Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

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DEFENCE FORCE DISCIPLINE ACT 1982 - SECT 32

Person on guard or on watch

             (1)  A defence member is guilty of an offence if the member is on guard duty or on watch and the member:

                     (a)  sleeps at the member's post or on watch; or

                     (b)  is not on duty at a post but sleeps when the member's duty requires him or her to be awake; or

                     (c)  is intoxicated (see subsection (5)); or

                     (d)  leaves his or her post before being regularly relieved or otherwise absents himself or herself from a place where it is the member's duty to be.

Maximum punishment:        Imprisonment for 12 months.

             (2)  Strict liability applies to paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d).

Note:          For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .

             (3)  A defence member is guilty of an offence if the member:

                     (a)  is engaged on service in connection with operations against the enemy; and

                     (b)  is on guard duty or on watch; and

                     (c)  engages in conduct that constitutes an offence against subsection (1).

Maximum punishment:        Imprisonment for 5 years.

             (4)  Strict liability applies to paragraph (3)(c).

Note:          For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .

             (5)  For the purposes of this section, a person is intoxicated if, and only if, the person's faculties are, because of the person being under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug (other than a drug administered by, or taken in accordance with the directions of, a person lawfully authorised to administer the drug), so impaired that the person is unfit to be entrusted with the person's duty or with any duty that the person may be called on to perform.

             (6)  It is a defence if a person charged with an offence under this section proves that he or she had a reasonable excuse for engaging in the relevant conduct.

Note:          The defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in subsection (6). See section 13.4 of the Criminal Code .



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