Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsIt is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against section 217 or 218 of failing to comply with a notice to transport a non - citizen if the defendant proves:
(a) that the defendant was prevented from complying with the notice because of stress of weather or other reasonable cause; or
(b) the defendant gave reasonable notice to the Secretary or Australian Border Force Commissioner of the person's willingness to receive the non - citizen on board a specified vessel at a specified port on a specified day within 72 hours of the giving of the notice for removal or deportation, but the non - citizen was not made available at that port on that date for boarding the vessel.
Note: A defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matters in this section (see section 13.4 of the Criminal Code ).