Criminal Code Act 1995
Section 3
CHAPTER 5 - THE SECURITY OF THE COMMONWEALTH Part 5.2 - Espionage and related offences
View history note
Hide history noteA person commits an offence if:
(a) the person dishonestly receives, obtains, takes, copies or duplicates, sells, buys or discloses information; and
(b) all of the following circumstances exist:
(i) the information is not generally known in trade or business, or in the particular trade or business concerned;
(ii) the information has a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were communicated;
(iii) the owner of the information has made reasonable efforts in the circumstances to prevent the information becoming generally known; and
(c) any of the following circumstances exists:
(i) the conduct is engaged in on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign government principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign government principal;
(ii) the conduct is directed, funded or supervised by a foreign government principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign government principal.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 15 years.
(2)
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), dishonest means:
(a) dishonest according to the standards of ordinary people; and
(b) known by the defendant to be dishonest according to the standards of ordinary people.
(3)
In a prosecution for an offence against this section, the determination of dishonesty is a matter for the trier of fact.
(4)
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c):
(a) the person does not need to have in mind a particular foreign government principal; and
(b) the person may have in mind more than one foreign government principal.
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