Northern Territory Consolidated Regulations Northern Territory Consolidated Regulations(1) Subject to this by-law, if an offence against these By-laws relating to a motor vehicle is allegedly committed and the name of the offender is not ascertained, the owner of the motor vehicle at the time the offence occurs is, whether or not the owner in fact committed the offence:
(a) to be taken to have committed the offence; and
(b) if an infringement notice is issued in relation to the commission of the offence – to be issued the infringement notice.
(2) The owner of a motor vehicle is not to be taken to have committed an offence if:
(a) the motor vehicle was, at the time of the offence, stolen or unlawfully used without the owner's consent;
(b) the motor vehicle is registered under the Motor Vehicles Act and at the time of the offence:
(i) the owner had sold or disposed of the motor vehicle but the registration of the motor vehicle had not been transferred to the new owner; and
(ii) the owner had provided the Registrar with a notice of disposal in respect of the motor vehicle as required by section 20 of that Act; or
(c) within 14 days after the owner is, in relation to the alleged offence, served or issued with:
(i) an infringement notice;
(ii) a summons; or
(iii) any other document dealing with the recovery or enforcement of a penalty for an offence that may be served or issued under an Act,
the owner delivers to the council a statutory declaration made by the owner:
(iv) stating that some other person was in control of the motor vehicle at the time the offence was allegedly committed and setting out the name and address of that other person and any other information known to the owner that may assist in identifying or locating that other person;
(v) stating that the motor vehicle was sold before the offence was allegedly committed and setting out the date of the sale, the name and address of the person to whom it was sold and, if the sale was made through an agent, the name and address of the agent; or
(vi) stating that at the time when the offence was allegedly committed the motor vehicle had been stolen or was being used unlawfully without the owner's consent.
(3) If the owner of the motor vehicle is a body corporate, a director, secretary or manager of the body corporate may make a statutory declaration for the purposes of clause (2).
(4) If the owner of the motor vehicle is the Territory, the Commonwealth, a State or another Territory of the Commonwealth or a statutory corporation, a person authorised, or apparently authorised, for the purpose may make a statutory declaration for the purposes of clause (2).
(5) A person named in a statutory declaration as being in control of a motor vehicle at the time of an alleged offence cannot be found guilty of the offence unless a copy of the statutory declaration is affixed to the summons for the offence at the time the summons is served on the person.
(6) If a person is specified as the new owner of a motor vehicle in a notice of disposal referred to in clause (2)(b)(ii):
(a) the person is to be taken to be the owner of the motor vehicle at the time of the offence for the purposes of this by-law (other than clause (2)(b)); and
(b) this by-law applies as if a reference to the owner of the motor vehicle (other than in clause (2)(b)) were a reference to the person.
(7) A statutory declaration referred to in clause (2)(c):
(a) is admissible in evidence in a prosecution against the person in relation to the offence; and
(b) is evidence that the person was the driver of the motor vehicle at the time of the offence.
(8) Subject to clause (9), nothing in this by-law affects the liability of an actual offender who is not the owner of the motor vehicle.
(9) If a penalty has been imposed on a person in relation to an offence referred to in this by-law:
(a) another person cannot be charged with the same offence; and
(b) a further penalty cannot be imposed on or recovered from another person in relation to the same offence.