Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY CHEMICALS (ADMINISTRATION) ACT 1992 - SECT 69EJ

Application for order

  (1)   The APVMA may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order that a person, who is alleged to have contravened a civil penalty provision, pay the Commonwealth a pecuniary penalty.

  (2)   The APVMA must make the application within 6 years of the alleged contravention.

Court may order person to pay pecuniary penalty

  (3)   If the court is satisfied that the person has contravened the civil penalty provision, the court may order the person to pay to the Commonwealth such pecuniary penalty for the contravention as the court determines to be appropriate.

Note:   Section   69EJA sets out the maximum penalty that the court may order the person to pay.

  (4)   An order under subsection   (3) is a civil penalty order .

Determining pecuniary penalty

  (5)   In determining the pecuniary penalty, the court may take into account all relevant matters, including:

  (a)   the nature and extent of the contravention; and

  (b)   the nature and extent of any loss or damage suffered because of the contravention; and

  (c)   the circumstances in which the contravention took place; and

  (d)   whether the person has previously been found by a court to have engaged in any similar conduct; and

  (e)   the extent to which the person has cooperated with the authorities; and

  (f)   if the person is a body corporate:

  (i)   the level of the employees, officers or agents of the body corporate involved in the contravention; and

  (ii)   whether the body corporate exercised due diligence to avoid the contravention; and

  (iii)   whether the body corporate had a corporate culture conducive to compliance.