Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

A person commits an offence if:

the person takes an action; and

the action results in the death or injury of a cetacean; and

the cetacean is in:

the Australian Whale Sanctuary (but not the coastal waters, or a part of the coastal waters, of a State or the Northern Territory for which a declaration under section 228 is in force); or

waters beyond the outer limits of the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

This section does not apply in the circumstances described in section 231. A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to those circumstances. See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

Strict liability applies to paragraph (1)(c).

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

The offence is punishable on conviction by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine not exceeding 1,000 penalty units, or both.