170Time for instituting proceedings

170 Time for instituting proceedings

170 Time for instituting proceedings

(1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be commenced not later than 6 months after the offence was alleged to have been committed.

(2) Proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations may also be commenced within but not later than 6 months after the Children’s Guardian became aware of the alleged offence.

(3) If subsection (2) is relied on for the purpose of commencing proceedings for an offence, the court attendance notice or application must contain particulars of the date on which evidence of the alleged offence first came to the attention of the Children’s Guardian and need not contain particulars of the date on which the offence was alleged to have been committed.

(4) The date on which evidence first came to the attention of the Children’s Guardian is the date stated in the court attendance notice or application, unless the contrary is established.

(5) This section applies despite anything in the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 or any other Act.

(6) In this section—

evidence of an offence means evidence of an act or omission constituting the offence.