Offence for false or misleading statements or documents relating to treatment
306 Offence for false or misleading statements or documents relating to treatment
A person commits an offence if:
any of the following applies:
the person makes a statement (whether oral or in writing);
the person issues or presents a document;
the person authorises a statement to be made or a document to be issued or presented; and
the statement or document is false or misleading in a material particular; and
the statement or document is capable of being used in connection with:
a claim for compensation under Part 4; or
a claim by a person for payment for treatment provided by the person under Part 3.
Penalty: 20 penalty units.
Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.
For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
Subsection (1) does not apply if:
the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, that the statement or document was false or misleading in a material particular; or
the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, that the statement or document was capable of being used in connection with:
a claim for compensation under Part 4; or
a claim by a person for payment for treatment provided by the person under Part 3.
A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (3) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).
Section 9.2 of the Criminal Code (mistake of fact) does not apply in relation to the matters mentioned in subsection (3).
Despite section 15B of the Crimes Act 1914, a prosecution for an offence under this section can be commenced at any time within 3 years after the offence is committed.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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