CRIMES (CRIMINAL ORGANISATIONS CONTROL) ACT 2012 - SECT 26
Association between members of declared organisations subject to interim control order or control order
(2) A person may be guilty of an offence under this
section in respect of associations with the same person or with different
people.
(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this
section if the defendant establishes that he or she did not know, and could
not reasonably be expected to have known, that the other person with whom he
or she associated was a controlled member of the declared organisation.
(4)
It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the
association is in accordance with an exemption under section 19 (7) (a).
(5)
The following forms of associations are to be disregarded for the purposes of
this section in its application to a defendant to whom an
interim control order relates if the defendant proves that the association was
reasonable in the circumstances:
(b) associations occurring in the course of a lawful
occupation, business or profession,
(c) associations occurring at a course of
training or education of a kind prescribed by the regulations between persons
enrolled in the course,
(d) associations occurring at a rehabilitation,
counselling or therapy session of a kind prescribed by the regulations,
(e)
associations occurring in lawful custody or in the course of complying with a
court order,
(f) other associations of a kind prescribed by the regulations.
(6) For the avoidance of doubt, in proceedings for an offence against this
section, it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that the defendant
associated with another person for any particular purpose or that the
association would have led to the commission of any offence.
(7) For the
purposes of this section, a control order made in relation to a person is
conclusive evidence that the person is a controlled member of the particular
declared organisation to which the control order relates and of the terms of
the order (including any exemptions from the operation of this section under
section 19 (7) (a)).
Note : It is an offence
for a person to fail or refuse without reasonable excuse to comply with a
request to disclose his or her identity or to give false or misleading
information about his or her identity--see section 35A.
(8) For the purposes
of this section, a person is a
"close family member" of another person if: