Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

I'll just take you through how the bill actually deals with self-incrimination. For example, a new section 197A will be inserted into the Social Security (Administration) Act to clarify the effect of the privilege against self-incrimination on a person's obligation to respond to a statutory demand. Subsection 197A(1) provides that a person is not excused from giving information or producing a document or record that may incriminate them or expose them to a penalty. In short, that person cannot refuse to provide the information or document on the grounds that it may incriminate them. Well-established law dictates that a person cannot be compelled to convict themselves from their own words, and subsection 197A(2) section applies to this principle. Section 197A(2) provides for what is called use or derivative use immunity for an individual providing information or documents in response to a statutory demand to produce. The subsection sets out that any information given or any document or record produced by an individual may not be admitted in evidence against the individual in criminal proceedings, with only limited exceptions.