employment
under or for the purposes of this Act, or to divulge or to communicate to any
court any information concerning the affairs of another person obtained by him
by reason of such an office or employment, unless, under subsection (2a)
or (2c), that document has been produced or that information has been
disclosed to any person.
(4) This section does
not apply —
(a) in
proceedings instituted for an offence against a person who has applied for
legal assistance, being an offence in relation to a statutory declaration
furnished in verification of his application for legal assistance or an
offence against section 65(1);
(b) in
proceedings instituted under section 65(2); or
(c) in
an investigation by the Legal Practice Board, or in proceedings before the
State Administrative Tribunal or the Supreme Court (full bench), under the
Legal Profession Act 2008 .
(5) This section does
not affect any law or any rule of practice or procedure relating to the
discovery of documents in a proceeding in respect of which legal assistance is
provided to a person under this Act.
(6) In this
section —
court includes any tribunal, authority or person
having power to require the production of documents or the answering of
questions;
produce includes permit access to and production
has a corresponding meaning.
[Section 64 amended by No. 60 of 1977
s. 29; No. 113 of 1978 s. 12; No. 106 of 1979 s. 4;
No. 126 of 1982 s. 22; No. 90 of 1986 s. 19; No. 78
of 1995 s. 147; No. 65 of 2003 s. 47(12); No. 74 of 2003
s. 75(4); No. 21 of 2008 s. 674(34)-(36).]