Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00709:section:39
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00709
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 39
Character Range: 44513–46936

39  Offence—making an unauthorised recording or transmission on court premises
 (1) A person in a building that is wholly court premises, or on court premises that are merely part of a building, must not make a recording or transmission of sound, or of one or more still or moving images, associated with:
 (a) proceedings in a court; or
 (b) an event associated with proceedings or proposed proceedings in a court.
Penalty: 30 penalty units.
 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following:
 (a) a recording or transmission expressly permitted by a member of the court;
 (b) a recording or transmission associated with an event described in paragraph (1)(b) and expressly permitted by the administrative head of the court;
 (c) a recording or transmission that relates to an event that occurs in a part of the building other than a room where the court is sitting, and is expressly permitted by the administrative head of the court;
 (d) a recording or transmission connected with official surveillance of the court premises for enhancing the security of the premises or persons on them;
 (e) a recording or transmission by a person for the purpose of preparing an official transcript of court proceedings;
 (f) a recording or transmission in the course of the operation of a hearing aid;
 (g) a recording or transmission by a lawyer of the lawyer's own voice in a part of the building other than a room where a court is sitting;
 (h) a recording or transmission prescribed by the regulations.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2): see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.
 (3) It is a defence to a prosecution of an offence against subsection (1) for the making of a recording that the person:
 (a) as soon as practicable after realising he or she contravened that subsection, either:
 (i) destroyed the recording and all copies (if any) of the recording; or
 (ii) gave the recording and all copies (if any) of it to a security officer or an authorised court officer and permitted a security officer, authorised court officer or police officer to destroy the recording and copies; and
 (b) did not give the recording or a copy of it to another person before taking the action described in subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii).
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (3): see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.