Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Hansard source

The short answer to that question, Senator Xenophon, is that they can be. I might make some reference here to some information I have. Under the existing section 6P of the Royal Commissions Act, the commission is able to communicate information it receives that relates or may relate to a contravention of the law to a range of specified authorities and persons, including the police. The commission is able to communicate this information where it considers it is appropriate to do so and for this purpose it is not a requirement that consent be obtained from the person who gave the information.

The bill enables the commission to communicate information it receives at a private session to authorities like the police under existing section 6P of the act where the commission considers that it is appropriate to do so. The Commonwealth letters patent directs the commissioners to consider the need to establish mechanisms to facilitate the timely communication of information in accordance with section 6P of the act, including, for example, for the purposes of enabling the timely investigation and prosecution of offences.