Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A defence member commits an offence if the member is on guard duty or on watch and the member:
(a) sleeps at the member's post or on watch; or
(b) is not on duty at a post but sleeps when the member's duty requires him or her to be awake; or
(c) is intoxicated; or
(d) leaves his or her post before being regularly relieved or otherwise absents himself or herself from a place where it is the member's duty to be.
Maximum punishment: Imprisonment for 12 months.
(2) Strict liability applies to paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d).
Note 1: For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .
Note 2: For the meaning of intoxicated , see subsection 3(1).
(3) A defence member commits an offence if the member:
(a) is engaged on service in connection with operations against the enemy; and
(b) is on guard duty or on watch; and
(c) engages in conduct that constitutes an offence against subsection (1).
Maximum punishment: Imprisonment for 5 years.
(4) Strict liability applies to paragraph (3)(c).
Note: For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .
(6) It is a defence if a person charged with an offence under this section proves that he or she had a reasonable excuse for engaging in the relevant conduct.
Note: The defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in subsection (6). See section 13.4 of the Criminal Code .