Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 1997 - SECT 42

             (1)  If:

                     (a)  a loss of public property occurs; and

                     (b)  at the time of the loss, an official or Minister had nominal custody of the property as described in subsection (2);

the official or Minister is liable to pay to the Commonwealth the amount of the loss. However, it is a defence if the person proves that he or she took reasonable steps in all the circumstances to prevent the loss.

             (2)  A person (the custodian ) has nominal custody of public property if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

                     (a)  the custodian has taken delivery of the property and has not returned it to the person entitled to receive the property on behalf of the Commonwealth;

                     (b)  when the custodian took delivery of the property the custodian signed a written acknowledgment that the property was delivered on the express condition that the custodian would at all times take strict care of the property.

             (3)  If:

                     (a)  a loss of public property occurs; and

                     (b)  an official or Minister caused or contributed to the loss by misconduct, or by a deliberate or serious disregard of reasonable standards of care;

the official or Minister is liable to pay to the Commonwealth the amount of the loss. However, if the person's misconduct or disregard was not the sole cause of the loss, the person is liable to pay only so much of the amount of the loss as is just and equitable having regard to the person's share of the responsibility for the loss.

             (4)  A person's liability under this section that arises when the person is an official or Minister is not avoided merely because the person ceases to be an official or Minister.

             (5)  An amount payable to the Commonwealth under this section is recoverable as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.

             (6)  The Commonwealth is not entitled to recover amounts from the same person under both subsections (1) and (3) for the same loss.

             (7)  In this section:

"amount of the loss" means:

                     (a)  if the property is damaged--the value of the property or the cost of repairing the property, whichever is less;

                     (b)  in all other cases--the value of the property.

"loss" includes destruction or damage.