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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA
Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2005
Act No.
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Clause Page
1. Purpose 1
2. Commencement 2
3. New Division 5 inserted in Part I of Crimes Act 1958 2
Division 5--Destruction of Evidence 2
253. Definitions 2
254. Destruction of evidence 3
255. Corporate criminal responsibility for offence against
section 254 4
ENDNOTES 7
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551349B.I1-15/11/2005 BILL LA INTRODUCTION 15/11/2005
PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA
A BILL
to amend the Crimes Act 1958 with respect to the destruction of
documents or other things that are, or are reasonably likely to be,
required as evidence in legal proceedings and for other purposes.
Crimes (Document Destruction) Act
2005
The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:
1. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to amend the Crimes
Act 1958 to create a new offence in relation to the
destruction of a document or other thing that is, or
is reasonably likely to be, required as evidence in
5
a legal proceeding.
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551349B.I1-15/11/2005 BILL LA INTRODUCTION 15/11/2005
Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2005
s. 2
Act No.
2. Commencement
(1) Subject to sub-section (2), this Act comes into
operation on a day to be proclaimed.
(2) If this Act does not come into operation before
1 September 2006, it comes into operation on that
5
day.
See: 3. New Division 5 inserted in Part I of Crimes Act 1958
Act No.
6231.
After Division 4 of Part I of the Crimes Act 1958
Reprint No. 18
insert--
as at
1 July 2005
and
'Division 5--Destruction of Evidence
10 amending
Act Nos
16/2004,
253. Definitions
18/2005,
56/2005 and
In this Division--
66/2005.
LawToday:
"associate", in relation to a body corporate,
www.dms.
dpc.vic.
means--
gov.au
(a) an employee or agent of the body
15
corporate to the extent that he or
she is acting within the actual or
apparent scope of his or her
employment or within his or her
actual or apparent authority; or
20
(b) an officer of the body corporate;
"board of directors" means the body (by
whatever name called) exercising the
executive authority of the body
corporate;
25
"corporate culture" means an attitude,
policy, rule, course of conduct or
practice existing within the body
corporate generally or in the part of the
body corporate in which the relevant
30
conduct is carried out or the relevant
intention formed;
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Act No.
"legal proceeding" has the same meaning
as in the Evidence Act 1958;
"officer", in relation to a body corporate,
means an officer (as defined by
section 9 of the Corporations Act) of
5
the body corporate to the extent that he
or she is acting within the actual or
apparent scope of his or her
employment or within his or her actual
or apparent authority;
10
"relevant conduct" means the destruction,
concealment, or rendering illegible,
undecipherable or incapable of
identification, of a document or other
thing of any kind;
15
"relevant intention" means the intention of
preventing a document or other thing of
any kind from being used in evidence
in a legal proceeding.
254. Destruction of evidence
20
(1) A person who--
(a) knows that a document or other thing of
any kind is, or is reasonably likely to
be, required in evidence in a legal
proceeding; and
25
(b) either--
(i) destroys or conceals it or renders
it illegible, undecipherable or
incapable of identification; or
(ii) expressly, tacitly or impliedly
30
authorises or permits another
person to destroy or conceal it or
render it illegible, undecipherable
or incapable of identification and
that other person does so; and
35
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Act No.
(c) acts as described in paragraph (b) with
the intention of preventing it from
being used in evidence in a legal
proceeding--
is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to
5
level 6 imprisonment (5 years maximum) or
a level 6 fine or both.
Note 1: "Document" is defined in section 38 of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984.
10 Note 2: The maximum fine that may be imposed on a
body corporate found guilty of an offence
against this section is 3000 penalty units:
see Sentencing Act 1991 s. 113D.
(2) This section applies with respect to a legal
proceeding, whether the proceeding is one
15
that is in progress or is to be, or may be,
commenced in the future.
255. Corporate criminal responsibility for
offence against section 254
(1) For the purposes of a proceeding against a
20
body corporate for an offence against
section 254--
(a) relevant conduct engaged in by an
associate of the body corporate must
also be attributed to the body corporate;
25
and
(b) knowledge of an associate of the body
corporate must also be attributed to the
body corporate; and
(c) intention--
30
(i) of the body corporate's board of
directors; or
(ii) of an officer of the body
corporate; or
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Act No.
(iii) of any other associate of the body
corporate if a corporate culture
existed within the body corporate
that directed, encouraged,
tolerated or led to the formation of
5
that intention--
must also be attributed to the body
corporate.
(2) If an officer of a body corporate contravenes
section 254, the body corporate must be
10
taken to have also contravened that section
and may be proceeded against and found
guilty of an offence against that section
whether or not the officer has been
proceeded against or found guilty of that
15
offence.
(3) In a proceeding against a body corporate for
an offence against section 254, brought in
reliance on sub-section (2), it is a defence to
the charge for the body corporate to prove
20
that it exercised due diligence to prevent the
contravention of that section by the officer.
(4) The means by which authorisation or
permission as required by section
254(1)(b)(ii) may be established include--
25
(a) proving that an officer of the body
corporate gave that authorisation or
permission; or
(b) proving that the body corporate's board
of directors gave that authorisation or
30
permission; or
(c) proving that a corporate culture existed
within the body corporate that directed,
encouraged, tolerated or led to the
relevant conduct being carried out.
35
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(5) Sub-section (4)(a) does not apply if the body
corporate proves that it exercised due
diligence to prevent the authorisation or
permission being given.
(6) Factors relevant to the application of sub-
5
section (1)(c)(iii) or (4)(c) include--
(a) whether authority to commit an offence
against section 254 or an offence of a
similar character had been given by an
officer of the body corporate; and
10
(b) whether the associate of the body
corporate who carried out the relevant
conduct or formed the relevant
intention believed on reasonable
grounds, or entertained a reasonable
15
expectation, that an officer of the body
corporate would have authorised or
permitted the relevant conduct being
carried out with the relevant intention.
(7) Subject to sub-section (8), it is not necessary
20
that each element of an offence against
section 254 that is attributed to a body
corporate by force of sub-section (1) be
supplied by the same associate of the body
corporate.
25
(8) It is necessary that the elements referred to in
section 254(1)(b)(i) and (c) be supplied by
the same associate of the body corporate.'.
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Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2005
Endnotes
Act No.
ENDNOTES
By Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria.
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