Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person is given a * production order in relation to a * property - tracking document; and
(b) the person fails to comply with the order; and
(c) the person has not been notified of sufficient compliance under subsection (2).
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both.
Note: Sections 137.1 and 137.2 of the Criminal Code also create offences for providing false or misleading information or documents.
(2) A person is notified of sufficient compliance under this subsection if:
(a) the person gives an * authorised officer a statutory declaration stating that the person does not have possession or control of the document; and
(b) the officer notifies the person in writing that the statutory declaration is sufficient compliance with the * production order.
(3) It is a defence to an offence against subsection (1) if:
(a) the person fails to comply with the * production order only because the person does not produce one or more documents specified in the order within the time specified in the order; and
(b) the person took all reasonable steps to produce the document or documents within that time; and
(c) the person produces the document or documents as soon as practicable after that time.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (3) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).