Food Act 2003

In any proceedings for an offence under this Part, it is a defence if it is proved that the person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence by the person or by another person under the person’s control.

Without limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of subsection (1), a person satisfies those requirements if it is proved—

that the commission of the offence was due to—

an act or default of another person, or

reliance on information supplied by another person, and

that—

the person carried out all such checks of the food concerned as were reasonable in all the circumstances, or

it was reasonable in all the circumstances to rely on checks carried out by the person who supplied the food concerned to the person, and

that the person did not import the food into this State from another country, and

in the case of an offence involving the sale of food, that—

the person sold the food in the same condition as when the person purchased it, or

the person sold the food in a different condition to that in which the person purchased it, but that the difference did not result in any contravention of this Act or the regulations.

In subsection (2) (a), another person does not include a person who was—

an employee or agent of the defendant, or

in the case of a defendant that is a body corporate, a director, employee or agent of the defendant.

Without limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) or (2) (b) (i), a person may satisfy those requirements by proving that—

in the case of an offence relating to a food business for which a food safety program is required to be prepared in accordance with the regulations, the person complied with a food safety program for the food business that complies with the requirements of the regulations, or

in any other case, the person complied with a scheme (for example, a quality assurance program or an industry code of practice) that was—

designed to manage food safety hazards and based on Australian national or international standards, codes or guidelines designed for that purpose, and

documented in some manner.