New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WATER ACT 1912 - SECT 4G

4G Proceedings for offences

(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 a 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.

(11) In this section:
"authorised officer" has the same meaning as it has in the Water Management Act 2000 .
"evidence" of an offence means evidence of any act or omission constituting the offence.