Direction to deal with non‑compliance with the requirements of this Act etc
106 Direction to deal with non‑compliance with the requirements of this Act etc
Grounds for giving direction
An authorised officer may give a direction to a person (a relevant person) referred to in column 1 of an item in the following table if an authorised officer reasonably believes that a ground referred to in column 2 of that item exists.
Directions to deal with non‑compliance with the requirements of this Act etc. | ||
|---|---|---|
Item | Column 1 Relevant person | Column 2 Grounds for giving direction |
1 | The holder of an export licence | Any of the following: (a) a condition of the export licence has been contravened, or it is likely that such a condition will be contravened; (b) the holder has not complied, or is likely not to comply, with a requirement of this Act; (c) particular regulated waste material, or a kind of regulated waste material, covered by the licence does not comply, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement of this Act that applies in relation to the waste material |
2 | A person authorised by an accredited voluntary arrangement to exercise the Commonwealth’s intellectual property rights in a product stewardship logo in connection with a product | The person has not complied, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement of this Act |
3 | An administrator of an accredited voluntary arrangement | The administrator has not complied, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement of this Act |
4 | The accrediting authority (other than the Minister) of an accredited voluntary arrangement | The accrediting authority has not complied, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement of this Act |
5 | An administrator of a co‑regulatory arrangement | The administrator has not complied, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement of this Act |
6 | A liable party in relation to a product | The liable party has not complied, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement of this Act |
7 | A person specified by rules made for the purposes of subsection 92(1) (about mandatory product stewardship) | The person has not complied, or is not likely to comply, with a requirement specified by the rules |
8 | A person of a kind prescribed by the rules (who may be a relevant person referred to in another item of this table) | A ground prescribed by the rules |
Content of direction
The direction must require the relevant person to take specified action within a specified period, to deal with the ground for giving the direction.
An authorised officer may give more than one direction relating to a ground (see subsection 33(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).
See also section 107 (general provisions relating to directions).
Without limiting subsection (2), a relevant person may be directed to cease carrying out export operations in relation to particular regulated waste material or a kind of regulated waste material.
However, a direction must not require the relevant person to cease carrying out export operations in relation to particular regulated waste material, or a kind of regulated waste material, unless an authorised officer reasonably believes that:
one or more of the following grounds exists:
the waste material does not comply, or it is likely that the waste material does not comply, with a requirement of this Act that applies in relation to the waste material;
a ground prescribed by the rules; and
that ground, or those grounds, cannot be dealt with other than by ceasing the relevant export operations.
A direction that is given in writing must state that, if the person fails to comply with the direction, the person may commit an offence or be liable to a civil penalty.
A person contravenes this subsection if:
the person is given a direction under subsection (1); and
the person engages in conduct; and
the conduct contravenes the direction.
Fault‑based offence
A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection (6).
Penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months or 30 penalty units, or both.
Civil penalty provision
A person is liable to a civil penalty if the person contravenes subsection (6).
Civil penalty: 60 penalty units.
Subsection (6) does not apply if:
the direction was given in writing and the direction did not include the statement referred to in subsection (5); or
the direction was given orally and the authorised officer did not take reasonable steps to inform the person that the person may commit an offence or be liable to a civil penalty for failing to comply with the direction.
A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code and section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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