Contents

Part I--Preliminary                                                                                                                 1

1............ Short title [see Note 1] ....................................................................... 1

2............ Commencement [see Note 1] .............................................................. 1

3............ Interpretation ...................................................................................... 1

4............ Extension of Act to Territories ........................................................... 4

5............ Extra‑territorial operation of Act ........................................................ 4

5A......... Application of the Criminal Code ...................................................... 4

Part II--Offences                                                                                                                     5

6............ Making counterfeit money or counterfeit securities ........................... 5

7............ Uttering counterfeit money or counterfeit securities .......................... 5

8............ Buying or selling non‑excepted counterfeit money or counterfeit securities            5

9............ Possessing counterfeit money or counterfeit securities ...................... 6

10.......... Import and export of counterfeit money or counterfeit securities ..... 7

11.......... Instruments and material used for counterfeiting ............................... 7

12.......... Persons shall not import or export instruments for counterfeiting etc. 8

13.......... Conveying instruments or materials from premises ........................... 9

14.......... Information with respect to counterfeit money or counterfeit securities                 10

15.......... Possessing filings, clippings etc. ....................................................... 10

16.......... Defacing or destroying current coins or current paper money ......... 10

17.......... Selling defaced coins or paper money ............................................... 11

18.......... Possessing defaced coins or paper money ........................................ 11

19.......... Persons not to design, make, print or distribute material of certain kinds                11

20.......... Import and export of certain material forbidden ............................... 12

21.......... Machines etc. operated by coins or paper money ........................... 13

Part III--Miscellaneous                                                                                                    15

22.......... Interpretation .................................................................................... 15

23.......... Liability to prosecution .................................................................... 15

24.......... Prosecution of offences against Act ................................................. 16

25.......... Jurisdiction of courts ........................................................................ 16

26.......... Section 38 of Judiciary Act .............................................................. 17

27.......... Evidence of examiners of counterfeit foreign money or counterfeit foreign securities              17

28.......... Counterfeit money to be rendered incapable of use ......................... 18

29.......... Forfeiture and seizure ....................................................................... 19

29A....... Excepted counterfeit coins not to be forfeited .................................. 21

30.......... Regulations ....................................................................................... 21

Sections 31‑42 ................................................................................................. 22

Schedule--International Convention for the Suppression of Counterfeiting Currency       23

Notes                                                                                                                                             35

  

 

 

Notes to the Crimes (Currency) Act 1981

Note 1

The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 122, 1981 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 6 April 2001 is not included in this compilation. For subsequent information see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Crimes (Currency) Act 1981	122, 1981	17 Sept 1981	Ss. 1‑3: Royal Assent Remainder: 16 Dec 1985 (see s. 2(2))
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 2) 1985	193, 1985	16 Dec 1985	S. 3: (a)	S. 16
Civil Aviation Act 1988	63, 1988	15 June 1988	Part III (ss. 17‑32), s. 98, Part IX (s. 99) and Part X (ss. 100‑103): 1 July 1988 (see Gazette 1988, No. S189) Remainder: Royal Assent	S. 100(1)‑ (3)
Qantas Sale Act 1992	196, 1992	21 Dec 1992	Schedule (Part 2): 10 Mar 1993 (see Gazette 1993, No. GN17) (b)	--
Commonwealth Bank Sale Act 1995	161, 1995	16 Dec 1995	Schedule (item 50): (c)	--
Financial Sector Reform (Consequential Amendments) Act 1998	48, 1998	29 June 1998	Schedule 1 (items 37, 38): 1 July 1998 ( see Gazette  1998, No. S316) (d)	--
Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Act 2001	24, 2001	6 Apr 2001	S. 4(1), (2) and Schedule 13: (e)	S. 4(1), (2) [see Table A]
Statute Law Revision Act 2008	73, 2008	3 July 2008	Schedule 4 (items 213-238): 4 July 2008	--

(a)     The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 2) 1985, subsection 2(7) of which provides as follows:

                 (7)   The amendments of the Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 made by this Act (other than the amendment of section 2 of that Act) shall come into operation immediately after the amendment of section 2 of that Act made by this Act comes into operation.

         The amendment of section 2 commenced on Royal Assent.

(b)    The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 was amended by the Schedule (Part 2) only of the Qantas Sale Act 1992, subsection 2(3)(a) of which provides as follows:

                 (3)   A Proclamation may fix a day that is earlier than the day on which the Proclamation is published in the Gazette but only if:

                              (a)   in the case of sections 30, 31, 35, 37, 39, 43 and 50 and Parts 1 and 2 of the Schedule--the day is not earlier than the substantial minority sale day; and

(c)     The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 was amended by the Schedule (item 50) only of the Commonwealth Bank Sale Act 1995, subsection 2(2) of which provides as follows:

                 (2)   Part 3, and all the items of the Schedule (except items 1, 12, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 31, 37 and 48), commence at the transfer time.

         The transfer time occurred on 19 July 1996.

(d)     The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 was amended by Schedule 1 (items 37 and 38) only of the Financial Sector Reform (Consequential Amendments) Act 1998, subsection 2(2) of which provides as follows:

                 (2)   Subject to subsections (3) to (14), Schedules 1, 2 and 3 commence on the commencement of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998.

(e)     The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 was amended by Schedule 13 only of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Act 2001, subsection 2(1)(a) of which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Subject to this section, this Act commences at the later of the following times:

                              (a)   immediately after the commencement of item 15 of Schedule 1 to the Criminal Code Amendment (Theft, Fraud, Bribery and Related Offences) Act 2000;

         Item 15 commenced on 24 May 2001.

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended      rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
Part I
S. 2......................................	am. No. 193, 1985
S. 3......................................	am. No. 193, 1985; No. 73, 2008
S. 5A...................................	ad. No. 24, 2001
Part II
S. 8......................................	am. No. 193, 1985; No. 24, 2001
S. 9......................................	am. No. 193, 1985; No. 24, 2001; No. 73, 2008
S. 11 ...................................	am. No. 24, 2001; No. 73, 2008
S. 12 ...................................	am. No. 73, 2008
Ss. 13, 14............................	am. No. 24, 2001
S. 15....................................	am. No. 24, 2001; No. 73, 2008
S. 16....................................	am. No. 24, 2001
Ss. 18, 19............................	am. No. 73, 2008
S. 21....................................	am. No. 24, 2001; No. 73, 2008
Part III
S. 22....................................	am. No. 24, 2001
S. 23....................................	am. No. 63, 1988; No. 196, 1992 ; No. 73, 2008
S. 27....................................	am. No. 73, 2008
S. 28....................................	am. No. 193, 1985; No. 161, 1995; No. 48, 1998; No. 73, 2008
S. 29....................................	am. No. 193, 1985; No. 24, 2001; No. 73, 2008
S. 29A.................................	ad. No. 193, 1985

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Act 2001 (No. 24, 2001)

4  Application of amendments

             (1)  Subject to subsection (3), each amendment made by this Act applies to acts and omissions that take place after the amendment commences.

             (2)  For the purposes of this section, if an act or omission is alleged to have taken place between 2 dates, one before and one on or after the day on which a particular amendment commences, the act or omission is alleged to have taken place before the amendment commences.