New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ADOPTION ACT 2000 - SECT 179

179 Making available or supplying prohibited adoption advertising on on-line service

(1) In this section:
"access" has the same meaning as it has in the Commonwealth Act.
"Commonwealth Act" means the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.
"Internet content" has the same meaning as it has in the Commonwealth Act.
"on-line service" means an Internet carriage service within the meaning of the Commonwealth Act and includes a bulletin board.

(2) A person must not, by means of an on-line service, make available, or supply, to another person prohibited adoption advertising:

(a) knowing that it is prohibited adoption advertising, or

(b) being reckless as to whether or not it is prohibited adoption advertising.

Maximum penalty: 25 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

Note: "Prohibited adoption advertising" is defined in section 176.

(3) This section applies to an on-line service other than an on-line service, or on-line service of a class, prescribed by the regulations.

(4) Nothing in this section makes it an offence to supply prohibited adoption advertising by means of an on-line service to any person, or class of persons, prescribed by the regulations.

(5) A person is not guilty of an offence under this section by reason only of the person:

(a) owning, or having the control and management of the operation of, an on-line service, or

(b) facilitating access to or from an on-line service by means of transmission, down loading, intermediate storage, access software or similar capabilities.

(6) A person is reckless as to whether matter is prohibited adoption advertising:

(a) if the person is aware of a substantial risk that the matter is prohibited adoption advertising, and

(b) that having regard to the circumstances known to the person, it is unjustifiable to take the risk.

(7) The question of whether taking a risk is unjustifiable is one of fact.