Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

CRIMINAL CODE 2002 - SECT 45A

    (1)     A person is taken to have committed an offence if—

        (a)     the person and at least 1 other person enter into an agreement to commit an offence; and

        (b)     either—

              (i)     an offence is committed in accordance with the agreement; or

              (ii)     an offence is committed in the course of carrying out the agreement.

    (2)     For subsection (1) (b) (i), an offence is committed in accordance with an agreement if—

        (a)     the conduct of 1 or more parties in accordance with the agreement makes up the physical elements consisting of conduct of an offence (the joint offence ) of the same type as the offence agreed to; and

        (b)     to the extent that a physical element of the joint offence consists of a result of conduct—the result arises from the conduct engaged in; and

        (c)     to the extent that a physical element of the joint offence consists of a circumstance—the conduct engaged in, or a result of the conduct engaged in, happens in the circumstance.

    (3)     For subsection (1) (b) (ii), an offence is committed in the course of carrying out an agreement if a person is reckless about the commission of an offence (the joint offence ) that another person in fact commits in the course of carrying out the agreement.

    (4)     A person commits an offence because of this section only if the person and at least 1 other party to the agreement intend that an offence will be committed under the agreement.

    (5)     An agreement—

        (a)     may consist of a non-verbal understanding; and

        (b)     may be entered into before, or at the same time as, the conduct making up any of the physical elements of the joint offence was engaged in.

    (6)     A person must not be found guilty of an offence because of this section if, before the conduct making up any of the physical elements of the joint offence concerned was engaged in, the person—

        (a)     ended the person's involvement; and

        (b)     took all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct from being engaged in.

    (7)     A person may be found guilty of an offence because of this section even if—

        (a)     another party to the agreement is not prosecuted or found guilty; or

        (b)     the person was not present when any of the conduct making up the physical elements of the joint offence was engaged in.

    (8)     Any special liability provisions that apply to the joint offence apply also for the purposes of deciding whether a person commits the offence because of the operation of this section.

    (9)     To remove any doubt, if a person is taken to have committed an offence because of this section, the offence is punishable as if, apart from the operation of this section, the person had committed the offence.