Detrimental action offence
31R Detrimental action offence
A person must not take detrimental action against another person if—
the person suspects, believes or is aware, when taking the detrimental action, that the other person or a third person is a protected person, and
the suspicion, belief or awareness is a contributing factor to the taking of the detrimental action.
Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.
Note.
It is not a detrimental action offence to take reasonable management action in relation to a person. See section 31O.
The fact the suspicion or belief was mistaken is not a defence to a prosecution for a detrimental action offence.
A detrimental action offence is an indictable offence.
In a prosecution for a detrimental action offence, the accused bears the onus of proving, in relation to detrimental action established by the prosecution to have been taken by the accused—
the accused did not have the suspicion, belief or awareness mentioned in subsection (1)(a), or
if the accused had the suspicion, belief or awareness—the suspicion, belief or awareness was not a contributing factor to the taking of the detrimental action.
It is a defence to a prosecution for a detrimental action offence that the detrimental action constituted appropriate corrective action.
Proceedings for a detrimental action offence may be instituted at any time within 3 years after the offence is alleged to have been committed.
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