(b) the person is reckless as to whether the making, alteration, destruction or concealment of the document (or the failure to make or alter the document) facilitates, conceals or disguises the occurrence of one or more of the following:
(i) the person receiving a benefit that is not legitimately due to the person;
(ii) the person giving a benefit that is not legitimately due to the recipient, or intended recipient, of the benefit;
(iii) another person receiving a benefit that is not legitimately due to the other person;
(iv) another person giving a benefit that is not legitimately due to the recipient, or intended recipient, of the benefit (who may be the first‑mentioned person);
(v) loss to another person that is not legitimately incurred by the other person; and
(c) one or more of the circumstances referred to in subsection 490.1(2) applies.
(2) Absolute liability applies to paragraph (1)(c).
Note: For absolute liability, see section 6.2.
Penalty for individual
(3) An offence against this section committed by an individual is punishable on conviction by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, a fine not more than 5,000 penalty units, or both.
Penalty for body corporate
(4) An offence against this section committed by a body corporate is punishable on conviction by a fine not more than the greatest of the following:
(a) 50,000 penalty units;
(b) if the court can determine the value of the benefit that the body corporate, and any body corporate related to the body corporate, have obtained directly or indirectly and that is reasonably attributable to the conduct constituting the offence—1.5 times the value of that benefit;
(c) if the court cannot determine the value of that benefit—5% of the annual turnover of the body corporate during the period (the turnover period) of 12 months ending at the end of the month in which the conduct constituting the offence occurred.
490.3 Meaning of annual turnover
(1) For the purposes of this Division, the annual turnover of a body corporate, during the turnover period, is the sum of the values of all the supplies that the body corporate, and any body corporate related to the body corporate, have made, or are likely to make, during that period, other than the following supplies:
(a) supplies made from any of those bodies corporate to any other of those bodies corporate;
(b) supplies that are input taxed;
(c) supplies that are not for consideration (and are not taxable supplies under section 72‑5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999);
(d) supplies that are not made in connection with an enterprise that the body corporate carries on.
(2) Expressions used in this section that are also used in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 have the same meaning in this section as they have in that Act.
490.4 Related bodies corporate
The question whether 2 bodies corporate are related to each other is to be determined for the purposes of this Division in the same way as for the purposes of the Corporations Act 2001.
490.5 Proof of certain matters unnecessary
In a prosecution for an offence against this Division, it is not necessary to prove:
(a) the occurrence of any of the following:
(i) the defendant receiving or giving a benefit;
(ii) another person receiving or giving a benefit;
(iii) loss to another person; or
(b) that the defendant intended that a particular person receive or give a benefit, or incur a loss.
490.6 Consent to commencement of proceedings
(1) Proceedings for an offence against this Division must not be commenced without the Attorney‑General’s written consent if:
(a) the conduct constituting the alleged offence occurs wholly in a foreign country; and
(b) at the time of the alleged offence, the person alleged to have committed the offence is none of the following:
(i) an Australian citizen;
(ii) a resident of Australia;
(iii) a body corporate incorporated by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.
(2) However, a person may be arrested for, charged with, or remanded in custody or released on bail in connection with an offence against this Division before the necessary consent has been given.
490.7 Saving of other laws
This Division is not intended to exclude or limit the operation of any other law of the Commonwealth or any law of a State or Territory.
Dictionary
ABN (short for Australian Business Number) has the meaning given by section 41 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.
accounting document means:
(a) any account; or
(b) any record or document made or required for any accounting purpose; or
(c) any register under the Corporations Act 2001, or any financial report or financial records within the meaning of that Act.
aggravated burglary means an offence against section 132.5.
aggravated robbery means an offence against section 132.3.
alien means a person who is an alien for the purposes of paragraph 51(xix) of the Constitution.
ancillary offence means:
(a) an offence against section 11.1, 11.4 or 11.5; or
(b) an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, to the extent to which the offence arises out of the operation of section 11.2, 11.2A or 11.3.
attack directed against a civilian population means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of any one or more proscribed inhumane acts against any civilian population pursuant to, or in furtherance of, a state or organisational policy to engage in that course of conduct.
Australia, when used in a geographical sense, includes the external Territories.
Australian aircraft means:
(a) an aircraft registered, or required to be registered, under regulations made under the Civil Aviation Act 1988; or
(b) an aircraft (other than a defence aircraft) that is owned by, or in the possession or control of, a Commonwealth entity; or
(c) a defence aircraft.
