Section 142B — Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: Strict liability offence for breach of approval condition

(1) A person whose taking of an action has been approved under this Part commits an offence if: (a) the person takes an action or omits to take an action; and (b) the action or omission contravenes a condition attached to the approval. Penalty: 60 penalty units. Note 1: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility. Note 2: Subsection 4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 lets a court fine a body corporate up to 5 times the maximum amount the court could fine a person under this subsection. Note 3: An executive officer of a body corporate convicted of an offence against this section may also commit an offence against section 495. Note 4: If a person takes an action on land that contravenes this section, a landholder may commit an offence against section 496C. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who is not the holder of the approval if: (a) the person was not informed of the condition; and (b) the person could not reasonably have been expected to be aware of the condition. Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code. (3) Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability. Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.