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Section 61Y - Reasonable excuse—self incrimination

Guidelines

Self-incrimination is a reasonable excuse

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:

  1. Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61X.
  2. Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61X.

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Last updated 27 December 2023

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