Queensland Consolidated Acts

FAIR TRADING ACT 1989 - SECT 52

52 Miscellaneous supporting provision for proceedings for recovery of pecuniary penalties

(1) For a relevant proceeding, if a court is to be satisfied of a matter, the court need only be satisfied of the matter on the balance of probabilities.

(2) If, for a relevant proceeding—

(a) a court orders a corporation to pay a pecuniary penalty; and

(b) the corporation does not have the resources to pay the pecuniary penalty;

the executive officers of the corporation are jointly and severally liable to pay any amount not paid by the corporation.

(3) It is a defence to a liability under subsection (2) for an executive officer to prove that—

(a) if the officer was in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to the act or omission the subject of the relevant proceeding—the officer exercised reasonable diligence to ensure the corporation did not do the act or make the omission; or

(b) the officer was not in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to the act or omission the subject of the relevant proceeding.

(4) If 2 or more relevant proceedings are to be dealt with concurrently and, under division 4 , the District Court would have jurisdiction for at least 1 but not all of the relevant proceedings, the District Court may exercise jurisdiction for all the proceedings.

(5) In this section—

"relevant proceeding" means a proceeding under the Australian Consumer Law (Queensland), chapter 5 , part 5-2 , division 1 , including under that division’s extended application.