Chapter 26
Pecuniary penalties
This is a single section from Chapter 26. Read the full chapter here.
Part 4
What defences should be specified?
The legislation should describe any defences that are available.
Officials should consider what circumstances may provide a defence. Examples include:
- the contravention was necessary (for example, to save or protect life or health, or prevent serious damage to property);
- the contravention was beyond the person’s control and could not reasonably have been foreseen, and the person could not reasonably have taken steps to prevent it occurring;
- the person did not know, and could not reasonably have known, of the contravention;
- the contravention was a mistake or occurred without the person’s knowledge;
- the contravention was due to reasonable reliance on information supplied by another person; and
- the contravention was due to the default of another person, which was beyond the first person’s control, and that first person took precautions to avoid the contravention.