Commentary on provisions of Act Section 13: Effect of notice of application
Section 13 provides that a person who has been given notice of an application for an overseas production order must not hide, destroy or alter the electronic data specified in the application, and must not disclose the making of the application or its contents to any person without the leave of a judge or written permission from the person applying for the order or an equivalent officer. The aim of this provision is to protect evidence (and prevent prejudice to an investigation) whilst providing the opportunity for affected parties to participate in proceedings considering access to such material.
	Subsections (3), (4) and (5) set out when the duty ceases to apply. Under subsection (3), a judge may order that the duties imposed by this section should continue to apply even where the application for the overseas production order is dismissed or abandoned. For example, this may apply where not to do so may prejudice the investigation. A judge may also order (under subsection (4) that the duty of non-disclosure (see subsection (1)(b)) should continue to apply after the point at which an order is made on the application., for example, where to notify a person would result in the subject being tipped off and impacting negatively on an investigation. In both cases, the judge must specify or describe when the duty is to cease to apply. Rules of Court will govern the procedure for applications to vary or revoke such orders.