Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005 (Vic)

Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005

Act No. 66/2005

table of provisions

Section  Page

1.Purpose

2.Commencement

3.Contamination of goods offence

4.Threatening to contaminate goods offence

5.Making false statements concerning contamination of goods offence

6.Territorial nexus for offences

7.New section 602 inserted in Crimes Act 1958

602.Transitional provision—Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005

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Endnotes

Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005

[Assented to 11 October 2005]

The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:

1.Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to amend the Crimes Act 1958 to specify recklessness as a fault element of contamination of goods offences.

2.Commencement

This Act comes into operation on the day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3.Contamination of goods offence

(1)Insert the following heading to section 249 of the Crimes Act 1958—

"Contaminating goods with intent to cause, or being reckless as to whether it would cause, public alarm or economic loss".

(2)In section 249 of the Crimes Act 1958—

(a)after "intention of" insert "causing, or being reckless as to whether or not the contamination would cause";

(b)in paragraphs (a) and (b), omit "causing".

4.Threatening to contaminate goods offence

(1)Insert the following heading to section 250 of the Crimes Act 1958—

"Threatening to contaminate goods with intent to cause, or being reckless as to whether it would cause, public alarm or economic loss".

(2)In section 250(1) of the Crimes Act 1958—

(a)after "intention of" insert "causing, or being reckless as to whether or not the threat would cause";

(b)in paragraphs (a) and (b), omit "causing";

(c)in paragraph (b), for "contamination" substitute "threat".

5.Making false statements concerning contamination of goods offence

(1)Insert the following heading to section 251 of the Crimes Act 1958—

"Making false statements concerning contamination of goods with intent to cause, or being reckless as to whether it would cause, public alarm or economic loss".

(2)In section 251(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1958—

(a)after "thereby" insert "causing, or being reckless as to whether or not the statement would cause";

(b)in paragraph (b)(i) and (ii), omit "causing";

(c)in paragraph (b)(ii), for "contamination" substitute "statement".

6.Territorial nexus for offences

In section 252 of the Crimes Act 1958—

(a)after "that conduct" insert "to cause, or was reckless as to whether or not that conduct would cause";

(b)in paragraphs (a) and (b), omit "to cause".

7.New section 602 inserted in Crimes Act 1958

After section 601 of the Crimes Act 1958 insert—

"602.Transitional provision—Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005

(1)The amendments of this Act made by the Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005 apply only to offences alleged to have been committed on or after the commencement of that Act.

(2)For the purposes of sub-section (1), if an offence is alleged to have been committed between two dates, one before and one after the commencement of the Crimes (Contamination of Goods) Act 2005, the offence is alleged to have been committed before that commencement.".

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Endnotes

Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 8 September 2005

Legislative Council: 6 October 2005

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to amend the Crimes Act 1958 to specify recklessness as a fault element of contamination of goods offences and for other purposes."