Section 61Y - Reasonable excuse—self incrimination
Extract of legislation
| 61Y | Reasonable excuse—self incrimination |
| Without limiting what is a reasonable excuse for the purposes of section 61X, it is a reasonable excuse to refuse or fail to comply with a requirement of the notice if the giving of the information or production of the document may tend to incriminate the person. |
1.1
A person who receives a notice to produce or attend must do what the notice says, or they may have to pay a penalty.2 However, the person may not have to comply with the notice if they have a reasonable excuse.
1.2
Self incrimination is an example of a reasonable excuse: a person does not have to comply with a notice if producing a document or giving information may tend to incriminate the person who is providing the document or information (for example, doing so would expose the person to being convicted for a crime).
1.3
This means a person may:
- refuse to attend an examination;
- decline to answer one or more questions during an examination;
- refuse to produce a document or documents to the Information Commissioner; or
- refuse to provide information to the Information Commissioner.
More information
See section 61X for information on what to do if a person thinks they have a reasonable excuse.
See the following sections for other examples of what a reasonable excuse includes:
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61X.
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61X.
