The Secretary to the Treasury desires to be advised whether under section 28 of the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act 1908-1909, an officer of a State savings bank could refuse, without liability to fine, to furnish information asked by a Registrar.

The answer to this question depends, I think, upon whether the savings bank is practically a Department of the State, so that an officer of the bank is a State official, or whether the bank is an independent or semi-independent body, so that an officer of the bank could not be said to be a State official.

The Savings Bank of Western Australia is an example of the first-mentioned class, while the Savings Bank of Victoria is an example of the second-mentioned class.

I do not think that it is within the competence of the Commonwealth to demand from a State official information contained in the books or official records of a Department of the State, and I do not think that a State official is under any obligation to comply with the demand.

In my opinion, an officer of a savings bank, such as the Savings Bank of Western Australia, is under no obligation to answer questions put to him by a Registrar under the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act.

As regards a savings bank such as the Savings Bank of Victoria, the bank officer here is not an official of the State and cannot claim the privileges which attach to persons by virtue of their position as State officials, and in my opinion, section 28 of the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act would apply to the officers of these savings banks.

[Vol. 13, p. 276]