292Liability of licence holder

292 Liability of licence holder

(1)  If an agent of the holder of an authorisation commits an offence under this Act –

(a) the holder is taken to have committed the offence; and

(b) proceedings for the offence may be brought against the holder whether or not proceedings are brought against the agent.

(2)  It is a defence in proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) if the holder of the authorisation can show that he or she –

(a) issued written instructions and took reasonable precautions to ensure compliance with this Act; and

(b) did not know the offence had been committed; and

(c) could not reasonably have prevented the commission of the offence; and

(d) if practicable to do so, took reasonable action to minimise the impact of the offence on other users of any relevant water resource and the aquatic environment.