New South Wales Consolidated Acts

INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION ACT 1988 - SECT 79I

79I Detrimental action offence

(1) A person must not take detrimental action against another person if--

(a) the person suspects, believes or is aware, when taking the detrimental action, that the other person or a third person is a protected person, and

(b) the suspicion, belief or awareness is a contributing factor to the taking of the detrimental action.

: Maximum penalty--200 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.

Note--: It is not a detrimental action offence to take reasonable management action in relation to a person. See section 79F.

(2) The fact the suspicion or belief was mistaken is not a defence to a prosecution for a detrimental action offence.

(3) A detrimental action offence is an indictable offence.

(4) In a prosecution for a detrimental action offence, the accused bears the onus of proving, in relation to detrimental action established by the prosecution to have been taken by the accused--

(a) the accused did not have the suspicion, belief or awareness mentioned in subsection (1)(a), or

(b) if the accused had the suspicion, belief or awareness--the suspicion, belief or awareness was not a contributing factor to the taking of the detrimental action.

(5) It is a defence to a prosecution for a detrimental action offence that the detrimental action constituted appropriate corrective action.