Criminal liability of officers of bodies corporate—accessorial liability
195R Criminal liability of officers of bodies corporate—accessorial liability
S. 195R inserted by No. 11/2025 s. 4.
If a body corporate commits an offence against a provision specified in subsection (2), an officer of the body corporate also commits an offence against the provision if the officer—
authorised or permitted the commission of the offence by the body corporate; or
was knowingly concerned in any way (whether by act or omission) in the commission of the offence by the body corporate.
For the purposes of subsection (1), the following provisions are specified—
section 195N(1);
section 195O(1).
Without limiting any other defence available to the officer, an officer of a body corporate may rely on a defence that would be available to the body corporate if it were charged with the offence with which the officer is charged and, in doing so, the officer bears the same burden of proof that the body corporate would bear.
An officer of a body corporate may commit an offence against a provision specified in subsection (2) whether or not the body corporate has been prosecuted for, or found guilty of, an offence against that provision.
In this section—
body corporate has the same meaning as corporation has in section 57A of the Corporations Act;
officer, in relation to a body corporate, means—
a person who is an officer (as defined by section 9 of the Corporations Act) of the body corporate; or
a person (other than a person referred to in paragraph (a)), by whatever name called, who is concerned in, or takes part in, the management of the body corporate.
This section does not affect the operation of Subdivision (1) of Division 1 of Part II of this Act.
This Act’s bill:Second reading speech
The statute text is free to read above. View subscription options to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.