South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts (a)
manufactures, sells, distributes, supplies or otherwise deals in,
prohibited weapons; or
(b) uses
or has possession of a prohibited weapon,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $20 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(2) It is a defence to
prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) to prove that the
defendant was, in accordance with—
(a)
Schedule 2; or
(b) a
declaration made by the Minister under subsection (3),
an exempt person in the circumstances of the alleged offence.
(a) may
declare a person or a class of persons to be exempt from subsection (1)
in the circumstances specified in the declaration; and
(b) may,
on the Minister's own initiative, vary or revoke such a declaration.
(4) The declaration by
the Minister under subsection (3) may be conditional or unconditional.
(4a) A declaration
made by the Minister under subsection (3) in respect of a class of
persons—
(a) must
be notified in the Gazette; and
(b) has
effect for the period specified in the declaration (being a period not
exceeding 1 month); and
(c) has
effect despite any provision of Schedule 2.
(4b) A variation or
revocation of a declaration under subsection (3) is of no effect
unless—
(a) in
the case of a variation or revocation of a declaration in respect of a
person—the person has been given notice of the variation or revocation;
or
(b) in
the case of a variation or revocation of a declaration in respect of a class
of persons—the variation or revocation is notified in the Gazette.
(5) An application to
the Minister for a declaration must be—
(a) in a
form approved by the Minister; and
(b)
accompanied by the fee prescribed by regulation.
(6) The Minister must
not make a decision on an application for a declaration unless he or she has
consulted with the Commissioner.
(7) A person aggrieved
by a decision of the Minister to vary or revoke a declaration may appeal
against the variation or revocation to the District Court.
(8) The Minister may
delegate his or her powers under this section to any person or body.
(9) A delegation under
subsection (8)—
(a) must
be in writing; and
(b) may
be conditional or unconditional; and
(c) does
not derogate from the Minister's ability to exercise the power under this
section; and
(d) is
revocable at will by the Minister.
(10) If the Minister
has not given the person reasons in writing for making the decision appealed
against, the Minister must do so on request made within 28 days after the
person received notice of the decision.
(11) If a decision was
made because of information that is classified by the Commissioner as
criminal intelligence, the only reason required to be given is that the
decision was made on public interest grounds.
(12) An appeal under
this section must be made—
(a)
within 28 days after the person received notice of the decision appealed
against; or
(b) if a
request for reasons in writing is made under subsection (10)—within
28 days after the person received the reasons in writing.
(13) On an appeal
under this section, the Court—
(a)
must, on the application of the Commissioner, take steps to maintain the
confidentiality of information classified by the Commissioner as criminal
intelligence, including steps to receive evidence and hear argument about the
information in private in the absence of the parties to the proceedings and
their representatives; and
(b) may
take evidence consisting of, or relating to, information that is so classified
by the Commissioner by way of affidavit of a police officer of or above the
rank of Superintendent.
(14) A person (being a
person who is otherwise entitled to do so) must not use or have possession of
a prohibited weapon unless he or she does so in a safe and secure manner.
Maximum penalty: $1 250 or imprisonment for 3 months.