Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Director of Public Prosecutions Amendment Act 1985 No. 64 of 1985 - SECT 3

3. (1) Section 6 of the Principal Act is amended-

   (a)  by inserting after paragraph (1) (b) the following paragraph:



"(baa) if the Attorney-General requests the Director in writing to carry on a
prosecution of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) that was instituted by
the Attorney-General-to carry on that prosecution;";

   (b)  by inserting after paragraph (1) (f) the following paragraph:



"(fa) in respect of relevant matters-

        (i)    to take civil remedies on behalf of and in the name of the
               Commonwealth and authorities of the Commonwealth; or

        (ii)   to co-ordinate or supervise the taking of civil remedies by or
               on behalf of the Commonwealth and authorities of the
               Commonwealth,
for, or in connection with, recovery, or ensuring the payment, of amounts of
tax;";

   (c)  by omitting from paragraph (1) (h) "matters connected with, or arising
        out of, prosecutions instituted or carried on by the Director, being"
        and substituting "relevant matters that are"; and

   (d)  by omitting sub-section (7) and substituting the following
        sub-sections:



"(7) The taking by the Director of a civil remedy, or any other act or thing
done by the Director in relation to the taking of a civil remedy, shall not be
challenged or called in question in any court on any of the following grounds:

   (a)  that the taking of the civil remedy did not or does not relate to a
        relevant matter;

   (b)  that the civil remedy was not or is not being taken for, or in
        connection with, recovery, or securing the payment, of an amount of
        tax;

   (c)  that the taking of the civil remedy did not or does not relate to a
        matter in relation to which an instrument under sub-section (3) was or
        is in force.



"(8) In this section-
'amount of tax' means an amount payable under, or by virtue of, a law of the
Commonwealth that imposes, or deals with the imposition, assessment or
collection of-

   (a)  a tax (however described); or

   (b)  without limiting the generality of paragraph (a), a duty, charge or
        levy;
'relevant matter' means a matter connected with, or arising out of-

   (a)  a prosecution that has been instituted or taken over, or is being
        carried on, by the Director;

   (b)  a prosecution that has been instituted by a person other than the
        Director and that the Director is considering taking over or carrying
        on, or proposes to take over or carry on;

   (c)  an alleged or suspected offence in respect of which the Director
        proposes to institute a prosecution;

   (d)  in a case where a person other than the Director proposes to institute
        a prosecution in respect of an alleged or suspected offence and the
        Director proposes to take over or carry on the prosecution-that
        alleged or suspected offence;

   (e)  in a case where-

        (i)    a course of activity is alleged or suspected to have involved
               the commission of an offence, whether or not the nature of the
               offence has been identified; and

        (ii)   the Director is considering that course of activity for the
               purpose of deciding whether to institute a prosecution,
that course of activity; or

   (f)  in a case where-

        (i)    a course of activity is alleged or suspected to have involved
               the commission of an offence, whether or not the nature of the
               offence has been identified;

        (ii)   a person other than the Director is considering that course of
               activity for the purpose of deciding whether to institute a
               prosecution; and

        (iii)  the Director proposes, if the person institutes a prosecution
               as a result of that consideration, to take over or carry on the
               prosecution,
that course of activity.

"(9) Where, at the time when the Director first commences to take civil
remedies in respect of a particular matter, or first commences to co-ordinate
or supervise the taking of civil remedies in respect of a particular matter,
the matter is a relevant matter, the matter shall be deemed, for the purposes
of this section, to continue to be a relevant matter while the Director
continues to take civil remedies in respect of the matter, or to co-ordinate
or supervise the taking of civil remedies in respect of the matter, as the
case may be.".

(2) The Director shall, as soon as practicable, and in any event within one
month, after the end of the period of 2 years beginning at the commencement of
this section, prepare and furnish to the Attorney-General a report-

   (a)  concerning the performance during that period of the functions
        referred to in paragraph 6 (1) (fa) of the Principal Act as amended by
        this Act; and

   (b)  containing such information as the Director considers relevant, and
        such recommendations as the Director sees fit to make, for the
        purposes of a review of those functions.

(3) Where the Director furnishes to the Attorney-General the report required
by sub-section (2), the Attorney-General shall cause a copy of the report to
be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that
House after the Director so furnishes the report.