New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 1986 - SECT 281L

281L Improper copying or circulation of designated terrorism evidence

(1) A person who has possession of designated terrorism evidence and who knows, or ought reasonably to know, that it is designated terrorism evidence, must not copy, or permit a person to copy, the evidence, give possession of the evidence to another person or publish the evidence except--

(a) for the legitimate purposes of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings, or

(b) if the person is a public official, in the proper exercise of the person's public official functions (including any functions relating to education or training).

: Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both.

(2) The exceptions provided for by subsection (1) (a) and (b) do not authorise--

(a) an Australian legal practitioner representing an accused person to give possession of designated terrorism evidence to the accused person, except while the accused person is under the supervision of the Australian legal practitioner, or

(b) an accused person to copy, or to permit a person to copy, or to publish any designated terrorism evidence or to give possession of any designated terrorism evidence to any other person other than an Australian legal practitioner representing the person or the prosecuting authority.

(3) In this section--

"public official" means a public official (within the meaning of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 ) who has possession of designated terrorism evidence as a result of the exercise of, or an opportunity that arose in the exercise of, public official functions in or in connection with a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings.