Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If the General Manager, or a person or body to whom the General Manager has delegated the conduct of an investigation, is investigating, or is about to investigate, a matter, a person must not:
(a) in any case--engage in conduct that results in the concealment, destruction, mutilation or alteration of a document relating to that matter; or
(b) if a document relating to that matter is in a particular State or Territory--engage in conduct that results in the taking or sending of the document out of that State or Territory or out of Australia.
Penalty: 200 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.
(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for a contravention of subsection (1) if it is proved that the defendant intended neither to defeat the purposes of the investigation, nor to delay or obstruct the investigation, or any proposed investigation under this Part.
Note: A defendant bears a legal burden in relation to a matter mentioned in subsection (2) (see section 13.4 of the Criminal Code ).