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TASMANIA
__________
EXPUNGEMENT OF HISTORICAL OFFENCES
BILL 2017
__________
CONTENTS
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Commencement
3. Interpretation
4. Act binds Crown
5. Act prevails
PART 2 - APPLICATIONS
6. Application to have historical offence expunged
7. Contents of application
8. Investigation of application
9. Disclosure of records to applicant
10. Matters to be considered in determining application
11. Withdrawal of application
12. Determination of application
13. Confidentiality
PART 3 - CONSEQUENCES OF EXPUNGEMENT
14. Annotation of official criminal records
15. Effect of expunging
[Bill 17]-VII
16. Disclosure of expunged records
17. Improperly obtaining information about expunged convictions
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
18. Determination that charge has ceased to be expunged
19. Review of decisions
20. No entitlement to compensation
21. Royal prerogative of mercy not affected
22. Integrity of official criminal records
23. Prior lawful acts not affected
24. Offence to give false or misleading information
25. Delegation by Secretary
26. Information sharing
27. Infringement notices
28. Regulations
29. Administration of Act
30. Consequential amendments
SCHEDULE 1 - CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS
2
EXPUNGEMENT OF HISTORICAL OFFENCES
BILL 2017
This Public Bill originated in the House of Assembly, and, having this day passed, is
now ready for presentation to the Legislative Council for its concurrence.
SHANE DONNELLY, Clerk of the House
2 May 2017
(Brought in by the Acting Attorney-General, the Honourable
Matthew Guy Groom)
A BILL FOR
An Act to provide for a scheme to enable charges and
convictions for certain historical homosexual offences and
other offences to be expunged, and for related purposes
Be it enacted by Her Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Expungement of
Historical Offences Act 2017.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.
[Bill 17] 3
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 3 Part 1 - Preliminary
3. Interpretation
(1) In this Act -
ACC means the Australian Crime
Commission established under section 7
of the Australian Crime Commission Act
2002 of the Commonwealth or, if ACC is
replaced by another body or agency that
performs functions substantially similar
to ACC's national policing information
functions (as defined in section 4 of that
Act), that body or agency;
applicant means a person who makes an
application;
application means an application under
section 6;
charge means a charge against a person for a
historical offence and includes the
following:
(a) a charge on an arrest;
(b) a complaint under the Justices
Act 1959;
(c) a charge by a court;
(d) an indictment;
conviction means a conviction for a historical
offence recorded against a person,
whether on indictment or summarily;
cross-dressing offence means -
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 1 - Preliminary s. 3
(a) an offence under section 8(1)(d)
of the Police Offences Act 1935
as in force before 12 April 2001;
or
(b) an offence of attempting to
commit an offence referred to in
paragraph (a); or
(c) an offence of inciting, instigating,
aiding, or abetting, the
commission of an offence
referred to in paragraph (a);
data controller means the following:
(a) the Registrar of the Supreme
Court;
(b) the Administrator of the
Magistrates Court appointed
under section 16 of the
Magistrates Court Act 1987;
(c) the Commissioner of Police;
(d) the person for the time being
holding, or acting in, the office of
the Director of Public
Prosecutions established by
section 3(1) of the Director of
Public Prosecutions Act 1973;
eligible person means -
(a) a person referred to in
section 6(2); or
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 3 Part 1 - Preliminary
(b) a person who was charged with a
historical offence and is
deceased;
expunged charge means a charge expunged
under section 12(6) that has not ceased to
be expunged under section 18;
expunged conviction means a conviction
expunged under section 12(6) that has
not ceased to be expunged under
section 18;
historical offence means -
(a) a homosexual offence; or
(b) a cross-dressing offence;
homosexual offence means -
(a) a sexual offence or a public
morality offence; or
(b) an offence of attempting to
commit an offence referred to in
paragraph (a); or
(c) an offence of inciting, instigating,
aiding, or abetting, the
commission of an offence
referred to in paragraph (a);
official criminal record means a record,
containing information of criminal
proceedings relating to a historical
offence, kept by -
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Act No. of
Part 1 - Preliminary s. 3
(a) a court of this State; or
(b) a Government department, or
State authority, within the
meaning of the State Service Act
2000;
public morality offence means an offence,
other than a sexual offence, as in force at
any time -
(a) the essence of which is the
maintenance of public decency or
morality; and
(b) by which homosexual behaviour
could be punished;
regulations means regulations made and in
force under this Act;
Secretary means the Secretary of the
Department;
sexual offence means an offence under a law
as in force at any time by which sexual
activity of a homosexual nature, whether
penetrative or non-penetrative, could be
punished, whether or not heterosexual
sexual activity could also be punished by
the offence.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, where a court finds
a person guilty of an offence but does not
proceed to record a conviction, the finding is to
be regarded as a conviction.
