Criminal liability of executive officers of bodies corporate
(1) An executive officer of a body corporate commits an offence if: (a) the body commits an offence (the work‑related offence) against this Subdivision; and (b) the officer knew that, or was reckless or negligent as to whether, the work‑related offence would be committed; and (c) the officer was in a position to influence the conduct of the body in relation to the work‑related offence; and (d) the officer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the work‑related offence being committed. (2) An offence against subsection (1) is punishable on conviction by a pecuniary penalty not exceeding one‑fifth of the maximum pecuniary penalty that a court could impose on the body corporate for the work‑related offence. Reasonable steps to prevent the offence (3) In determining whether the executive officer of the body corporate failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the work‑related offence being committed by the body, a court must have regard to: (a) what action (if any) the officer took towards ensuring that the body’s employees, agents and contractors had a reasonable knowledge and understanding of the requirements to comply with this Subdivision, insofar as those requirements affected the employees, agents or contractors concerned; and (b) what action (if any) the officer took when he or she became aware that the body was committing the work‑related offence. (4) Subsection (3) does not limit subsection (1). Definition (5) In this section: executive officer of a body corporate means: (a) a director of the body corporate; or (b) the chief executive officer (however described) of the body corporate; or (c) the chief financial officer (however described) of the body corporate; or (d) the secretary of the body corporate.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 May 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.
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