Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) An officer may direct a person, including a passenger disembarking from, or embarking on, a ship or aircraft:
(a) not to use:
(i) a camera or sound recorder; or
(ii) a mobile phone or other electronic form of communication;
at a place in relation to which a sign is displayed under subsection 234AA(2); or
(b) not to operate a camera, or use an appliance to record or transmit sound, at a place (being a place that is part of a ship, of an aircraft or of a wharf) at a time when the personal baggage of passengers or crew disembarking from, or embarking on, a ship or aircraft, is being examined, for the purposes of this Act, at or in the vicinity of that place.
(2) Where an officer gives to a person a direction under subsection (1), the officer shall inform that person that failure to comply with that direction is an offence under this Act.
(3) A person shall not fail to comply with a direction given to that person by an officer in accordance with subsection (1).
(3A) Subsection (3) does not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse.
(3B) Subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .
(4) In any proceedings for the prosecution of a person for an offence against subsection (3), evidence that a sign indicating that the use of:
(a) cameras or sound recorders; or
(b) mobile phones or other electronic forms of communication;
at a place is prohibited by this Act was displayed at or near that place is prima facie evidence that the sign was so displayed in accordance with subsection 234AA(2).
(5) In this section, camera includes any device for making or transmitting, or designed for use in the making or transmission of, images of objects.
(6) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be taken to use an appliance to transmit sound at a place if, and only if, the person uses the appliance to transmit sound, other than sound coming from the appliance, from the place to another place.