Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) At the scene of an
incident from which a person allegedly suffered personal injury or at a
hospital after an incident from which a person allegedly suffered personal
injury —
(a) a
person attending must not solicit or induce a potential claimant involved in
the incident to make a claim; and
(b) a
person, other than a person attending, must not solicit or induce, in a way
that would be unreasonable in the circumstances, a potential claimant involved
in the incident to make a claim.
(2) In any
circumstances after an incident from which a person allegedly suffered
personal injury —
(a) a
person attending; or
(b) a
person obtaining information,
must not give a
potential claimant involved in the incident, or someone on the
potential claimant’s behalf, any information described in
subsection (4).
Penalty: $10 000.
(3) In any
circumstances after an incident from which a person allegedly suffered
personal injury, a person having contact whose contact directly
involves —
(a) the
treatment or management of the injury or its physical, psychiatric, or
psychological consequences; or
(b) the
provision of administrative or other support to a person whose contact
directly involves anything referred to in paragraph (a),
must not give a
potential claimant (whether or not the potential claimant involved in the
incident) or someone on the potential claimant’s behalf, any information
described in subsection (4) except if subsection (5) allows the
information to be given.
(4) The information
the giving of which may be an offence under subsection (2) or (3) is
the name, address, or telephone number of —
(a) a
particular legal practitioner or firm of legal practitioners; or
(b) an
employee or agent of the legal practitioner or firm.
(5) Information
described in subsection (4) may be given as described in
subsection (3) if —
(a) the
information is given while simultaneously giving similar information about, or
about an employee or agent of, each of at least 3 competing
legal practitioners or firms; or
(b) the
information is given on behalf of an association in order to help a person to
make use of an arrangement that the association has, as a service to its
members, made with a particular legal practitioner or firm of legal
practitioners.
(6) When counting how
many competing legal practitioners or firms there are for the purposes of
subsection (5)(5)(a), 2 or more legal practitioners who are members of
the same firm count as one.
(7) In any
circumstances after an incident from which a person allegedly suffered
personal injury —
(a) a
person attending;
(b) a
person obtaining information; or
(c) a
person having contact,
must not disclose the
name or address of a person involved in the incident to anyone except if
subsection (8), (9), or (10) allows the disclosure.
Penalty: $10 000.
(8) The name or
address of a person involved in the incident may be disclosed to —
(a) a
police officer;
(b) a
person to whom the disclosure is required under a law;
(c) a
potential claimant involved in the incident or the potential claimant’s
legal practitioner or agent;
(d) the
employer of the person making the disclosure, if that person is attending or
attended at the scene of the incident for the purpose of the person’s
employment and the employer requires the person to disclose the information on
grounds that are reasonable in the circumstances; or
(e) a
person ("insurer") who carries on the business of providing insurance for
people or property, or someone who is acting as the insurer’s
legal practitioner or agent.
(9) The name or
address of a person involved in the incident may be disclosed to a
legal practitioner if —
(a) the
person making the disclosure is a client of the legal practitioner for the
purpose of making a claim or exercising a legal right, whatever its nature,
arising out of the incident;
(b) in
the circumstances, it is reasonable for the person making the disclosure to
think that the person may have a claim or a legal right; and
(c) the
disclosure is made for the purpose of making the claim or exercising the legal
right.
(10) The name or
address of a person involved in the incident may be disclosed if the
disclosure is not likely to result in a potential claimant involved in the
incident being solicited or induced to make a claim.
(11) In this
section —
"person attending" means a person who, for the
purpose of the person’s employment, is attending or
attended —
(a) at
the scene of the incident from which a person allegedly suffered personal
injury; or
(b) at a
hospital after an incident from which a person allegedly suffered personal
injury;
“person having contact” means a person
who, for the purpose of the person’s employment, has contact with a
potential claimant, whether or not the potential claimant involved in the
incident, that substantially arises because of the incident from which a
person allegedly suffered personal injury;
“person obtaining information” means a
person who, for the purpose of the person’s employment, obtains
information about the incident from which a person allegedly suffered personal
injury.