Criminal Code Act 1995
Section 3
CHAPTER 4 - THE INTEGRITY AND SECURITY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS[ CCH Note: Subdiv A heading will be inserted by No 5 of 2024, s 3 and Sch 1 item 1, applicable in relation to conduct engaged in on or after 8 September 2024. The heading will read:
]Subdivision A - Definitions
A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) provides a benefit to another person; or
(ii) causes a benefit to be provided to another person; or
(iii) offers to provide, or promises to provide, a benefit to another person; or
(iv) causes an offer of the provision of a benefit, or a promise of the provision of a benefit, to be made to another person; and
(b) the benefit is not legitimately due to the other person; and
(c) the first-mentioned person does so with the intention of influencing a foreign public official (who may be the other person) in the exercise of the official ' s duties as a foreign public official in order to:
(i) obtain or retain business; or
(ii) obtain or retain a business advantage that is not legitimately due to the recipient, or intended recipient, of the business advantage (who may be the first-mentioned person).
Note:
For defences see sections 70.3 and 70.4 .
(1A)
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c):
(a) the first-mentioned person does not need to intend to influence a particular foreign public official; and
(b) business, or a business advantage, does not need to be actually obtained or retained.
Benefit that is not legitimately due
(2)
For the purposes of this section, in working out if a benefit is not legitimately due to a person in a particular situation, disregard the following:
(a) the fact that the benefit may be, or be perceived to be, customary, necessary or required in the situation;
(b) the value of the benefit;
(c) any official tolerance of the benefit.
Business advantage that is not legitimately due
(3)
For the purposes of this section, in working out if a business advantage is not legitimately due to a person in a particular situation, disregard the following:
(a) the fact that the business advantage may be customary, or perceived to be customary, in the situation;
(b) the value of the business advantage;
(c) any official tolerance of the business advantage.
Penalty for individual
(4)
An offence against subsection (1) committed by an individual is punishable on conviction by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine not more than 10,000 penalty units, or both.
Penalty for body corporate
(5)
An offence against subsection (1) committed by a body corporate is punishable on conviction by a fine not more than the greatest of the following:
(a) 100,000 penalty units;
(b) if the court can determine the value of the benefit that the body corporate, and any body corporate related to the body corporate, have obtained directly or indirectly and that is reasonably attributable to the conduct constituting the offence - 3 times the value of that benefit;
(c) if the court cannot determine the value of that benefit - 10% of the annual turnover of the body corporate during the period (the turnover period ) of 12 months ending at the end of the month in which the conduct constituting the offence occurred.
(6)
For the purposes of this section, the annual turnover of a body corporate, during the turnover period, is the sum of the values of all the supplies that the body corporate, and any body corporate related to the body corporate, have made, or are likely to make, during that period, other than the following supplies:
(a) supplies made from any of those bodies corporate to any other of those bodies corporate;
(b) supplies that are input taxed;
(c) supplies that are not for consideration (and are not taxable supplies under section 72-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 );
(d) supplies that are not made in connection with an enterprise that the body corporate carries on.
(7)
Expressions used in subsection (6) that are also used in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 have the same meaning in that subsection as they have in that Act.
(8)
The question whether 2 bodies corporate are related to each other is to be determined for the purposes of this section in the same way as for the purposes of the Corporations Act 2001 .
[
CCH Note:
S 70.2 will be substituted by No 5 of 2024, s 3 and Sch 1 item 6, applicable in relation to conduct engaged in on or after 8 September 2024. S 70.2 will read:
See also section
70.2A
. For defences, see sections
70.3
and
70.4
.
SECTION 70.2 Bribing a foreign public official
(1)
A person commits an offence if:
(a)
the person:
(i)
provides a benefit to another person; or
(ii)
causes a benefit to be provided to another person; or
(iii)
offers to provide, or promises to provide, a benefit to another person; or
(iv)
causes an offer of the provision of a benefit, or a promise of the provision of a benefit, to be made to another person; and
(b)
the first-mentioned person does so with the intention of improperly influencing a foreign public official (who may be the other person) in order to obtain or retain business or a business or personal advantage (whether or not for the first-mentioned person).
