Crime and Corruption Act 2001

A person’s contempt of the presiding officer conducting a commission hearing may be punished under this section.

The presiding officer may certify the contempt in writing to the Supreme Court (the court).

For subsection (2), it is enough for the presiding officer to be satisfied that there is evidence of contempt.

The presiding officer may issue a warrant directed to a police officer or all police officers for the apprehension of the person to be brought before the Supreme Court to be dealt with according to law.

The Bail Act 1980 applies to the proceeding for the contempt started by the certification in the same way it applies to a charge of an offence.

The court must inquire into the alleged contempt.

The court must hear—

witnesses and evidence that may be produced against or for the person whose contempt was certified; and

any statement given by the person in defence.

If the court is satisfied the person has committed the contempt, the court may punish the person as if the person had committed the contempt in relation to proceedings in the court.

However, the court must punish the person in contempt by imprisonment if—

the contempt that is certified is—

a failure by a person, under section 183, to take an oath when required by the presiding officer; or

a failure by a person, under section 185, to produce a document or thing at a commission hearing under an attendance notice or immediate production requirement (hearing) without reasonable excuse; or

a failure by a person, under section 189, to answer a question put to the person at the hearing by the presiding officer without reasonable or lawful excuse; and

the court is satisfied the person has committed the contempt.

The maximum punishment the court may impose for a contempt mentioned in subsection (8A) is—

for the person’s first contempt—10 years imprisonment; or

for the person’s second contempt—14 years imprisonment; or

for the person’s third or subsequent contempt—life imprisonment.

For subsection (8B)—

despite any other law, a term of imprisonment imposed under subsection (8B) must be ordered to be served wholly in a corrective services facility; and

if a person is punished for more than 1 contempt, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the punishment for the second contempt or third or subsequent contempt must be for a term of imprisonment that is longer than the term of imprisonment imposed on the person for the immediately preceding contempt; and

the hearings mentioned in subsection (12), definition second contempt, may be the same hearing; and

the hearings mentioned in subsection (12), definition third or subsequent contempt, may be the same hearing; and

the failure by a person of a type mentioned in subsection (8A) that constitutes the person’s second contempt, or third or subsequent contempt, may be the same failure by the person of a type mentioned in subsection (8A) that constituted the person’s first contempt or other preceding contempt.

A person punished by imprisonment under this section may be brought before the commission to ascertain whether the person wishes to purge the contempt.

A person imprisoned under this section may be brought before the Supreme Court, on the person’s or the commission’s application, for a declaration that the person has purged the contempt.

The court may order the person’s discharge from prison before the end of the term—

if it is satisfied that the person has purged the contempt; and

it has heard the commission’s submissions in relation to the application and the person’s discharge from prison.

The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 apply to the court’s investigation, hearing and power to punish, with necessary changes.

The court’s hearing under this section is closed to the public.

However, the court may permit a person to be present at the hearing in the interests of justice.

The presiding officer’s certificate of contempt is evidence of the matters contained in the certificate.

The person is not excused from attending before a commission hearing in obedience to an attendance notice only because the person is punished or liable to punishment under this section for contempt of the presiding officer.

In this section—