Mistake or ignorance of law
43AY Mistake or ignorance of law
(1) A person can be criminally responsible for an offence even if, at the time of the conduct constituting the offence, the person is mistaken about, or ignorant of, the existence or content of a law that creates the offence.
(2) However, the person is not criminally responsible for the offence if:
(a) the law creating the offence expressly or impliedly provides that a person is not criminally responsible for the offence in those circumstances; or
(b) the person's ignorance or mistake negates a fault element applying to a physical element of the offence.
(3) In addition, if the law creating the offence is a statutory instrument, the person is not criminally responsible for the offence if, at the time of the conduct constituting the offence, the statutory instrument:
was not known to the person; and
(b) had not been published in the Gazette or otherwise been made available to persons likely to be affected by it in such a way that the person would have become aware of its contents by exercising due diligence.
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