Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018

A person commits an offence if:

the person gives information or produces a document to the Secretary; and

the person does so in response to a notice given to the person under section 45 (notice requiring information to satisfy Secretary whether person is liable to register) or 46 (notice requiring information relevant to scheme); and

the person does so knowing that:

the information or document is false or misleading; or

the information omits any matter or thing without which the information is misleading.

Subsection (1) does not apply as a result of subparagraph (1)(c)(i) if the information or document is not false or misleading in a material particular.

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

Subsection (1) does not apply as a result of subparagraph (1)(c)(ii) if the information did not omit any matter or thing without which the information is misleading in a material particular.

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

Subsection (1) does not apply if, before the person gave the information or produced the document to the Secretary, the Secretary did not take reasonable steps to inform the person of the existence of the offence against subsection (1).

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

For the purposes of subsection (4), it is sufficient if the following form of words is used: “Giving false or misleading information or documents is an offence”.

Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who produces a document if the document is accompanied by a written statement signed by the person or, in the case of a body corporate, by a competent officer of the body corporate:

stating that the document is, to the knowledge of the first‑mentioned person, false or misleading in a material particular; and

setting out, or referring to, the material particular in which the document is, to the knowledge of the first‑mentioned person, false or misleading.

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