New South Wales Consolidated Acts

NEW SOUTH WALES CRIME COMMISSION ACT 1985 - SECT 3

3 Definitions

(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires:
"Assistant Commissioner" means an Assistant Commissioner for the Commission.
"business" includes:

(a) any profession, trade, employment or vocational calling,

(b) any transaction or transactions, whether lawful or unlawful, in the nature of trade or commerce (including the making of a loan), and

(c) any activity, whether lawful or unlawful, carried on for the purposes of gain, whether or not the gain is of a pecuniary nature and whether the gain is direct or indirect.

"Commission" means the New South Wales Crime Commission constituted by this Act.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner for the New South Wales Crime Commission.
"document" includes any book, register or other record of information, however compiled, recorded or stored.
"illegal drug trafficking" includes crime related to illegal drug trafficking.
"indictable offence" means an offence which may be prosecuted on indictment.
"investigation" means an investigation by the Commission of a matter referred to it under section 25 (1) (a) or (a1) by the Management Committee.
"Judge" means a Judge of a court of the State.
"law enforcement agency" means:

(a) the Police Force,

(b) a Police Force of another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth,

(c) the Australian Federal Police, or

(d) any other authority or person responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth or of the State, another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth.

"legal practitioner" means a barrister or a solicitor of the Supreme Court.
"Management Committee" or "Committee" means the New South Wales Crime Commission Management Committee constituted by this Act.
"member" means a member of the Commission, and includes the Commissioner.
"member of staff of the Commission" -see section 32.
"police inquiry" means an inquiry carried out under the authority of the Commissioner of Police.
"police task force" means a task force under the authority of the Commissioner of Police.
"regulation" means a regulation made under this Act.
"relevant criminal activity" means any circumstances implying, or any allegations, that a relevant offence may have been, or may be being, or may be about to be, committed.
"relevant offence" means:

(a) a serious drug offence, or

(a1) an offence that involves fraud and that the Management Committee is satisfied is sufficiently serious to warrant its investigation by the Commission, or

Note: Section 3 (2A) sets out the matters that the Management Committee is to take into account in deciding whether an offence involving fraud is sufficiently serious to warrant investigation.

(b) any other offence for which the Management Committee is satisfied that:

(i) the investigation of the offence by the Commission is in the public interest, and

(ii) the use of the Commission’s functions may be necessary to fully investigate the offence,

but:

(c) does not include an offence the time for the commencement of a prosecution for which has expired, and

(d) does not include an offence for which there is no penalty of imprisonment, and

(e) does not include an offence for which the maximum penalty of imprisonment is a period of less than 3 years.

"serious drug offence" means:

(a) an offence referred to (before the commencement of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 ) in section 45A of the Poisons Act 1966 :

(i) of supplying any drug of addiction or prohibited drug within the meaning of that Act,

(ii) of cultivating, supplying or possessing any prohibited plant within the meaning of that Act, or

(iii) of permitting any premises, as owner, occupier or lessee of the premises, to be used for the purpose of the cultivation or supply of any prohibited plant within the meaning of that Act or of being concerned in the management of any such premises,

(a1) an offence under Division 2 of Part 2 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 , other than an offence which is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph,

(b) a prescribed offence involving drugs or an offence of a prescribed kind involving drugs,

(c) an offence, which involves theft, fraud, obtaining financial benefit by vice engaged in by others, extortion, violence, bribery, corruption or harbouring criminals, perpetrated in connection with an offence referred to in paragraph (a), (a1) or (b), or

(d) an offence of attempting to commit, or of conspiracy or incitement to commit, an offence referred to in paragraph (a), (a1), (b) or (c).

(2) Where the Commission suspects that an offence that is not a relevant offence as defined in subsection (1) may be directly or indirectly connected with, or may be a part of, a course of activity involving the commission of a relevant offence as so defined, whether or not the Commission has identified the nature of that relevant offence, the first-mentioned offence shall, for so long as the Commission so suspects, be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be a relevant offence.

(2A) Without limiting the matters that the Management Committee may take into account in deciding for the purposes of the definition of "relevant offence" whether an offence that involves fraud is sufficiently serious to warrant its investigation by the Commission, the Management Committee is to take into account:

(a) the number of persons that may be involved in the offence, and

(b) the degree of planning and organisation likely to be involved in the offence, and

(c) the person or persons likely to be responsible for planning and organising the offence, and

(d) the likely involvement of those persons in similar offences, and

(e) the financial or other benefits likely to be derived by those or other persons from the offence.

(3) In this Act:

(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and

(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.

(4) In this Act, a reference to a person who has special legal qualifications is a reference to a person who:

(a) is or has been a Judge, or

(b) is a legal practitioner of at least 7 years’ standing.

(5) Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.