New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CONFISCATION OF PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1989 - SECT 17G

17G Recovery of forfeited property

(1) A person may, within 6 months after relevant property is forfeited under this Division, apply to the relevant court for an order to recover the person's interest in the property.

(2) The person must give written notice to the relevant authority of--

(a) the making of the application, and

(b) the grounds on which the application is made.

(3) The person must apply for the leave of the court to make the application if a forfeiture notice was given, or reasonable steps were taken to give a forfeiture notice, to the person.

(4) The court may grant leave to make the application if the court is satisfied--

(a) if the person did not make an application for an exclusion order during the relevant period--the person had a reasonable excuse for failing to make the application, or

(b) if the person made an application for an exclusion order and appeared at the hearing of the application--the applicant has new evidence relevant to the application that was not available during the hearing, or

(c) there are special grounds for granting the leave.

(5) The relevant authority may appear and adduce evidence at the hearing.

(6) On hearing the application, the court must--

(a) make an order--

(i) if the interest in the property has been sold or otherwise disposed of--that the Crown pay an amount to the applicant determined by the court to be the value, on the day of the determination, of the applicant's former interest in the property, or

(ii) otherwise--that ownership of the interest in the property vests in the applicant and the interest in the property must be returned to the applicant, or

(b) otherwise--dismiss the application.

(7) The court must not make an order under subsection (6)(a) unless the court is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, of the following--

(a) the applicant was not involved in the commission of the serious offence in relation to which the relevant property was forfeited,

(b) if the applicant acquired the interest at the time of or after the commission of the offence--the applicant acquired the interest--

(i) for sufficient consideration, and

(ii) without knowing, and in circumstances that would not arouse a reasonable suspicion, that the property was, at the time of the acquisition--

(A) for property that relates to a restraining order made under section 43A--unlawfully acquired, or

(B) otherwise--tainted.