(1) In this section,
"the Court" means the Land and Environment Court.
(2) Proceedings for an
offence under this Act or the regulations made thereunder (not being an
offence made punishable on indictment) may be taken before the Local Court, or
before the Court in its summary jurisdiction.
(3) If proceedings referred to
in subsection (2) are taken before the Local Court, the maximum monetary
penalty that may be imposed by the court is 200 penalty units or the maximum
monetary penalty for the offence, whichever is the lesser.
(4) If proceedings
referred to in subsection (2) in respect of an offence are brought in
the Court in its summary jurisdiction, the Court may impose a penalty not
exceeding the maximum penalty provided by this Act or the regulations made
thereunder in respect of the offence.
(6) Division 3 of Part 2 of the
Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (which relates to the summary disposal of certain
indictable offences unless an election is made to proceed on indictment)
applies to and in respect of an offence under section 21.
(7) Proceedings for
an offence against this Act, or the regulations under this Act, may be
commenced at any time within, but not later than, 3 years after the date on
which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
(8) Proceedings for an
offence against this Act, or the regulations under this Act, may also be
commenced at any time within, but not later than, 3 years after the date on
which evidence of the alleged offence first came to the attention of any
relevant authorised officer.
(9) If subsection (8) is relied on for the
purpose of commencing proceedings for an offence, the process by which the
proceedings are commenced must contain particulars of the date on which
evidence of the offence first came to the attention of any relevant
authorised officer and need not contain particulars of the date on which the
offence was committed.
(10) The date on which evidence first came to the
attention of any relevant authorised officer is the date specified in the
process by which the proceedings are commenced, unless the contrary is
established.