EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS (PENALTIES) REGULATIONS STATUTORY RULE NO. 151
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
Subsection 93(1) of the Radiocommunications Act 1983 (‘the Act’) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Paragraph 93(2)(d) of the Act provides that, without limiting the generality of the regulation making power in subsection (1), the regulations may make provision for and in relation to, amongst other things, enabling a person who is alleged to have committed an offence against subsection 10(8), section 15 or 23, subsection 26(8), section 27 or 30, subsection 35(8), section 37, subsection 38(8) or 65(17), section 68 or the regulations to pay the Commonwealth, as an alternative to prosecution, a penalty of an amount calculated in accordance with subsection 93(2A).
The penalty which is payable in accordance with subsection 93(2A) is considerably less than the maximum time that which could be imposed by a court in relation to an alleged offence.
The Regulations make provision for persons who are alleged to have committed certain prescribed offences to pay the Commonwealth a fine in lieu of prosecution. Offences to which the fines in lieu of persecution apply include contravention of licence and permit conditions (ss. 10(8), 27, 35(8) and 38(8)), unauthorised operation of a transmitter or receiver (ss. 23 and 37), failure to retain copies of certain documents (ss. 26(8) and 65(17)), submission of an unrepresentative sample device for testing (s. 15), failure to notify an authority holder under section 26 of certain matters (s. 30) and failure of an ex-inspector to return an identity card (s. 68).
Details of the Regulations are as follows. Regulations 1 and 2 are citation and interpretation provisions.
Regulation 3 provides for the service of infringement notices. Subregulation 3(1) provides that where a person who has been authorised in writing by the Minister (‘an authorised person’) has reason to believe that a person has committed a prescribed offence (ie. an offence against subsection 10(8), section 15 or 23, subsection 26(8), section 27 or 30, subsection 35(8), section 37, subsection 38(8) or 65(17) or section 68 of the Act) the authorised person may serve, or cause to be served, on the person an infringement notice.
Regulation 5 provides that where a person pays a fine in accordance with an infringement notice then, unless the notice is subsequently withdrawn, any liability of the person in respect of the alleged offence shall be deemed to be discharged and no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the alleged offence. Subregulation 5(2) provides that where payment is made by cheque payment shall be deemed not to be made unless and until the cheque is honoured upon presentation.
Regulation 6 makes it clear that more than one infringement notice can be properly served on a person in relation to an offence but that where more than one notice is served payment of the prescribed penalty in accordance with any of them is sufficient for the application of regulation 5 to the person. The provision is intended to remove any doubts about the validity of notices where more than one has been served in relation to the same offence.
Regulation 7 makes it clear that the Regulations in no way diminish the scope for instituting and prosecuting proceedings in the courts in relation to alleged prescribed offences, including where an infringement notice is issued and subsequently withdrawn.