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Act No. of
s. 4 Part 1 - Preliminary
4. Act binds Crown
This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania
and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament
permits, in all its other capacities.
5. Act prevails
If a provision of this Act is inconsistent with a
provision of any other Act, the provision of this
Act prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
8
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Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 6
PART 2 - APPLICATIONS
6. Application to have historical offence expunged
(1) In this section -
spouse, in relation to a person, includes the
person who is in a significant
relationship, within the meaning of the
Relationships Act 2003, with that person.
(2) A person who, at any time, has been charged
with a historical offence may apply to the
Secretary for the charge to be expunged.
(3) If the person referred to in subsection (2) has
died, an application under this section may be
made in respect of that person by -
(a) if the person, immediately before death
had a spouse and the spouse is available,
the spouse of the person; or
(b) if no spouse is available, a son or
daughter of the person if the son or
daughter has attained the age of 18 years;
or
(c) where no person referred to in paragraph
(a) or (b) is available, a parent of the
person; or
(d) where no person referred to in paragraph
(a), (b) or (c) is available, a sibling of the
person if the sibling has attained the age
of 18 years; or
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 6 Part 2 - Applications
(e) where no person referred to in paragraph
(a), (b), (c) or (d) is available, a niece or
nephew of the person if the niece or
nephew has attained the age of 18 years;
or
(f) where no person referred to in paragraph
(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) is available, the
legal personal representative of the
person; or
(g) where no person referred to in paragraph
(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) is available, a
person determined to be an appropriate
representative under subsection (4).
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3)(g), a person is
an appropriate representative if the Secretary
determines that the person should be taken to be
an appropriate representative of the deceased
person because of the closeness of the person's
relationship with the deceased person
immediately before the deceased person's death.
(5) An application under this section -
(a) must be in a form approved by the
Secretary; and
(b) is to contain the information required
under section 7; and
(c) may relate to more than one charge; and
(d) is to be lodged in the manner prescribed
by the regulations or, if no manner is so
10
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Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 7
prescribed, in a manner approved by the
Secretary.
(6) Despite this section, if the Secretary decides to
refuse to expunge a charge under
section 12(2)(b), the person who made the
application to have the charge expunged is only
entitled to make a further application in respect
of the same charge if the Secretary is satisfied on
reasonable grounds that necessary supporting
information became available only after the
Secretary's initial decision.
7. Contents of application
(1) An application in relation to an eligible person
must include the following information, so far as
the information is known to the applicant:
(a) the name, date and place of birth of the
eligible person;
(b) the residential address and phone number
of the applicant;
(c) in respect of each historical offence to
which the application relates -
(i) the name and address of the
eligible person at the time the
eligible person was charged with
the historical offence; and
(ii) if the eligible person was
convicted of the historical
offence, the date when, and the
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Act No. of
s. 8 Part 2 - Applications
court by which, the eligible
person was convicted; and
(iii) the name of any other person
involved in the conduct
constituting the historical
offence.
(2) An application must be accompanied by the
applicant's consent for the Secretary to check the
eligible person's criminal history and any other
information about the eligible person that may
be relevant in determining the application.
(3) An application may include, or be accompanied
by -
(a) statements by the applicant; or
(b) written evidence given by any other
person (including a person involved in
the conduct constituting a historical
offence to which the application
relates) -
about the matters about which the Secretary
must be satisfied under section 10.
(4) The applicant may submit to the Secretary
statements or evidence relating to the application
at any time after making the application and
before it has been determined by the Secretary.
