Higher Education Support Amendment (Australia's Economic Accelerator) Act 2023 (5 of 2023)

Schedule 1   Amendments

Higher Education Support Act 2003

7   After Division 180

Insert:

Division 181 - Protection, disclosure and use of Australia's Economic Accelerator program information

181-1 What this Division is about

An officer who discloses, copies or records information obtained or created by the officer for the purposes of the Australia's Economic Accelerator program, other than in the course of official employment, commits an offence if the information is personal information, or the officer's actions are likely to cause competitive detriment to a person or found an action for breach of confidence. This is the case unless an exception in this Division applies.

181-5 Object of this Division

The object of this Division is to give recipients and potential recipients of grants under the *Australia's Economic Accelerator program, and their industry partners, confidence that personal information and other sensitive information they provide in relation to the program will be dealt with appropriately.

181-10 Meaning of Australia's Economic Accelerator program information

Australia's Economic Accelerator program information is any information that was obtained or created by an *officer for the purposes of the *Australia's Economic Accelerator program.

181-15 Use of Australia's Economic Accelerator program information

Offence

(1) An *officer commits an offence if:

(a) the officer:

(i) discloses information; or

(ii) makes a copy or other record of information; and

(b) the information is *Australia's Economic Accelerator program information that was obtained or created by the officer in the course of the officer's *official employment; and

(c) the disclosure did not occur, or the copy or record was not made, in the course of that official employment; and

(d) any of the following circumstances exist:

(i) the information is personal information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988;

(ii) the disclosure, or the making of the copy or record, causes or is likely to cause competitive detriment to a person;

(iii) the disclosure, or the making of the copy or record, founds or is likely to found an action by a person (other than the Commonwealth) for breach of a duty of confidence.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

Exception - consent

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the person to whom the information relates has consented to the disclosure, or the making of the copy or record.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection: see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

Exception - authorised by this Division

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the disclosure, or the making of the copy or record, is authorised by this Division.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

Exception - required by a Commonwealth law

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply if the disclosure, or the making of the copy or record, is required by a law of the Commonwealth.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection: see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

181-20 Disclosure of Australia's Economic Accelerator program information to Minister and staff

A *Commonwealth officer may disclose *Australia's Economic Accelerator program information to:

(a) the Minister; or

(b) a person employed under section 13 or 20 of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 as a member of staff of the Minister.

181-25 Disclosure of Australia's Economic Accelerator program information by Minister

(1) The Minister may make *Australia's Economic Accelerator program information publicly available, if the information:

(a) relates to programs of research in respect of which grants have been approved for the purposes of item 14 of the table in subsection 41-10(1); and

(b) is any of the following:

(i) the name of a researcher;

(ii) a description of the field of research;

(iii) the amount of a grant;

(iv) other information of a general nature.

(2) Despite subsection (1), the Minister must not disclose the information if a person demonstrates to the Minister that:

(a) release of the information would cause competitive detriment to the person; and

(b) the information is not in the public domain; and

(c) the information is not required to be disclosed under another law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; and

(d) the information is not readily discoverable.