Environmental Offences And Penalties Act 1996 (NT)

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

Environmental Offences and Penalties ACT 1996

As in force at 1 February 2022

Table of provisions [if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>&#160;</span>TOC \o &#34;1-9&#34; <span style='mso-element: field-separator'></span><![endif] — Short title2 — Commencement3 — Reference to environmental offences4 — Penalty for environmental offence level 15 — Penalty for environmental offence level 26 — Penalty for environmental offence level 37 — Penalty for environmental offence level 48 — Infringement offences9 — Crown to be bound10 — Regulations11 — Validation provision relating to designations before ENDNOTES northern territory of australia

northern territory of australia

As in force at 1 February 2022

Environmental Offences and Penalties act 1996

An act to establish penalties for certain offences under prescribed Acts, and for related purposes

1Short title

This Act may be cited as the Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1996.

2Commencement

This Act comes into operation on the date fixed by the Administrator by notice in the Gazette.

3Reference to environmental offences

• (1)

  If, under an Act that is prescribed by regulation, an offence is designated:

  • (a)

    an environmental offence level 1; or

  • (b)

    an environmental offence level 2; or

  • (c)

    an environmental offence level 3; or

  • (d)

    an environmental offence level 4;

  an individual who, or a body corporate that, is found guilty of that offence is liable to the penalty prescribed under this Act for an environmental offence of that level.

• (2)

  For examples of the designation of offences as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (d), see section 58C of the Energy Pipelines Act 1981.

4Penalty for environmental offence level 1

• (1)

  An individual who is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 1 is punishable by a penalty of:

  • (a)

    not less than 385 penalty units and not more than 3 850 penalty units; or

  • (b)

    imprisonment for not more than 5 years.

• (2)

  A body corporate that is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 1 is punishable by a penalty of not less than 1 924 penalty units and not more than 19 240 penalty units.

5Penalty for environmental offence level 2

• (1)

  An individual who is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 2 is punishable by a penalty of not less than 154 penalty units and not more than 1 540 penalty units.

• (2)

  A body corporate that is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 2 is punishable by a penalty of not less than 770 penalty units and not more than 7 700 penalty units.

6Penalty for environmental offence level 3

• (1)

  An individual who is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 3 is punishable by a penalty of not less than 77 penalty units and not more than 770 penalty units.

• (2)

  A body corporate that is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 3 is punishable by a penalty of not less than 385 penalty units and not more than 3 850 penalty units.

7Penalty for environmental offence level 4

• (1)

  An individual who is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 4 is punishable by a penalty of not more than 77 penalty units.

• (2)

  A body corporate that is found guilty of an offence designated an environmental offence level 4 is punishable by a penalty of not more than 385 penalty units.

8Infringement offences

Where an individual who, or a body corporate that, appears to have committed an environmental offence level 3 or an environmental offence level 4 is served with an infringement notice (however described), the sum the individual or body corporate may, as an alternative to prosecution, pay in lieu of the penalty prescribed under this Act is:

• (a)

  in the case of an environmental offence level 3:

  • (i)

    where an individual is served with the infringement notice, 20 penalty units; or

  • (ii)

    where a corporation is served with the infringement notice, 100 penalty units; or

• (b)

  in the case of an environmental offence level 4:

  • (i)

    where an individual is served with the infringement notice, 10 penalty unit; or

  • (ii)

    where a corporation is served with the infringement notice, 50 penalty units.

  9Crown to be bound

• (1)

  Where the contravention of, or failure to comply with, a provision of an Act or an instrument of a legislative or administrative character is designated an environmental offence the provision binds the Crown.

• (2)

  In this section, Crown means not only the Crown in the right of the Territory but also, so far as the legislative power of the Legislative Assembly permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.

10Regulations

The Administrator may make regulations under this Act.

11Validation provision relating to designations before

• (1)

  It is declared that an existing designation of an offence as an environmental offence at a particular level was validly made and continues to be validly made, as if the offence were so designated after the commencement.

• (2)

  In this section:

  commencement means the commencement of this section.

  existing designation, in relation to an offence, means a designation or purported designation of an offence as an environmental offence that was made in any way before the commencement, including a way mentioned in section 3.

ENDNOTES

• 1

  KEY

Key to abbreviations

 

amd = amended od = order

app = appendix om = omitted

bl = by-law pt = Part

ch = Chapter r = regulation/rule

cl = clause rem = remainder

div = Division renum = renumbered

exp = expires/expired rep = repealed

f = forms s = section

Gaz = Gazette sch = Schedule

hdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision

ins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation

lt = long title sub = substituted

nc = not commenced

• 2

  LIST OF LEGISLATION

Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1996 (Act No. 60, 1996)
Assent date	31 December 1996
Commenced	22 January 1997 (Gaz G7, 19 February 1997, p 2)
Environmental Offences and Penalties Amendment Act 2010 (Act No. 28, 2010)
Assent date	9 September 2010
Commenced	9 September 2010
Environmental Offences and Penalties Amendment Act (No. 2) 2010 (Act No. 44, 2010)
Assent date	13 December 2010
Commenced	13 April 2011 (Gaz G15, 13 April 2011, p 11)
Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2021 (Act No. 22, 2021)
Assent date	18 November 2021
Commenced	pt 7: 31 March 2022; rem: 1 February 2022 (Gaz G51, 22 December 2021, p 1)

• 3

  GENERAL AMENDMENTS

General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: ss 1 and 3.

• 4

  CORRECTED PROVISION

Section 8 as amended by the Environmental Offences and Penalties Amendment Act 2010 (Act No. 28, 2010) was incorrectly revised in the reprint published on the legislation website as at the commencement of that amendment Act. This error was corrected in the reprints published on the website with the as in force dates of 9 September 2010 and 13 April 2011.

• 5

  LIST OF AMENDMENTS

lt                       amd No. 44, 2010, s 4

s 3                     amd No. 28, 2010, s 3; No. 44, 2010, s 5

s 4                     amd No. 28, 2010, s 4

s 5                     amd No. 28, 2010, s 5

s 6                     amd No. 28, 2010, s 6

s 7                     amd No. 28, 2010, s 7

s 8                     amd No. 28, 2010, s 8; No. 22, 2021, s 18

s 10                   amd No. 28, 2010, s 9

s 11                   amd No. 44, 2010, s 6