Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002

This section applies to a statement made or document given in connection with a claim to a respondent or contributor.

A person must not state anything to the respondent or contributor the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular.Maximum penalty—150 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment.

A person must not give the respondent or contributor a document containing information the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular.Maximum penalty—150 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment.

Subsection (3) does not apply to a person who, when giving the document—

informs the respondent or contributor, to the best of the person’s ability, how it is false or misleading; and

gives the correct information to the respondent or contributor, if the person has, or can reasonably obtain, the correct information.

Subsection (3) does not require the respondent or contributor to tell someone that a document is false or misleading, or to disclose information, if the probable effect would be to alert a person suspected of fraud to the suspicion.

It is enough for a complaint against a person for an offence against subsection (2) or (3) to state the information or document was false or misleading to the person’s knowledge, without specifying which.