Australian Government security clearance means a security clearance given by the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency or by another Commonwealth, State or Territory agency that is authorised or approved by the Commonwealth to issue security clearances.
Australian ship means:
(a) a ship registered, or required to be registered, under the Shipping Registration Act 1981; or
(b) an unregistered ship that has Australian nationality; or
(c) a defence ship.
benefit includes any advantage and is not limited to property.
burglary means an offence against section 132.4.
carriage service has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act 1997.
cause a person to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual activity has the meaning given by section 272.2.
child: without limiting who is a child of a person for the purposes of this Code, someone is the child of a person if he or she is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975.
Commonwealth authority means a body established by or under a law of the Commonwealth, but does not include:
(a) a body established by or under:
(ii) the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988; or
(iii) the Corporations Act 2001; or
(iv) the Norfolk Island Act 1979; or
(v) the Northern Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1978; or
(aa) a corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006; or
(ab) an organisation registered, or an association recognised, under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009; or
(b) a body specified in the regulations.
Commonwealth contract means a contract, to which a Commonwealth entity is a party, under which services are to be, or were to be, provided to a Commonwealth entity.
Commonwealth entity means:
(a) the Commonwealth; or
(b) a Commonwealth authority.
Commonwealth judicial officer means:
(a) a Justice of the High Court; or
(b) a judge or justice of a court created by the Parliament; or
(d) a registrar or other officer of the High Court; or
(e) a judicial registrar, registrar or other officer of a court created by the Parliament; or
(f) a judge, justice, magistrate or other judicial officer of a court of a State or Territory who acts in the exercise of federal jurisdiction; or
(g) a judicial registrar, registrar or other officer of a court of a State or Territory who exercises powers, or performs functions, incidental to the exercise of federal jurisdiction; or
(h) a judge, justice, magistrate or other judicial officer of a court of a State or Territory who acts in the exercise of jurisdiction under a law in force in a Territory (other than the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory); or
(i) a judicial registrar, registrar or other officer of a court of a State or Territory who exercises powers, or performs functions, incidental to the exercise of jurisdiction under a law in force in a Territory (other than the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory).
Commonwealth public official means:
(a) the Governor‑General; or
(b) a person appointed to administer the Government of the Commonwealth under section 4 of the Constitution; or
(c) a Minister; or
(d) a Parliamentary Secretary; or
(e) a member of either House of the Parliament; or
(f) an individual who holds an appointment under section 67 of the Constitution; or
(g) the Administrator, an Acting Administrator, or a Deputy Administrator, of the Northern Territory; or
(i) a Commonwealth judicial officer; or
(j) an APS employee; or
(k) an individual employed by the Commonwealth otherwise than under the Public Service Act 1999; or
(l) a member of the Australian Defence Force; or
(m) a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police; or
(n) an individual (other than an official of a registered industrial organisation) who holds or performs the duties of an office established by or under a law of the Commonwealth, other than:
(i) the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006; or
(ii) the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988; or
(iii) the Corporations Act 2001; or
(v) the Northern Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1978; or
(o) an officer or employee of a Commonwealth authority; or
(p) an individual who is a contracted service provider for a Commonwealth contract; or
(q) an individual who is an officer or employee of a contracted service provider for a Commonwealth contract and who provides services for the purposes (whether direct or indirect) of the Commonwealth contract; or
(r) an individual (other than an official of a registered industrial organisation) who exercises powers, or performs functions, conferred on the person by or under a law of the Commonwealth, other than:
(i) the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006; or
(ii) the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988; or
(iii) the Corporations Act 2001; or
(v) the Northern Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1978; or
(vii) a provision specified in the regulations; or
(s) an individual who exercises powers, or performs functions, conferred on the person under a law in force in the Territory of Christmas Island, the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands or the Territory of Norfolk Island; or
(t) the Registrar, or a Deputy Registrar, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations.
communication includes any communication:
(a) whether between persons and persons, things and things or persons and things; and
(b) whether the communication is:
(i) in the form of text; or
(ii) in the form of speech, music or other sounds; or
(iii) in the form of visual images (still or moving); or
(iv) in the form of signals; or
(v) in the form of data; or
(vi) in any other form; or
(vii) in any combination of forms.
conduct is defined in subsection 4.1(2).
confiscate, in relation to a person’s travel or identity document, has the same meaning as in Division 271 (see section 271.1).
constitutional corporation means a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies.
constitutional trade and commerce means trade and commerce:
(a) with other countries; or
(b) among the States; or
(c) between a State and a Territory; or
(d) between 2 Territories.
contracted service provider, for a Commonwealth contract, means:
(a) a person who is a party to the Commonwealth contract and who is responsible for the provision of services to a Commonwealth entity under the Commonwealth contract; or
(b) a subcontractor for the Commonwealth contract.
