Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022

In determining whether an entity has contravened a civil penalty provision of this Act, or otherwise breached this Act:

the entity is taken to have engaged in any conduct engaged in:

by a designated individual for the entity, if the conduct is within the actual or apparent scope of the individual’s designation; or

by a body corporate that is party to an approved contract with the entity, if the conduct is within the actual or apparent scope of the approved contract; and

if it is necessary to establish the entity’s state of mind, it is sufficient to establish the state of mind of an individual who has engaged in conduct as mentioned in subparagraph (a)(i).

Despite subsection (1), a government entity does not contravene a civil penalty provision of this Act because of conduct that is attributed to the entity under subsection (1), if the entity took reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to avoid the conduct.

The government entity bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2) (see section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).

An individual whose conduct is attributed to a government entity under subsection (1) is not personally liable for a contravention of a civil penalty provision (including an ancillary contravention) in relation to the conduct.

Any of the following is a government entity:

a Commonwealth body;

a State body, or a Territory body, that is not a body corporate;

the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.

Section 97 of the Regulatory Powers Act does not apply in relation to a body corporate that is a Commonwealth body (subsection (1) of this section applies instead).

Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to determining whether a body corporate that is not a Commonwealth body has contravened a civil penalty provision (section 97 of the Regulatory Powers Act applies instead).