Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A foreign campaigner contravenes this subsection if referendum matter is communicated to a person and:
(a) all of the following apply:
(i) the matter is a referendum advertisement;
(ii) all or part of the distribution or production of the advertisement was paid for;
(iii) the content of the advertisement was approved by the foreign campaigner (whether or not the foreign campaigner paid for the distribution or production of the advertisement); or
(b) both of the following apply:
(i) the matter forms part of a sticker, fridge magnet, leaflet, flyer, pamphlet, notice or poster;
(ii) the content of the matter was approved by the foreign campaigner; or
(c) all of the following apply:
(i) the foreign campaigner communicates the matter;
(ii) the matter is not an advertisement covered by paragraph (a);
(iii) the matter does not form part of a sticker, fridge magnet, leaflet, flyer, pamphlet, notice or poster.
Civil penalty: 120 penalty units.
Exception
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to referendum matter referred to in paragraphs (1)(b) and (c) if the matter forms part of:
(a) an opinion poll or research relating to voting intentions at a referendum; or
(b) a communication communicated for personal purposes; or
(c) an internal communication of the foreign campaigner; or
(d) a communication at a meeting of 2 or more persons if the identity of the person (the speaker ) communicating at the meeting, and any foreign campaigner on whose behalf the speaker is communicating, can reasonably be identified by the person or persons to whom the speaker is speaking; or
(e) a live communication of a meeting covered by paragraph (d), but not any later communication of that meeting; or
(f) a communication communicated solely for the purpose of announcing a meeting.
Note: A person who wishes to rely on this subsection bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection (see section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act).
Application of civil penalty to entities that are not legal persons
(3) For the purposes of this Act and the Regulatory Powers Act, a contravention of subsection (1) that would otherwise have been committed by a foreign campaigner that is not a legal person is taken to have been committed by each member, agent or officer (however described) of the foreign campaigner who, acting in the foreign campaigner's actual or apparent authority, engaged in the conduct or made the omission constituting the contravention.
Note 1: For paragraph (1)(c), matter may be communicated on behalf of a disclosure entity whether or not the disclosure entity pays for the communication of the matter.
Note 2: Examples of matters that may be covered by this section include internet advertisements, bulk text messages and bulk voice calls containing referendum matter.
Note 3: For the geographical application of this section, see section 110D.
Note 4: For the meaning of communicate in relation to carriage service providers, see the definition of that term in section 110A.