Covenant means the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 2 to the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986.
crime against humanity means an offence under Subdivision C of Division 268.
crime against the administration of the justice of the International Criminal Court means an offence under Subdivision J of Division 268.
data includes:
(a) information in any form; or
(b) any program (or part of a program).
data held in a computer includes:
(a) data held in any removable data storage device for the time being held in a computer; or
(b) data held in a data storage device on a computer network of which the computer forms a part.
data storage device means a thing (for example, a disk or file server) containing, or designed to contain, data for use by a computer.
deal, in identification information, has a meaning affected by section 370.1.
death means:
(a) the irreversible cessation of all function of a person’s brain (including the brain stem); or
(b) the irreversible cessation of circulation of blood in a person’s body.
debt bondage has the same meaning as in Division 270 (see section 270.1A).
de facto partner has the meaning given by the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
defence aircraft means an aircraft of any part of the Australian Defence Force, and includes an aircraft that is being commanded or piloted by a member of that Force in the course of his or her duties as such a member.
Defence Minister means the Minister administering the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.
defence ship means a ship of any part of the Australian Defence Force, and includes a ship that is being operated or commanded by a member of that Force in the course of his or her duties as such a member.
detaining a person includes causing the person to remain where he or she is.
detriment includes any disadvantage and is not limited to personal injury or to loss of or damage to property.
disallowable legislative instrument has the meaning given by the Legislation Act 2003.
displayed in a public place has the meaning given by section 80.2F.
distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions means the emblems, identity cards, signs, signals, insignia or uniforms to which subsection 15(1) of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 applies.
electronic communication means a communication by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy or both.
electronic service has the meaning given by subsection 474.23A(4).
engage in conduct is defined in subsection 4.1(2).
engage in sexual activity: without limiting when a person engages in sexual activity, a person is taken to engage in sexual activity if the person is in the presence of another person (including by a means of communication that allows the person to see or hear the other person) while the other person engages in sexual activity.
evidence includes anything that may be used as evidence.
evidential burden is defined in subsection 13.3(6).
exploitation has the same meaning as in Division 271 (see section 271.1A).
federal aspect is defined in section 390.2.
firearms and explosives manufacture material has the meaning given by section 474.45F.
First Geneva Convention means the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, adopted at Geneva on 12 August 1949, a copy of the English text of which (not including the annexes) is set out in Schedule 1 to the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.
forced labour has the same meaning as in Division 270 (see section 270.6).
forced marriage has the meaning given by section 270.7A.
Foreign Affairs Minister means the Minister administering the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1967.
foreign country includes:
(a) a colony or overseas territory; and
(b) a territory outside Australia, where a foreign country is to any extent responsible for the international relations of the territory; and
(c) a territory outside Australia that is to some extent self‑governing, but that is not recognised as an independent sovereign state by Australia.
foreign intelligence agency means an intelligence or security service (however described) of a foreign country.
Fourth Geneva Convention means the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, adopted at Geneva on 12 August 1949, a copy of the English text of which (not including the annexes) is set out in Schedule 4 to the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.
Geneva Conventions means the First Geneva Convention, the Second Geneva Convention, the Third Geneva Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
genocide means an offence under Subdivision B of Division 268.
Hague Declaration means the Hague Declarations Concerning the Prohibition of Using Bullets which Expand or Flatten Easily in the Human Body, adopted at the Hague on 29 July 1899.
harm means physical harm or harm to a person’s mental health, whether temporary or permanent. However, it does not include being subjected to any force or impact that is within the limits of what is acceptable as incidental to social interaction or to life in the community.
harm to a person’s mental health includes significant psychological harm, but does not include mere ordinary emotional reactions such as those of only distress, grief, fear or anger.
hors de combat: a person is hors de combat if:
(a) any of the following apply:
(i) the person is in the power of an adverse party;