Section 61ZG - Protection of legal practitioners and persons—notice to produce or attend

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.