Local Court Bench Book — Specific Penalties and Orders

This table of maximum penalties is populated using Lawcodes data. For more information, see Changes to Specific Penalties and Orders at the end of the introduction.

Jurisdiction

Section 118(1): Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be dealt with summarily before the Local Court, or before the Supreme Court in its summary jurisdiction.

Section 118(2): If proceedings are brought before the Local Court, the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed for the offence is $10,000, despite any higher maximum penalty provided for the offence.

Time for instituting proceedings

Section 119(1): Proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations may be instituted not later than 2 yrs after the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed. Section 119(2): The court may extend the time.

Penalty notice

Section 120: An authorised officer may issue a penalty notice to a person if it appears to the officer that the person has committed a penalty notice offence as prescribed by Food Regulation 2015 cl 9. The penalties are prescribed in Sch 2 of the regulations.

Liability of employers and employees

Section 121: An employer is taken to have contravened any provision of the Act where an employee has contravened. A defence is provided in s 121(2).

Liability of directors

Section 122: If a corporation commits an “executive liability offence” a director involved in the management who may influence the corporation’s conduct, who knows or ought reasonably to know of the offence and fails to prevent or stop the commission of the executive liability offence is liable to the same penalty for the offence if committed by an individual.

Section 122A: If a corporation commits a “corporate offence” a director who aids, abets, counsels, procures, induces, conspires in the commission of the corporate offence is liable to the same penalty for the offence if committed by an individual.

Section 123(2): A limited defence is available to an employee who has contravened.

Alternative verdicts

Section 124: If, on the trial of a person charged with an offence against s 13 or s 14, the trier of fact is not satisfied that the person committed the offence as charged, but is satisfied that the person committed an offence against s 16, the court may find the person not guilty of the offence charged, but guilty of an offence against s 16.