Mistake of fact
54ZB Mistake of fact
A person is not liable for a contravention of a civil penalty provision if—
when engaging in the conduct constituting the contravention, the person considered whether or not facts existed, and was under a mistaken but reasonable belief about the facts; and
had the facts existed, the conduct would not have constituted a contravention.
A person may be taken to have considered whether or not facts existed when engaging in conduct if the person—
had considered, on a previous occasion, whether those facts existed in the circumstances surrounding that occasion; and
honestly and reasonably believed that the circumstances surrounding the present occasion were substantially the same as those surrounding the previous occasion.
The person has an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in subsection (1) and (2).
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