47.  Declaration of international instruments

(1)     The Minister may, after consulting the appropriate Minister of each State, by writing, declare an international instrument, being:

(a)     an instrument ratified or acceded to by Australia; or

(b)     a declaration that has been adopted by Australia;

(c)     to be an international instrument relating to human rights and freedoms for the purposes of this Act.

(2)     Where the Minister makes a declaration under subsection (1):

(a)     there shall be published in the Gazette:

(i)      a copy of the international instrument;

(ii)     a copy of Australia's instrument of ratification of or accession to the international instrument or of the terms of any explanation given by Australia of its vote in respect of the international instrument; and

(iii)   a copy of the instrument of declaration under subsection (1); and

(b)     subject to subsection (3), the declaration under subsection (1) has effect on and from the date on which the copies referred to in paragraph (a) were published in the Gazette or, if those copies were published in the Gazette on different dates, on the later or latest of those dates.

(2)     The provisions of section 48 (except paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) and subsection (2)) and sections 48A, 48B and 49 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 apply, by force of this section, to a declaration made under subsection (1) of this section in like manner as those provisions apply to regulations.

(3)     Nothing in the provisions applied by subsection (3) affects the operation of a declaration made under subsection (1) at any time before it becomes void, or is disallowed, in accordance with those provisions.

48.  Protection from civil actions

(1)     The Commission, a member or a person acting on behalf of the Commission is not liable to an action or other proceeding for damages for or in relation to an act done or omitted to be done in good faith in performance or purported performance of any function, or in exercise or purported exercise of any power, conferred on the Commission.

(3)  Where:

(a)     a complaint has been made to the Commission; or

(b)     a submission has been made, a document or information has been furnished, or evidence has been given, to the Commission or to a person acting on behalf of the Commission;

a person is not liable to an action, suit or proceeding in respect of loss, damage or injury of any kind suffered by another person by reason only that the complaint or submission was made, the document or information was furnished or the evidence was given.

49.  Non-disclosure of private information

(1)     A person who is, or has at any time been, a member of the Commission or a member of the staff referred to in section 43 or is acting, or has at any time acted, on behalf of the Commission shall not, either directly or indirectly, except in the performance of a duty under or in connection with this Act or in the course of acting on behalf of the Commission:

(a)     make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, any information relating to the affairs of another person acquired by the first-mentioned person by reason of that person's office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person acting, or having acted, on behalf of the Commission;

(b)     make use of any such information as is mentioned in paragraph (a); or

(c)     produce to any person a document relating to the affairs of another person furnished for the purposes of this Act.

Penalty: ,000 or imprisonment for 1 year, or both.

(2)     A person who is, or has at any time been, a member of the Commission or a member of the staff referred to in section 43 or is acting, or has at any time acted, on behalf of the Commission shall not be required:

(a)     to divulge or communicate to a court any information relating to the affairs of another person acquired by the first-mentioned person by reason of that person's office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person acting, or having acted, on behalf of the Commission; or

(b)     to produce in a court a document relating to the affairs of another person of which the first-mentioned person has custody, or to which that person has access, by reason of that person's office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act or by reason of that person acting, or having acted, on behalf of the Commission;

except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of this Act.

(3)     Nothing in this section prohibits a person from:

(a)     making a record of information that is, or is included in a class of information that is, required or permitted by an Act to be recorded, if the record is made for the purposes of or pursuant to that Act;

(b)     divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, to an instrumentality of a State in accordance with an arrangement in force under section 16; or

(c)     divulging or communicating information, or producing a document, that is, or is included in a class of information that is or class of documents that are, required or permitted by an Act to be divulged, communicated or produced, as the case may be, if the information is divulged or communicated, or the document is produced, for the purposes of or pursuant to that Act.

(4)     Nothing in subsection (2) prevents a person being required, for the purposes of or pursuant to an Act, to divulge or communicate information, or to produce a document, that is, or is included in a class of information that is or class of documents that are, required or permitted by that Act to be divulged, communicated or produced.

(4A)  Subsection (1) does not prevent the Commission, or a person acting on behalf of the Commission, from giving information or documents in accordance with paragraph 20(4A)(e).

(5)     In this section:

court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.

produce includes permit access to.

49A.  Information stored otherwise than in written form

If information is recorded or stored by means of a mechanical, electronic or other device, any duty imposed by this Act to produce the document recording that information is to be construed as a duty to provide a document containing a clear reproduction in writing of the information.

49B.  Jurisdiction of Federal Court and Federal Magistrates Court

The Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court have concurrent jurisdiction with respect to civil matters arising under Part IIB or IIC.

49C.  Compensation for acquisition of property

(1)     If the application of any of the provisions of this Act would result in an acquisition of property from any person having been made otherwise than on just terms, the person is entitled to such compensation from the Commonwealth as is necessary to ensure that the acquisition is made on just terms.

(2)     The Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court have concurrent jurisdiction with respect to matters arising under subsection (1) and that jurisdiction is exclusive of the jurisdiction of all other courts, other than jurisdiction of the High Court under section 75 of the Constitution.

50.  Regulations

The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters:

(a)     required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or

(b)     necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.