Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00632:section:31e
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00632
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 31E
Character Range: 382276–384054

31E  False or misleading documents
 (1) A person commits an offence if:
 (a) the person produces a document to the Secretary; and
 (b) the person does so knowing that the document is false or misleading; and
 (c) the document is produced in compliance or purported compliance with a notice given under section 31A, 31AA, 31B or 31BA.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 12 months or 1,000 penalty units, or both.
Note: For the liability of an executive officer of a body corporate, see sections 54B and 54BA.
 (1A) A person commits an offence if:
 (a) the person produces a document to the Secretary; and
 (b) the document is false or misleading; and
 (c) the document is produced in compliance or purported compliance with a notice given under section 31A, 31AA, 31B or 31BA.
Penalty: 100 penalty units.
 (1B) An offence against subsection (1A) is an offence of strict liability.
 (2) Subsection (1) or (1A) does not apply if the document is not false or misleading in a material particular.
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) Subsection (1) or (1A) does not apply to a person who produces a document if the document is accompanied by a written statement signed by the person or, in the case of a body corporate, by a competent officer of the body corporate:
 (a) stating that the document is, to the knowledge of the first‑mentioned person, false or misleading in a material particular; and
 (b) setting out, or referring to, the material particular in which the document is, to the knowledge of the first‑mentioned person, false or misleading.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (3): see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.