24Pecuniary penalty orders

#### 24 Pecuniary penalty orders 24 Pecuniary penalty orders > > (1) If a person has been convicted of a serious offence other than a drug trafficking offence and an application is made under section 13 (1) (b) for an order in respect of the offence, the court may— > > > > > (a) assess, in accordance with section 25, the value of the benefits derived by the person because of having committed the offence, and > > > > > (b) order the person to pay to the State a pecuniary penalty equal to the value so assessed. > > > (2) If— > > > > > (a) property that is the proceeds of the offence has been forfeited under this Act or a law of the Commonwealth, a Territory or another State, or > > > > > (b) a forfeiture order is proposed to be made against property that is proceeds of the offence, > > > > the pecuniary penalty to be paid shall be taken to be reduced by an amount equal to the value of the property as at the time of the making of the order under this section. > > > (3) If— > > > > > (a) a court makes an order under this section in relation to an offence, and > > > > > (b) in calculating the penalty amount, the court took into account a proposed forfeiture order in respect of property, and > > > > > (c) an appeal against the forfeiture order is allowed or the proceedings for the proposed forfeiture order terminate without the proposed forfeiture order being made, > > > > an appropriate officer may apply to the court for a variation of the order to increase the penalty amount by the value of the property and the court may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, vary the order accordingly. > > > (4) An amount payable by a person to the State in accordance with an order made under this section shall, for all purposes, be taken to be a civil debt due by the person to the State. > > > (5) An order made by a court under this section may be enforced as if it were an order made by the court in civil proceedings instituted by the State against the person to recover a debt due by the person to the State.