Copyright Act 1968

A person commits an offence if:

at a time, the person is:

ultimately responsible for administering a library or archives; or

the officer in charge of a library or archives; and

that time is:

after an authorized officer of a library or archives reproduced or copied all or part of a work or other subject‑matter under section 49 or 50; and

after a written declaration was made for the purpose of that section in relation to the reproduction or copying; and

before the end of the period prescribed by the regulations for the keeping of the declaration; and

at that time, the declaration is not kept in the records of the library or archives.

Subsection (1) does not apply if:

the person is the officer in charge of a library or archives and proves that:

the reproduction or copying took place before the day the person became the officer in charge; and

on that day the declaration was not in the possession of the person administering the library or archives; or

the person proves that the person took all reasonable precautions, and exercised due diligence, to ensure the declaration was kept in the records of the library or archives.

The person bears a legal burden in relation to a matter in subsection (2) (see section 13.4 of the Criminal Code).

Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.

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

The person cannot be convicted of more than one offence under this section in relation to the one declaration.

Section 203G makes early destruction or disposal of the declaration an offence.