Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

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ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL ACT 1975 - SECT 36A

Answering questions where Attorney - General intervenes on public interest grounds

Scope

  (1AA)   This section does not apply to a proceeding in the Security Division to which section   39A or 39BA applies.

Intervention by Attorney - General

  (1)   Where, at the hearing of a proceeding before the Tribunal, a person is asked a question in the course of giving evidence, the Attorney - General may inform the Tribunal that, in his or her opinion, the answering of the question would be contrary to the public interest for a specified reason or reasons, being a reason or reasons mentioned in subsection   36(1).

When person excused from answering question

  (2)   Where the Attorney - General so informs the Tribunal that, in his or her opinion, the answering by a person of a question would be contrary to the public interest, that person is excused from answering the question unless:

  (a)   in the case where the reason specified is, or the reasons specified include, a reason referred to in paragraph   36(1)(a) or (b)--a court, on an appeal under section   44 or a reference under section   45, decides that the answering of the question would not be contrary to the public interest; or

  (b)   in any other case--the Tribunal decides that the answering of the question would not be contrary to the public interest.

Attorney - General taken to be a party

  (2A)   Where the Attorney - General informs the Tribunal that, in his or her opinion, the answering by a person of a question at the hearing of a proceeding would be contrary to the public interest, being a proceeding to which the Attorney - General would not, but for this subsection, be a party, the Attorney - General shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a party to the proceeding.


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