House of Representatives

Second Reading Speech

Ms KEARNEY (Cooper – Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care)

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased to introduce the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2023.

This bill deals with consequential matters arising from the enactment of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023, known as the NORDR Bill.

The bill will amend schedule 3 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982,known as the FOI Act. This amendment will add the offence of unauthorised disclosure of protected information contained in the NORDR Bill to the list of secrecy provisions recognised for the purposes of subsection 38(1) of the FOI Act.

Protected information for the purposes of the NORDR Bill includes personal information, workplace identifying information or information that is commercial in confidence in the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry or derived from personal information in the national registry.

The amendment to the FOI Act will ensure that information protected by the secrecy provision in section 23 of the NORDR Bill will be exempt from disclosure under section 38 of the FOI Act. This will protect against unnecessary intrusions on an individual's privacy or commercial interests by ensuring that protected information is unconditionally exempt from disclosure due to the operation of section 38 of the FOI Act, in response to an FOI request.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.