Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS ACT 1976 - SECT 16

                   It is a defence to a prosecution of a person for an offence against section 13, for an offence against a regulation made for the purposes of section 14, or for an offence against subsection 15(5), if the act that constituted the offence was done for the purpose of:

                     (a)  saving human life;

                     (b)  securing the safety of a ship (including a hovercraft or any similar craft) where the ship was endangered by stress of weather or by navigational hazards; or

                     (c)  dealing with an emergency involving a serious threat to the environment;

or was done with any other reasonable excuse.