Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2025C00060:section:4:p19
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2025C00060
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 4 (pt 19/21)
Character Range: 329085–332003

92A—Theft of trade secrets involving foreign government principal

92A.1  Theft of trade secrets involving foreign government principal

 (1) A person commits an offence if:
 (a) the person dishonestly receives, obtains, takes, copies or duplicates, sells, buys or discloses information; and
 (b) all of the following circumstances exist:
 (i) the information is not generally known in trade or business, or in the particular trade or business concerned;
 (ii) the information has a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were communicated;
 (iii) the owner of the information has made reasonable efforts in the circumstances to prevent the information becoming generally known; and
 (c) any of the following circumstances exists:
 (i) the conduct is engaged in on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign government principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign government principal;
 (ii) the conduct is directed, funded or supervised by a foreign government principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign government principal.

            Penalty: Imprisonment for 15 years.
 (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), dishonest means:
 (a) dishonest according to the standards of ordinary people; and
 (b) known by the defendant to be dishonest according to the standards of ordinary people.
 (3) In a prosecution for an offence against this section, the determination of dishonesty is a matter for the trier of fact.

 (4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c):
 (a) the person does not need to have in mind a particular foreign government principal; and
 (b) the person may have in mind more than one foreign government principal.

92A.2  Geographical jurisdiction

 (1) Section 15.2 (extended geographical jurisdiction—category B) applies to an offence against section 92A.1.

 (2) However, subsections 15.2(2) and 15.2(4) (defences for primary and ancillary offences) do not apply.

Division 93—Prosecutions and hearings

93.1  Consent of Attorney‑General required for prosecutions
 (1) Proceedings for the commitment of a person for trial for an offence against this Part must not be instituted without:
 (a) the written consent of the Attorney‑General; and
 (b) for proceedings that relate to information or an article that has a security classification—a certification by the Attorney‑General that, at the time of the conduct that is alleged to constitute the offence, it was appropriate that the information or article had a security classification.

 (2) However, the following steps may be taken (but no further steps in proceedings may be taken) without consent or certification having been obtained:
 (a) a person may be arrested for the offence and a warrant for such an arrest may be issued and executed;
 (b) a person may be charged with the offence;
 (c) a person so charged may be remanded in custody or