8. Investigation of application
(1) Subject to subsection (2), in considering an
application, the Secretary may take all steps, and
12
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 8
make all inquiries, that are reasonable and
appropriate to consider the application properly.
(2) The Secretary must not hold an oral hearing for
the purpose of determining the application.
(3) The Secretary may, by written notice, require an
applicant to provide additional information or
additional documents if the Secretary believes on
reasonable grounds that the information or
documents are necessary to consider the
application properly.
(4) If an applicant does not comply with a notice
under subsection (3), the Secretary may refuse to
consider the application further.
(5) In considering an application, the Secretary is
to -
(a) give each person, who the Secretary
believes to have been involved in the
conduct constituting a historical offence
to which the application relates, a
reasonable opportunity to make a
submission in relation to the decision
whether to expunge the charge for that
historical offence; and
(b) take into consideration any such
submissions.
(6) When contacting, or attempting to contact a
person for the purposes of subsection (5)(a), the
Secretary is to -
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 8 Part 2 - Applications
(a) contact, or attempt to contact that person,
in a manner that is appropriate to the
circumstances; and
(b) have regard to the sensitivity of the
information, confidentiality and the
privacy of the applicant and the person
contacted.
(7) The Secretary may, by written notice, require
any person (other than the applicant) to do any
one or more of the following:
(a) answer specified questions which in the
opinion of the Secretary are relevant to
the investigation of the application;
(b) provide to the Secretary any document
specified in the notice which is in the
person's possession or control and
which, in the opinion of the Secretary, is
relevant to the investigation of the
application;
(c) provide to the Secretary any other
information specified in the notice
which, in the opinion of the Secretary, is
relevant to the investigation -
within a time and in a manner specified in the
notice.
(8) If a notice under subsection (7) requires a data
controller to provide to the Secretary a copy of
an official criminal record held by the data
controller, the data controller is to comply with
that requirement as soon as possible.
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Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 9
(9) A person must not fail, without reasonable
excuse, to comply with a notice under
subsection (7).
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.
(10) To the extent that a person or body, in good
faith, provides information or documents in
response to a requirement of the Secretary under
this Act, the person or body -
(a) does not incur any civil or criminal
liability in respect of the provision of the
information or documents; and
(b) cannot be held, in respect of the
provision of the information or
documents, to have -
(i) breached any code of
professional etiquette or ethics; or
(ii) departed from any accepted
standard of professional conduct;
or
(iii) contravened any Act.
(11) If any information or document is obtained by
the Secretary under this Act, evidence of that
information or document, or evidence of the
obtaining of that information or document, may
be used only for the purposes of this Act.
9. Disclosure of records to applicant
(1) In this section -
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s. 9 Part 2 - Applications
personal information, in relation to a person,
means information -
(a) that identifies a person or
discloses his or her address or
location; or
(b) from which a person's identity,
address or location can
reasonably be identified;
record means a record of the investigation of a
historical offence or of proceedings
relating to a historical offence.
(2) If a record is obtained by the Secretary in
relation to an application, the Secretary must, as
soon as reasonably practicable after obtaining
the record -
(a) give the applicant a copy of the record,
except so far as it contains personal
information relating to any person other
than the applicant; and
(b) give written notice to the applicant that
the Secretary will not proceed to
determine the application until at least 28
days, or any longer period that the
Secretary determines and specifies in the
notice, after the day on which the
applicant is given a copy of the record.
16
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Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 10
10. Matters to be considered in determining application
(1) The Secretary must not decide to expunge a
charge under section 12(2)(a) unless satisfied on
reasonable grounds that -
(a) the offence with which the eligible
person was charged is a homosexual
offence or a cross-dressing offence; and
(b) in the case of a charge for a homosexual
offence -
(i) the eligible person would not
have been charged with the
homosexual offence but for the
fact that the eligible person was
suspected of having engaged in
the conduct constituting the
offence for the purposes of, or in
connection with, sexual activity
of a homosexual nature; and
(ii) the conduct constituting the
homosexual offence, if engaged
in by the eligible person at the
time of the making of the
application, would not constitute
an offence under the law of this
State.