Note:
(2)
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) :
(a) the first-mentioned person does not need to intend to influence a particular foreign public official; and
(b) the first-mentioned person does not need to intend to obtain or retain particular business or a particular business or personal advantage; and
(c) business, or a business or personal advantage, does not need to be actually obtained or retained.
Penalty for individual
(3)
An offence against subsection (1) committed by an individual is punishable on conviction by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine not more than 10,000 penalty units, or both.
Penalty for body corporate
(4)
An offence against subsection (1) committed by a body corporate is punishable on conviction by a fine not more than the greatest of the following:
(a) 100,000 penalty units;
(b) if the court can determine the value of the benefit that the body corporate, and any body corporate related to the body corporate, have obtained directly or indirectly and that is reasonably attributable to the conduct constituting the offence - 3 times the value of that benefit;
(c) if the court cannot determine the value of that benefit - 10% of the annual turnover of the body corporate during the period (the turnover period ) of 12 months ending at the end of the month in which the body corporate committed, or began committing, the offence.
]
[
CCH Note:
S 70.2A will be inserted by No 5 of 2024, s 3 and Sch 1 item 6, applicable in relation to conduct engaged in on or after 8 September 2024. S 70.2A will read:
SECTION 70.2A Improper influence
]
Determination to be a matter for the trier of fact
(1)
In a prosecution for an offence against section
70.2
, the determination of whether influence is improper is a matter for the trier of fact.
Matters that must be disregarded
(2)
In determining whether influence is improper for the purposes of paragraph
70.2(1)(b)
, a trier of fact must disregard the following:
(a)
the fact that the benefit, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit, may be, or be perceived to be, customary, necessary or required in the situation;
(b)
any official tolerance of the benefit;
(c)
if particular business or a particular business or personal advantage is relevant to proving the matters referred to in that paragraph
-
the following:
(i)
if the value of the business or advantage is insignificant
-
that fact;
(ii)
in the case of an advantage
-
any official tolerance of the advantage;
(iii)
in the case of an advantage
-
the fact that the advantage may be customary, or perceived to be customary, in the situation.
Matters to which regard may be had
(3)
In determining whether influence is improper for the purposes of paragraph
70.2(1)(b)
, a trier of fact may have regard to the following:
(a)
the recipient or intended recipient of the benefit;
(b)
the nature of the benefit;
(c)
the manner of the provision of the benefit (or, if applicable, the offered or promised manner of the provision of the benefit);
(d)
whether the value of the benefit is disproportionate to the value of any consideration provided or purported to have been provided for the benefit;
(e)
if the benefit was provided, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit was made, in the absence of any legal obligation to do so
-
that fact;
(f)
whether the benefit was provided, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit was made, dishonestly;
(g)
whether, and to what extent, the provision of the benefit, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit, is recorded or documented;
(h)
if the provision of the benefit, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit, is recorded or documented:
(i)
the accuracy of the record or documentation; and
(ii)
whether the record or documentation is consistent with the ordinary practices of the person who made the record or documentation;
(i)
whether there is evidence that due diligence was exercised by the first-mentioned person in section
70.2
in relation to the benefit, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit;
(j)
whether any of the following conduct is contrary to a written law in force in the place where that conduct occurs:
(i)
the provision of the benefit, or the offer or promise to provide the benefit;
(ii)
the acceptance of the benefit;
(iii)
any conduct directly connected with conduct referred to in subparagraph
(i)
or
(ii)
;
(k)
if particular business or a particular business or personal advantage is relevant to proving the matters referred to in that paragraph
-
the following:
(i)
whether the business or advantage was awarded on a competitive or non-commercial basis;
(ii)
whether there is any demonstrable conflict of interest in the provision of the business or advantage.
(4)
To avoid doubt, subsection
(3)
does not limit the matters to which the trier of fact may have regard.
This information is provided by CCH Australia Limited Link opens in new window. View the disclaimer and notice of copyright.