Acts and omissions of representatives
44AB Acts and omissions of representatives
In this section:
person means an individual.
See the Criminal Code, pt 2.5 for provisions about corporate criminal responsibility.
representative, of a person, means an employee or agent of the person.
state of mind, of a person, includes—
the person’s knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose; and
the person’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose.
This section applies to a prosecution for any offence against this Act.
If it is relevant to prove a person’s state of mind about an act or omission, it is enough to show—
the act was done or omission made by a representative of the person within the scope of the representative’s actual or apparent authority; and
the representative had the state of mind.
An act done or omitted to be done on behalf of a person by a representative of the person within the scope of the representative’s actual or apparent authority is also taken to have been done or omitted to be done by the person.
However, subsection (4) does not apply if the person establishes that reasonable precautions were taken and appropriate diligence was exercised to avoid the act or omission.
A person who is convicted of an offence cannot be punished by imprisonment for the offence if the person would not have been convicted of the offence without subsection (3) or (4).
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