(1) The Federal Court, the Federal Magistrates Court or an eligible State or Territory court may, on application, order a person to pay a pecuniary penalty that the court considers is appropriate if the court is satisfied that the person has contravened a civil remedy provision.
Note: Pecuniary penalty orders cannot be made in relation to conduct that contravenes a term of a modern award, a national minimum wage order or an enterprise agreement only because of the retrospective effect of a determination (see subsections 167(3) and 298(2)).
Determining amount of pecuniary penalty
(2) The pecuniary penalty must not be more than:
(a) if the person is an individual--the maximum number of penalty units referred to in the relevant item in column 4 of the table in subsection 539(2); or
(b) if the person is a body corporate--5 times the maximum number of penalty units referred to in the relevant item in column 4 of the table in subsection 539(2).
Payment of penalty
(3) The court may order that the pecuniary penalty, or a part of the penalty, be paid to:
(a) the Commonwealth; or
(b) a particular organisation; or
(c) a particular person.
Recovery of penalty
(4) The pecuniary penalty may be recovered as a debt due to the person to whom the penalty is payable.
No limitation on orders
(5) To avoid doubt, a court may make a pecuniary penalty order in addition to one or more orders under section 545.