157Criminal liability of executive officers of corporations

157 Criminal liability of executive officers of corporations (1) An executive officer of a corporation commits an offence if— (a) the corporation commits an offence (a relevant offence) by contravening a provision of this Act; and (b) the officer was reckless about whether the contravention would happen; and (c) the officer was in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to the contravention; and (d) the officer failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the contravention. Maximum penalty: The maximum penalty that may be imposed on an individual for the relevant offence.

(2) In deciding whether the executive officer took (or failed to take) reasonable steps to prevent the contravention, a court must have regard to the following: (a) any action the officer took directed towards ensuring the following (to the extent that the action is relevant to the contravention): (i) that the corporation arranged regular professional assessments of the corporation’s compliance with the contravened provision; (ii) that the corporation implemented any appropriate recommendation arising from an assessment under subparagraph (i); (iii) that the corporation’s employees, agents and contractors had a reasonable knowledge and understanding of the requirement to comply with the contravened provision; (b) any action the officer took when the officer became aware that the contravention was, or could be, about to happen. (3) Subsection (2) does not limit the matters to which the court may have regard. (4) This section applies whether or not the corporation is prosecuted for, or convicted of, the relevant offence. (5) This section does not apply if the corporation would have a defence to a prosecution for the relevant offence. executive officer, of a corporation, means a person, however described and whether or not the person is a director of the corporation, who is concerned with, or takes part in, the corporation’s management.