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Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011
231Request for prosecution
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231 Request for prosecution
(1) Subject to this section, a person may request the regulator to bring
a prosecution if:
(a) the person reasonably believes that the occurrence of an act,
matter or thing constitutes:
(i) a Category 1, Category 2 or Category 3 offence; or
(ii) industrial manslaughter; and
(b) no prosecution for the offence has been brought within
6 months of the occurrence.
(2) No request may be made more than 12 months after the
occurrence of the act, matter or thing.
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(3) The request must be in writing and specify:
(a) the particulars of the occurrence of the act, matter or thing;
and
(b) the grounds for the belief that the offence occurred.
(4) A request under this section may include the prosecution of more
than one offence if the offences all relate to the same occurrence of
the act, matter or thing.
(5) Within 3 months after receiving the request, the regulator must give
written notice of the request to the following:
(a) the person who made the request;
(b) any person alleged to have been responsible for the
occurrence of the act, matter or thing.
(6) The notice must include particulars of the following:
(a) the status of any investigation into the occurrence of the act,
matter or thing;
(b) the status of any prosecution in relation to the occurrence;
(c) if no investigation is being conducted or if no prosecution is
being brought – the reasons why not.
(7) The regulator may publish the information referred to in
subsection (6) on the regulator's website.
(8) The regulator need not give the notice under subsection (5) if the
request relates to an occurrence about which information is
published on the regulator's website.
(9) The regulator must not state, to any person referred to in
subsection (5), a view that is contrary to the views of the Director of
Public Prosecutions on the merits of a prosecution in relation to the
occurrence.
(10) In this section a reference to the occurrence of an act, matter or
thing includes a reference to a failure in relation to an act, matter or
thing.
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