Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

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COMPETITION AND CONSUMER ACT 2010 - SECT 79A

Enforcement and recovery of certain fines

  (1)   If:

  (a)   a fine has been imposed on a person for:

  (i)   an offence against section   44AAFB, 45AF or 45AG, subsection   56BN(1) or 56CC(1) or section   154Q or 155; or

  (ii)   an offence against section   149.1 of the Criminal Code that relates to Part   XID; and

  (b)   the person defaults in payment of the fine;

a Court may:

  (c)   exercise any power that the Court has apart from this section with respect to the enforcement and recovery of fines imposed by the Court; or

  (d)   make an order, on the application of the Minister, the Commission or (in the case of an offence against section   44AAFB) the AER declaring that the fine is to have effect, and may be enforced, as if it were a judgment debt under a judgment of the Court.

  (2)   Where a person in relation to whom an order is made under subsection   (1) in respect of a fine gives security for the payment of the fine, the Court shall cancel the order in respect of the fine.

  (3)   Where the Court makes an order in relation to a person in respect of a fine, the Court may, at any time before the order is executed in respect of the fine, allow the person a specified time in which to pay the fine or allow the person to pay the fine by specified instalments, and, in that case:

  (a)   the order shall not be executed unless the person fails to pay the fine within that time or fails to pay an instalment at or before the time when it becomes payable, as the case may be; and

  (b)   if the person pays the fine within that time or pays all the instalments, as the case may be, the order shall be deemed to have been discharged in respect of the fine.

  (4)   Subject to subsection   (7), an order under subsection   (1) in respect of a fine ceases to have effect:

  (a)   on payment of the fine; or

  (b)   if the fine is not paid--on full compliance with the order.

  (5)   The term of a sentence of imprisonment imposed by an order under a law of a State or Territory applied by section   15A of the Crimes Act 1914 (including an order described in subsection   15A(1AA) of that Act) in respect of a fine shall be calculated at the rate of one day's imprisonment for each $25 of the amount of the fine that is from time to time unpaid.

  (6)   Subject to subsection   (7), where a person is required to serve periods of imprisonment by virtue of an order or orders under subsection   (1) in respect of 2 or more fines, those periods of imprisonment shall be served consecutively.

  (7)   Subject to subsection   (8), where:

  (a)   a person would, but for this subsection, be required by virtue of an order or orders under subsection   (1) in respect of 3 or more fines to serve periods of imprisonment in respect of those fines exceeding in the aggregate 3 years; and

  (b)   those fines were imposed (whether or not in the same proceedings) for offences constituted by contraventions that occurred within a period of 2 years, being contraventions that appear to the Court to have been of the same nature or a substantially similar nature;

the Court shall, by order, declare that the order or orders shall cease to have effect in respect of those fines after the person has served an aggregate of 3 years' imprisonment in respect of those fines.

  (8)   Where subsection   (7) would, but for this subsection, apply to a person with respect to offences committed by the person within 2 or more overlapping periods of 2 years, the Court shall make an order under that subsection with respect to one only of those periods, being whichever period would give the person the maximum benefit from the application of that subsection.

  (9)   For the purposes of subsection   (8), the Court may vary or revoke an order made under subsection   (7).

  (11)   This section applies only in relation to fines imposed for offences committed after the commencement of this section.


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