206Commercial benefits penalty order

206 Commercial benefits penalty order

(1) A court that finds a person guilty of an offence under this Act or the regulations may make an order under this section on application by—

(2) The court may make an order under this section requiring the person to pay, as a fine, an amount not exceeding 3 times the amount estimated by the court to be the gross commercial benefit that—

(a) was obtained or obtainable, by the person or by an associate of the person, from the commission of the offence; and

(b) in the case of a journey that was interrupted or not commenced because of action taken by an authorised officer in connection with the commission of the offence—would have been obtained or obtainable, by the person or by an associate of the person, from the commission of the offence had the journey been completed uninterrupted.

(3) In estimating the gross commercial benefit that was or would have been obtained or obtainable from the commission of the offence, the court may take into account—

(a) benefits of any kind, whether monetary or otherwise; and

(b) monetary savings or a reduction in any operating or capital expenditure of any kind achieved or achievable because of the commission of the offence; and

(c) any other matter that it considers relevant.

(4) However, in estimating the gross commercial benefit that was or would have been obtained or obtainable from the commission of the offence, the court is required to disregard any costs, expenses or liabilities incurred by the person or by an associate of the person.

(5) Nothing in this section prevents the court from ordering payment of an amount that is—

(a) less than 3 times the estimated gross commercial benefit; or

(b) less than the estimated gross commercial benefit.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a person is an associate of another if—

(a) one is a spouse, de facto partner, parent, brother, sister or child of the other; or

(b) they are members of the same household; or

(c) they are partners; or

(d) they are both trustees or beneficiaries of the same trust, or one is a trustee and the other is a beneficiary of the same trust; or

(e) one is a body corporate and the other is a director or member of the governing body of the body corporate; or

(f) one is a body corporate (other than a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange) and the other is a shareholder in the body corporate; or

(g) they are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Act; or