Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person's conduct causes disclosure of identifying information; and
(b) the disclosure is not a permitted disclosure.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years, or 120 penalty units, or both.
(1A) This section does not apply if the person believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of the person or of any other person.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (1A) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).
(2) A permitted disclosure is a disclosure that:
(a) is for the purpose of data - matching in order to:
(i) identify, or authenticate the identity of, a person; or
(ii) facilitate the processing of persons entering or departing from Australia; or
(iii) identify non - citizens who have a criminal history or who are of character concern; or
(iiia) identify persons who may be a security concern to Australia or a foreign country; or
(iv) combat document and identity fraud in immigration matters; or
(v) ascertain whether an applicant for a protection visa had sufficient opportunity to avail himself or herself of protection before arriving in Australia; or
(vi) inform the governments of foreign countries of the identity of non - citizens who are, or are to be, removed, taken or deported from Australia; or
(b) is for the purpose of administering or managing the storage of identifying information; or
(i) this Act or an instrument made under this Act; or
(ii) the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 or an instrument made under that Act; or
(iii) the Customs Act 1901 or an instrument made under that Act; or
(iv) any other law of the Commonwealth prescribed by the regulations; or
(c) is authorised under section 336F and is for the purpose, or one or more of the purposes, for which the disclosure is authorised; or
(d) is for the purpose of making the identifying information in question available to the person to whom it relates; or
(da) is to an agency of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory in order to verify that a person is an Australian citizen or holds a visa of a particular class; or
(e) takes place under an arrangement entered into with an agency of the Commonwealth, or with a State or Territory or an agency of a State or Territory, for the exchange of identifying information; or
(ea) is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or
(eb) is required by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or
(ec) is for the purpose of identifying non - citizens who have a criminal history or who are of character concern; or
(ed) is for the purpose of identifying persons who may be a security concern to Australia or a foreign country; or
(f) is for the purpose of a proceeding, before a court, the Tribunal or another tribunal, or the Immigration Assessment Authority, relating to the person to whom the identifying information in question relates; or
(g) is for the purpose of an investigation by the Information Commissioner or the Ombudsman relating to action taken by the Department; or
(ga) is for the purpose of facilitating or expediting the exercise of powers, or performance of functions, of the Migration Agents Registration Authority; or
(gb) is for the purposes of the extradition of persons to or from Australia, including the making of, or the consideration of whether to make, a request for extradition; or
(i) the provision, or proposed provision, of international assistance in criminal matters by the Attorney - General, or an officer of his or her Department, to a foreign country; or
(ii) the obtaining, or proposed obtaining, of international assistance in criminal matters by the Attorney - General, or an officer of his or her Department, from a foreign country; or
(h) is made to a prescribed body or agency for the purpose of the body or agency inquiring into the operation of provisions of this Act relating to:
(i) carrying out an identification test; or
(ii) requiring the provision of a personal identifier; or
(ha) is a disclosure of an audio or a video recording for the purposes of:
(i) this Act or the regulations or the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 or the regulations made under that Act; and
(ii) transcribing or translating the recording, or conducting language analysis or accent analysis of the recording; or
(i) takes place with the written consent of the person to whom the identifying information in question relates; or
(j) is authorised by section 336FA; or
(k) is authorised by section 336FC.
(3) However, a disclosure is not a permitted disclosure if:
(a) it is a disclosure of identifying information relating to a personal identifier of a prescribed type; and
(i) investigating an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; or
(ii) prosecuting a person for such an offence.