Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994

This section applies if a person has possession or custody of the constituent or product with the intention of supplying it.

If notice of the suspension or cancellation is:

given to the person under paragraph 45A(1)(a); or

published under paragraph 45A(1)(b);

Subsection (2) does not apply to a possession, custody or dealing if the constituent was an approved active constituent or the product was a registered chemical product or a reserved chemical product when the possession, custody or use took place because of its having been approved or registered or having become reserved after its previous approval or registration had been cancelled.

Subsection (2) does not apply to a person (other than a person to whom a notice is given under paragraph 45A(1)(a)) if the person proves that, when the person possessed, had custody of or otherwise dealt with the constituent or product, the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, of the existence of the notice published in the Gazette or that the possession, custody or dealing was not in accordance with the instructions contained in the Gazette notice.

A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection (2).

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (3). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

A defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in subsection (4). See section 13.4 of the Criminal Code.

For the purposes of subsection (5), strict liability applies to the physical elements of circumstance:

in paragraph (2)(a), that the notice is a notice given to the person under paragraph 45A(1)(a); and

in paragraph (2)(b), that the publishing of the notice was under paragraph 45A(1)(b).

For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.

Subsection (2) is a civil penalty provision.

Division 2 of Part 9A provides for pecuniary penalties for contraventions of civil penalty provisions.

For the evidential burden in civil penalty proceedings in relation to the matter in subsection (3), see section 145CD.