Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

BIOSECURITY ACT 2015 - SECT 152

  (1)   A person contravenes this subsection if:

  (a)   the person receives, or has in the person's possession, goods; and

  (b)   the goods were unloaded from a vessel in Australian territory; and

  (c)   the goods are subject to biosecurity control; and

  (d)   the vessel was displaying the prescribed quarantine signal when the goods were unloaded; and

  (e)   none of the following applies:

  (i)   the person is authorised to engage in the conduct referred to in paragraph   (a) in accordance with an approved arrangement;

  (ii)   the person needs to engage in that conduct to comply with a direction given under another provision of this Act by a biosecurity official;

  (iii)   the person has been given permission to engage in that conduct under section   557.

Note 1:   See section   221 in relation to when a vessel must display the prescribed quarantine signal.

Note 2:   The physical elements of an offence against subsection   (3) are set out in this subsection   (see section   534).

  (2)   Subsection   (1) does not apply if:

  (a)   the person is authorised to engage in the conduct referred to in paragraph   (1)(a) under this Act or under another Australian law; or

  (b)   the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, that the vessel was displaying the prescribed quarantine signal when the goods were unloaded.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection   (see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code and section   96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).

Fault - based offence

  (3)   A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection   (1).

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 5 years or 300 penalty units, or both.

Civil penalty provision

  (4)   A person is liable to a civil penalty if the person contravenes subsection   (1).

Civil penalty:   120 penalty units.