These regulations may be cited as the Family Violence (Public Registers) Regulations 1998.

These regulations come into force on 15 December 1998.

These regulations are the Domestic Violence (Public Registers) Regulations 1998 as renamed by the Family Violence Act 2018.

After the commencement of this regulation, a reference in an enactment or in a document to the Domestic Violence (Public Registers) Regulations 1998 must, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to the Family Violence (Public Registers) Regulations 1998.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Unless the context otherwise requires, words or expressions used in these regulations have the same meaning as in the Act.

In these regulations, a reference to a numbered form is a reference to the form so numbered in Schedule 2.

These regulations apply to public registers maintained under any of the provisions specified in Schedule 1.

This regulation applies to the following agencies:

An agency to which this regulation applies may approve a form for use by persons who wish to apply for a direction in relation to relevant information on any public register administered by that agency.

An approved form must include information to assist the applicant to specify with due particularity the relevant information in respect of which a direction is sought, so that the agency may locate that relevant information.

Copies of approved forms must be available, on request, at every office of an agency to which this regulation applies, while the office is open to the public.

A protected person who wishes to apply for a direction in respect of relevant information on a public register must make the application to the agency responsible for administering that public register.

The application must be in writing.

An application to an agency to which regulation 4 applies must be in the form (if any) approved by that agency.

Where no form is approved, an agency must give such reasonable assistance as is necessary in the circumstances to enable the applicant to specify with due particularity the relevant information in respect of which a direction is sought.

An application may be made in any of the following ways:

A protected person who wishes to apply for a direction in relation to more than 1 public register must make a separate application in respect of each such register.

However, if those public registers are administered by the same agency, the protected person may make a single application to that agency in relation to those public registers.

An agency to which an application is made under section 108(1) of the Act must, without delay, and in no case after the expiry of 10 working days after the date on which the agency receives the application,—

When an agency notifies an applicant that it has made the direction sought by the applicant, the agency must also inform the applicant about the effect of the direction.

It is sufficient compliance with subclause (1) if the applicant is given a notice in form 1 or a notice to similar effect.

When an agency notifies an applicant that his or her application for a direction has been declined, then, in addition to the matters specified in section 110(2) of the Act, the agency must inform the applicant about the steps that he or she may take to make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner.

It is sufficient compliance with subclause (3) if the applicant is given a notice in form 2 or a notice to similar effect.

Where an application is made under section 108(1) of the Act, then, unless the application is sooner withdrawn, section 112 of the Act applies, as if the direction sought had been made, from the expiry of 3 working days after the date on which the application is received by the agency until the expiry of 5 working days after notice of the agency’s decision on the application is communicated to the applicant.

Subclause (1) is subject to section 111 of the Act.

Where, in accordance with section 114(3) of the Act, the person on whose application a direction was made or a Registrar notifies an agency that the protection order to which the direction relates has been discharged, the direction ceases to be in force on the expiry of 5 working days after the date on which the agency receives that notification.

Despite subclause (1), where a direction relates to any public register maintained under the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 or the Marriage Act 1955, the direction ceases to be in force on the expiry of 10 working days after the date on which the agency responsible for administering that public register receives notification in accordance with section 114(3) of the Act.

A complaint made to the Privacy Commissioner under section 118(1) of the Act must be made within 5 working days after notice of the decision is communicated to the applicant or within such further period as the Privacy Commissioner may allow on application made either before or after the expiration of that period of 5 working days.

Any notice required by Part 6 of the Act to be given to any applicant for a direction may be given by—

If any such notice is sent to any applicant by post then, in the absence of proof to the contrary, the notice is taken to have been delivered to that person when the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post, and in proving the delivery it is sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and posted.

Even though a direction is in force in respect of relevant information included on a public register maintained under the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995, nothing in section 112 of the Act applies to the inclusion of that information in an index provided by the Registrar-General (appointed under section 79(1) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995) before the commencement of section 27 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008.

A notice given by the Registrar-General (as described in subclause (1)) under regulation 7(b) must include information about any index that was kept by the Registrar-General prior to the commencement of section 27 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008 that includes relevant information, including the type of relevant information the index contains and the availability of access to the register by the public.

Where a direction is made, nothing in Part 6 of the Act or in these regulations prevents the Registrar-General from permitting a person to inspect any document containing information to which section 76(1) or section 77(4) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 applies, or from providing any person with a printout or copy of any such document or a printout of any such information, if the Registrar-General is satisfied that—

Before relevant information in respect of which a direction is in force is disclosed under subclause (1), the Registrar-General must notify the person to whom that direction relates, in writing, of the proposed disclosure.

Despite subclause (2), if it is not practicable to give notice under that subclause before disclosure of the relevant information, then the Registrar-General must give that notice as soon as practicable after disclosure of that information.

Where a direction is made, nothing in Part 6 of the Act or in these regulations prevents the Registrar-General of Land from providing (under section 40 of the Land Transfer Act 2017) a copy of an instrument or a record of title to a person who requires it—

The person provided with the copy must not disclose the copy, or any information obtained from the copy, to anyone else except for the purpose for which the copy was required under subclause (1).

The Registrar must give notice to the person to whom the direction relates—

The notice must be given in accordance with section 221 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 and must specify—

The Domestic Violence (Public Registers) Regulations 1996 (SR 1996/149) are revoked.