Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

ANTARCTIC TREATY (ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION) ACT 1980 - SECT 21AB

  (1)   A person who, in an emergency:

  (a)   to save a person from death or serious injury; or

  (b)   to secure the safety of a ship or aircraft or the safety of equipment or facilities of high value; or

  (c)   to protect the environment;

does an act mentioned in subsection   21A(2), and does so other than in accordance with a permit or a recognised foreign authority, must, before the end of the 60th day after the day on which the act was done, give a written report to the Minister or an authorised officer, in the prescribed form (or if no form is prescribed, in the form approved by the Minister):

  (d)   describing the action; and

  (e)   explaining why the action was taken.

Penalty:   60 penalty units.

  (2)   Subsection   (1) does not apply if:

  (a)   it is not possible for the person to give the written report to the Minister or an authorised officer before the end of the 60th day after the act was done; and

  (b)   the person gives the written report to the Minister or an authorised officer as soon as practicable after that day.

Note:   The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection   (2). See subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .

  (3)   Strict liability applies to subsection   (1).

Note:   For strict liability , see section   6.1 of the Criminal Code .

  (4)   In this section:

"authorised officer" means a person authorised by the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette , for the purposes of this section.