Criminal Code Act 1995

A person commits an offence if:

the person conspires with another person with the intention of dishonestly obtaining a gain from a third person; and

the third person is a Commonwealth entity.

In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1), it is not necessary to prove that the defendant knew that the third person was a Commonwealth entity.

A person commits an offence if:

the person conspires with another person with the intention of dishonestly causing a loss to a third person; and

the third person is a Commonwealth entity.

In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (3), it is not necessary to prove that the defendant knew that the third person was a Commonwealth entity.

A person commits an offence if:

the person conspires with another person to dishonestly cause a loss, or to dishonestly cause a risk of loss, to a third person; and

the first‑mentioned person knows or believes that the loss will occur or that there is a substantial risk of the loss occurring; and

the third person is a Commonwealth entity.

In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (5), it is not necessary to prove that the defendant knew that the third person was a Commonwealth entity.

A person commits an offence if:

the person conspires with another person with the intention of dishonestly influencing a public official in the exercise of the official’s duties as a public official; and

the public official is a Commonwealth public official; and

the duties are duties as a Commonwealth public official.

In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (7), it is not necessary to prove that the defendant knew:

that the official was a Commonwealth public official; or

that the duties were duties as a Commonwealth public official.

For a person to be guilty of an offence against this section:

the person must have entered into an agreement with one or more other persons; and

the person and at least one other party to the agreement must have intended to do the thing pursuant to the agreement; and

the person or at least one other party to the agreement must have committed an overt act pursuant to the agreement.

A person may be found guilty of an offence against this section even if:

obtaining the gain, causing the loss, causing the risk of loss, or influencing the Commonwealth public official, as the case may be, is impossible; or

the only other party to the agreement is a body corporate; or

each other party to the agreement is a person who is not criminally responsible; or

subject to subsection (11), all other parties to the agreement have been acquitted of the offence.

A person cannot be found guilty of an offence against this section if:

all other parties to the agreement have been acquitted of such an offence; and

a finding of guilt would be inconsistent with their acquittal.

A person cannot be found guilty of an offence against this section if, before the commission of an overt act pursuant to the agreement, the person:

withdrew from the agreement; and

took all reasonable steps to prevent the doing of the thing.

A court may dismiss a charge of an offence against this section if the court thinks that the interests of justice require the court to do so.

Proceedings for an offence against this section must not be commenced without the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, before the necessary consent has been given, a person may be:

arrested for an offence against this section; or

charged with an offence against this section; or

remanded in custody or released on bail in connection with an offence against this section.