New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CONTAMINATED LAND MANAGEMENT ACT 1997 - SECT 92A

92A Penalty notices

(1) An authorised officer may serve a penalty notice on a person if it appears to the officer that the person has committed an offence against this Act or the regulations, being an offence prescribed by the regulations as a penalty notice offence.

(2) A penalty notice is a notice to the effect that, if the person served does not wish to have the matter determined by a court, the person can pay, within the time and to the person specified in the notice, the amount of the penalty prescribed by the regulations for the offence if dealt with under this section.

(3) A penalty notice may be served personally or by post.

(4) If the amount of penalty prescribed for an alleged offence is paid under this section, no person is liable to any further proceedings for the alleged offence.

(5) Payment under this section is not to be regarded as an admission of liability for the purpose of, and does not in any way affect or prejudice, any civil claim, action or proceeding arising out of the same occurrence.

(5A) Despite subsection (4), an authorised officer, whether or not the officer by whom the penalty notice has been served:

(a) may withdraw the notice within 28 days after the date on which the notice was served, and

(b) must withdraw the notice immediately if directed to do so by the EPA.

(5B) The following provisions have effect in relation to an alleged offence if a penalty notice for the alleged offence is withdrawn in accordance with subsection (5A):

(a) the amount that was payable under the notice ceases to be payable,

(b) any amount that has been paid under the notice is repayable to the person by whom it was paid,

(c) further proceedings in respect of the alleged offence may be taken against any person (including the person on whom the notice was served) as if the notice had never been served.

(6) The regulations may:

(a) prescribe an offence for the purposes of this section by specifying the offence or by referring to the provision creating the offence, and

(b) prescribe the amount of penalty payable for the offence if dealt with under this section, and

(c) prescribe different amounts of penalties for different offences or classes of offences.

(7) The amount of a penalty prescribed under this section for an offence is not to exceed the maximum amount of penalty that could be imposed for the offence by a court.

(8) This section does not limit the operation of any other provision of, or made under, this or any other Act relating to proceedings that may be taken in respect of offences.

(9) In this section, "authorised officer" means a person of a class prescribed by the regulations who is authorised in writing by the Director-General as an authorised officer for the purposes of this section.