Environmental Protection Act 1994

This section applies if a person is convicted of an offence against this Act.

The court may make an order (a forfeiture order), on its own initiative or on an application by the prosecution, for the forfeiture of a thing owned by the person to the relevant entity for the thing if the thing was the subject of, or used to commit, the offence.

The court may make a forfeiture order for a thing—

whether or not the thing has been seized under this chapter; and

if the thing has been seized—whether or not the thing has been returned to the person who owned the thing immediately before the seizure.

In deciding whether to make a forfeiture order for a thing, the court—

may require notice to be given to any person the court considers appropriate, including, for example, a person who may have any property in the thing; and

must hear any submissions that a person claiming to have any property in the thing may wish to make; and

must have regard to—

any hardship that may reasonably be expected to be caused to a person by the order; and

the use that is ordinarily made, or was intended to be made, of the thing; and

the seriousness of the offence.

If the court makes a forfeiture order for a thing, the thing becomes the property of the relevant entity for the thing and may be destroyed or disposed of as directed by the administering executive.

The court may make any order it considers appropriate to enforce the forfeiture order.

This section does not limit the court’s powers under another law.

In this section—relevant entity, for a thing, means—

if an authorised person seized the thing in the exercise of the power of seizure in the enforcement of a matter devolved to a local government—the local government; or

otherwise—the State.