Banking Act 1959

Part VIII - Powers of APRA  

Division 5 - Miscellaneous  

SECTION 62AA   Legal professional privilege  

(1)    
This section applies if:

(a) under this Act, a person requires a lawyer;

(i) to give information; or

(ii) to produce a book, account or document; and

(b) either:

(i) giving the information would involve disclosing; or

(ii) the book, account or document contains;

a privileged communication made by, or on behalf of or to the lawyer in his or her capacity as a lawyer.

(2)    
The lawyer is entitled to refuse to comply with the requirement unless:

(a) if the person to whom, or by or on behalf of whom, the communication was made is a body corporate that is under administration or is being would up - the administrator or the liquidator of the body; or

(b) otherwise - the person to whom, or by or on behalf of whom, the communication was made;

consents to the lawyer complying with the requirement.

(3)    
If the lawyer so refuses, he or she must, as soon as practicable, give to the person who made the requirement a written notice setting out:

(a) if the lawyer knows the name of the person to whom, or by or on behalf of whom, the communication was made - that name and address; and

(b) if subparagraph (1)(a)(i) applies and the communication was made in writing - sufficient particulars to identify the document containing the communication; and

(c) if subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) applies - sufficient particulars to identify the book, account or document, or the part of the book, account or document, containing the communication.

(4)    
A person commits an offence if he or she refuses or fails to comply with a requirement under this section.

Penalty: 30 penalty units.