Criminal Property Forfeiture Act 2002

A person must not deal with seized or restrained property in any way.

Subsection (1) does not apply to:

a person acting in accordance with an order under section 46(1)(c), 109(2) or 111(2);

for seized property – a police officer acting under section 39 or a person acting under the direction of a police officer who is acting in accordance with this Act; or

for restrained property – a person acting in accordance with the restraining order.

It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) in relation to seized property if the defendant establishes that he or she did not know, and cannot reasonably be expected to have known, that the property was seized under section 39 at the material time.

It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) in relation to property subject to a restraining order if the respondent establishes that he or she did not know, and cannot reasonably be expected to have known, that the restraining order was in force at the material time.

Subsection (1) does not prevent a person from being dealt with for a contempt of the court that made a restraining order for a contravention of the order, but the person is not punishable for both a contempt and an offence under subsection (1) arising from the same contravention.