267Liability for employees and agents

267 Liability for employees and agents (1) For a prosecution for an offence against this Act, conduct engaged in on behalf of a person other than a body corporate (the employer) by an employee or agent of the employer within the scope of the employee or agent's actual or apparent authority is taken to have been engaged in also by the employer. Environment Protection Act 2019 232 (2) This section applies whether or not the employee or agent is prosecuted for, or convicted of, the offence. (3) This section does not apply if the employee or agent would have a defence to a prosecution for the offence. (4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence committed because of subsection (1) if: (a) the act or omission that constituted the offence took place without the defendant's authority, permission or consent; or (b) the defendant did not know, and ought not reasonably be expected to have known, the offence was to be or was being committed and took all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of the offence; or (c) the defendant could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have prevented the commission of the offence by the person who committed the offence. (5) The defendant has the legal burden of proof in relation to a matter (6) Despite anything in this Act or the Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1996, a person is not liable to be punished by imprisonment for an offence if the person would not have been found guilty of the offence except for subsection (1). (7) For this section, a reference to engaging in conduct includes a reference to failing or refusing to engage in conduct.