(2) In considering whether the test set out in
subsection (1)(b)(ii) is satisfied, the Secretary
must have regard to -
(a) whether any person involved in the
conduct constituting the homosexual
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 11 Part 2 - Applications
offence, including the eligible person,
consented to the conduct; and
(b) the ages, or respective ages, of any such
persons at the time of that conduct.
(3) If the consent of a person to the conduct is an
issue in the decision to expunge a charge for a
homosexual offence, the Secretary may only be
satisfied by written evidence on that issue -
(a) from the official criminal records, if
available; or
(b) from a person, other than the eligible
person, who was involved in the conduct
constituting the homosexual offence; or
(c) if no person referred to in paragraph (b)
can be found after reasonable enquiries
are made by the applicant, from a person
(other than the applicant) with
knowledge of the circumstances in which
that conduct occurred.
(4) In considering an application, the Secretary may
have regard to any matter he or she reasonably
considers relevant in the circumstances.
11. Withdrawal of application
(1) An applicant may withdraw an application
before the Secretary determines it.
(2) Despite an application being withdrawn under
this section, the Secretary may reinstate the
application if satisfied that the applicant wishes
18
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Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 12
to proceed with it and has provided any
information required under section 7(1) or
further information or documents required under
section 8(3).
12. Determination of application
(1) The Secretary must determine an application as
soon as practicable after it is received.
(2) In determining an application, the Secretary is
to, in respect of each charge to which the
application relates, decide to -
(a) expunge the charge for that offence; or
(b) refuse to expunge the charge for that
offence.
(3) If the Secretary intends to make a decision to
refuse to expunge a charge, the Secretary must -
(a) by notice in writing, inform the applicant
of that intention and the reasons for the
intended decision; and
(b) provide the applicant with a copy of any
relevant records, relating to the
application, in the possession of the
Secretary; and
(c) give the applicant 28 days from the date
of that notice to submit further
information to the Secretary regarding
the charge.
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Act No. of
s. 12 Part 2 - Applications
(4) The Secretary must, within 28 days after a
decision under this section is made, give -
(a) the applicant written notice of the
decision and, if the decision is to refuse
to expunge a charge, inform the applicant
of -
(i) the reasons for the decision; and
(ii) the applicant's right to have the
decision reviewed under
section 19; and
(b) any person who has made a submission
pursuant to section 8(5) written notice of
the decision and, if the decision is to
expunge a charge, inform the person of -
(i) the reasons for the decision; and
(ii) the person's right to have the
decision reviewed under
section 19.
(5) On making a decision to expunge a charge, the
Secretary must, within 28 days, notify any
relevant data controller of -
(a) that decision and the reasons for the
decision; and
(b) the data controller's right to have the
decision reviewed under section 19.
(6) If the Secretary makes a decision to expunge a
charge, the charge, and any conviction in respect
of that charge, is expunged at the expiration of
20
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 2 - Applications s. 13
90 days after the day on which the Secretary
makes the decision.
(7) Despite subsection (6), if within those 90 days
an interested person has applied for a review
under section 19 in relation to the decision, the
decision to expunge a charge -
(a) does not take effect until all reviews in
respect of the decision have been
determined; and
(b) only takes effect if, in respect of each
review -
(i) the decision of the Secretary is
upheld; or
(ii) the review is abandoned or
withdrawn by the person
applying for that review.
13. Confidentiality
(1) A person must not, directly or indirectly, make a
record of, or disclose or communicate to another
person, any information, relating to an
application, acquired by the person for the
purposes of this Act.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if -
(a) it is necessary to make the record, or
disclose or communicate the information,
for the purposes of this Act; or
21
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Act No. of
s. 13 Part 2 - Applications
(b) the person to whom the information
relates gives written consent to the
making of the record or to the disclosure
or communication.
(3) Subsection (1) also does not apply to the
disclosure or communication of information -
(a) to a court or tribunal in the course of a
legal proceeding; or
(b) under an order of a court or tribunal; or
(c) to a legal practitioner for the purpose of
obtaining legal advice or representation;
or
(d) as required or authorised by or under this
Act or any other Act.
