52HDefence—reasonable belief in marriage or domestic partnership

52H Defence—reasonable belief in marriage or domestic partnership

It is a defence to a charge for an offence against a provision of this Subdivision for A to prove on the balance of probabilities that, at the time of the conduct constituting the offence, A reasonably believed that—

(a) A and the person who has a cognitive impairment or mental illness were married to each other and that the marriage was recognised as valid under the Marriage Act 1961 of the Commonwealth; or

(b) A was the domestic partner of the person who has a cognitive impairment or mental illness.

The reference to A in this section is a reference to the same A referred to in the offence provisions in this Subdivision.

S. 52I inserted by No. 47/2016 s. 16.