Queensland Consolidated Acts

CRIMINAL CODE 1899 - SECT 228H

228H Possession etc. of child abuse objects or child exploitation material by law enforcement officer

(1) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence against section 228B , 228C , 228D , 228DA , 228DB , 228DC , 228I or 228J if—

(a) the person is, at the time of the offence, a law enforcement officer acting in the course of the person’s duties; and

(b) the person’s conduct is reasonable in the circumstances for the performance of the duties.

Example—

• copying child exploitation material for the purposes of preparing a brief for police prosecutors

• supplying child exploitation material to the Classification Board established under the Commonwealth Classification Act for classification under that Act or to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for use during the prosecution of a person for an offence

• keeping child exploitation material obtained during an investigation for legitimate intelligence purposes

(2) However, subsection (1) does not apply to the extent that the person’s conduct consists of engaging in conduct or an activity that—

(a) is authorised under—

(i) the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 , chapter 10 or 11 ; or

(ii) the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 , chapter 3 , part 6A ; or

(b) is otherwise directed to gaining evidence of the commission of an offence against a particular person.

(3) In this section—

"law enforcement officer" includes an inspector under any of the following Acts—

(a) the Classification of Computer Games and Images Act 1995 ;

(b) the Classification of Films Act 1991 ;

(c) the Classification of Publications Act 1991 .