30False documents, &c.

30.—(1.) A person, including a registered person, shall not—

(a) do an act or thing for the purpose of obtaining, or causing or enabling another person to obtain or receive, a deficiency payment that is not payable to him or to that other person, or exceeds the amount payable to him or to that other person;

(b) sign a declaration in writing or other document required, intended to be used or capable of being used for the purposes of this Act which, to his knowledge, contains information or a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular;

(c) present or deliver to another person, including the Commission or the Secretary, a declaration in writing or other document, whether signed by him or not, that is presented or delivered for the purposes of this Act, or is required, intended to be used or capable of being used for those purposes, and, to his knowledge, contains information or a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular unless, in the case of a registered person, he informs the Commission or the Secretary, as the case may be, of the fact that the statement or information is false or misleading; or

(d) with intent to defraud the Commonwealth, forge or alter a declaration in writing or other document required, intended to be used or capable of being used for the purposes of this Act.

(2.) A person shall not agree to sell or purchase wool at a price higher than the price to which he would otherwise have agreed for the purpose of causing a deficiency payment to become payable on the basis of the higher price.

(3.) A person who contravenes either of the last two preceding sub-sections is guilty of an offence punishable, subject to this section, by a fine not exceeding One thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

(4.) Where the court convicting a person of an offence against this section is satisfied that a deficiency payment has been received by that person or another person, or was intended by that person to be so received, whether in whole or in part, as a result of the commission of the offence, the fine that the court may impose is—

(a) a fine not exceeding One thousand dollars; or

(b) a fine exceeding One thousand dollars, being a fine—

(i) of an amount not exceeding the whole amount of the deficiency payment received; or

(ii) of an amount that the court is satisfied does not exceed the whole amount of the deficiency payment that was intended to be received,

as the case may be.

(5.) An offence against this section may be prosecuted summarily or upon indictment but an offender is not liable to be punished more than once in respect of the same offence.

(6.) Where proceedings for an offence against this section are brought in a court of summary jurisdiction, the court may commit the defendant for trial, or, with the consent of the defendant and of the prosecutor, determine the proceedings, but, where the court of summary jurisdiction determines the proceedings, the court shall not sentence the defendant to imprisonment for a term exceeding three months.