##### 45  Offence for unauthorised use or disclosure of protected information - \(1\) An entity commits an offence if: - \(a\) the entity obtains, generates or adopts a document or information; and - \(b\) the document or information is protected information; and - \(c\) the entity makes a record of, discloses or otherwise uses the document or information; and - \(d\) the making of the record, or the disclosure or use, is not authorised under Subdivision A or required by a notification provision\. Note 1: For exceptions to this offence, see section 46\. Note 2: A document or information that records or is the fact that an asset is declared under section 51 to be a critical infrastructure asset may be protected information: see section 5A\. Note 3: If the entity is not a legal person, see Division 2 of Part 7\. Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both\. - \(2\) Section 15\.1 of the Criminal Code \(extended geographical jurisdiction—category A\) applies to an offence against subsection \(1\)\. --- ## Source and attribution Saved copy: C2018A00029 / C2026C00213 / f578e546a17068939a3a5a928474713f844dfae8 Scope: navPoint\_235 Compiled 2026\-06\-04\. This does not establish legal commencement\. Official source: https://www\.legislation\.gov\.au/C2018A00029/2026\-06\-04/2026\-06\-04/text/1/epub/OEBPS/document\_1/document\_1\.html Licence: https://creativecommons\.org/licenses/by/4\.0/ Based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 1 October 2026\. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www\.legislation\.gov\.au\. Converted XHTML into Tiptap JSON; recovered lists from paragraph classes; kept literal labels and text\. Print layout is changed\. The Commonwealth Coat of Arms is not covered by the CC BY licence\.