Section 61ZG - Protection of legal practitioners and persons—notice to produce or attend
Extract of legislation
| 61ZG | Protection of legal practitioners and persons— notice to produce or attend | |
| (1) | A legal practitioner representing the person who is served with a notice to produce or attend has the same protection and immunity as a legal practitioner has in representing a party in a proceeding in the Supreme Court. | |
| (2) | A person who is served with a notice to produce or attend has the same protection and immunity as a witness has in a proceeding in the Supreme Court. | |
Section 61ZG protects a person served with a notice to produce or attend, and their legal representative (if they have one), from civil action arising through complying with the notice.5 Civil action usually involves a dispute between parties involving money and includes matters such as defamation or negligence.
Protecting what a person says during an investigation, or documents produced under a notice, helps to promote the integrity of the process and the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s (OVIC) ability to perform its functions by encouraging free and open speech.6
The protection is complemented by section 61ZC, which outlines that statutory secrecy is not a reasonable excuse to fail to comply with a notice, and by section 62(1), which protects agencies and Ministers against actions for defamation or breach of confidence where they were required to provide access to a document.
While a person may be immune from civil action, there may be circumstances where they could be subject to criminal prosecution. For example, a person may be found to have committed perjury if they wilfully say something untrue or make a misrepresentation under oath or affirmation.7 It is also an offence to provide information or make a statement to OVIC knowing that it is false or misleading in a material way (subject to a penalty).8
A person who provides evidence at an examination, or produces documents, under a notice can (and must) tell the complete truth when answering questions from OVIC and when providing evidence.
More information
For information on how OVIC manages witness welfare, read OVIC’s Witness Welfare Management Policy.
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61ZG(2).
- Cabassi v Vila [1940] HCA 41, 140 and 141; D’Orta-Ekenaike v Victoria Legal Aid (2005) HCA 12.
- Cabassi v Vila [1940] HCA 41, 141.
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 63F(2).
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61ZG(2).
- Cabassi v Vila [1940] HCA 41, 140 and 141; D’Orta-Ekenaike v Victoria Legal Aid (2005) HCA 12.
- Cabassi v Vila [1940] HCA 41, 141.
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 63F(2).
