63Failure to provide facilities or assistance

63  Failure to provide facilities or assistance

Entry to premises

 (a) the person is the occupier of premises entered by an authorised official under subsection 34(1); and

 (b) the person fails to provide the authorised official with all reasonable facilities and assistance for the effective exercise of the official’s powers.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months.

Obtaining access to documents etc. by remote means

 (a) the person is given a notice under subsection 35(3); and

 (b) an authorised official exercises, or purports to exercise, a power under subsection 35(1) in accordance with the notice; and

 (c) the person fails to provide the authorised official with reasonable facilities and assistance for the effective exercise of the official’s powers.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months.

 (3) Strict liability applies to paragraphs (2)(a) and (b).

 (4) Subsection (2) does not apply if providing the authorised official with reasonable facilities and assistance would pose an unacceptable risk to the security of any of the documents or other records held in electronic form, or otherwise the system where the documents or other records are stored.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection: see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

Division 4—Offences and protections relating to persons providing information