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Act No. of
Part 3 - Consequences of Expungement s. 14
PART 3 - CONSEQUENCES OF EXPUNGEMENT
14. Annotation of official criminal records
(1) The Secretary must, as soon as possible after a
charge has been expunged under section 12(6),
notify any relevant data controller of the
expunging of that charge and any conviction in
respect of that charge.
(2) On receipt of a notification under subsection (1),
the relevant data controller must, within 28 days,
annotate any entry relating to an expunged
charge, or expunged conviction, contained in any
official criminal records under his or her
management or control, with a statement to the
effect that -
(a) the entry relates to an expunged charge
or expunged conviction; and
(b) it is an offence to disclose expunged
charges or expunged convictions.
(3) A data controller must notify the Secretary of an
annotation made under subsection (2) as soon as
possible after the annotation is made.
(4) As soon as possible after the Secretary is
satisfied that all necessary action has been taken
in relation to entries in official criminal records,
the Secretary must give written notice of that
fact to the person who made the application to
have the charge expunged.
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Act No. of
s. 15 Part 3 - Consequences of Expungement
15. Effect of expunging
If a charge is expunged under section 12(6) in
respect of a person -
(a) the person is not required to disclose that
the person has been charged with, or
convicted for, that offence to any other
person, including when giving evidence
under oath in legal proceedings; and
(b) each expunged charge and expunged
conviction is taken not to form part of the
person's official criminal record and is
not required to be disclosed; and
(c) a question about the person's criminal
history, including a question in legal
proceedings required to be answered
under oath, is taken not to refer to an
expunged charge or expunged
conviction; and
(d) in applying a provision of any
legislation, agreement or arrangement to
the person -
(i) a reference to a conviction,
however expressed, is taken not
to refer to an expunged
conviction; and
(ii) a reference to a charge, however
expressed, is taken not to refer to
an expunged charge; and
24
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 3 - Consequences of Expungement s. 16
(iii) a reference, however expressed,
to the person's character is not to
be taken to allow or require
anyone to take account of any
expunged charge or expunged
conviction; and
(e) the disclosure or non-disclosure, of an
expunged charge or expunged conviction
is not a proper ground for -
(i) refusing the person any
appointment, office, status or
privilege; or
(ii) revoking any appointment, status
or privilege held by the person or
dismissing the person from any
office.
16. Disclosure of expunged records
(1) A person with access to official criminal records
must not directly or indirectly, without lawful
authority, disclose any information about another
person's expunged charge, or expunged
conviction, held in those records without the
consent of that other person.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to -
(a) an archive or library, or an authorised
officer of an archive or library, that
makes available to a member of the
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 16 Part 3 - Consequences of Expungement
public, or to another archive or library,
under the normal procedures of the
archive or library, material that is
normally available for public use and that
contains information about an expunged
charge or expunged conviction; or
(b) the Secretary, or any person acting under
the direction of the Secretary, in
informing a data controller that holds
information about an expunged charge or
expunged conviction; or
(c) the Commissioner of Police, or any
person acting under the direction of the
Commissioner of Police, disclosing to
the ACC, for incorporation into the
police information sharing system known
as the National Police Reference System
or any system for the sharing of police
information that replaces that system, the
fact that a charge or a conviction has
become an expunged charge or expunged
conviction.
(3) It is a defence to a charge for an offence against
subsection (1) to show that the defendant acted
in good faith in the honest belief that -
(a) he or she had lawful authority to disclose
the information; or
(b) the charge or conviction had not been
expunged; or
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 3 - Consequences of Expungement s. 17
(c) the person who made the application to
have the charge expunged had consented
to the disclosure of the information.
(4) This section has effect despite sections 77(4),
79(3) and 135(3) of the Health Practitioner
Regulation National Law (Tasmania).
17. Improperly obtaining information about expunged
convictions
A person must not fraudulently or dishonestly
obtain, or attempt to obtain, information about -
(a) another person's expunged charge from
an official criminal record; or
(b) another person's expunged conviction
from an official criminal record.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.
27
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 18 Part 4 - Miscellaneous
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
18. Determination that charge has ceased to be
expunged
(1) If the Secretary is satisfied that a charge became
expunged by reason of an application that
included information that was false or
misleading in a material particular, or documents
that were false or misleading in a material
particular, the Secretary may determine that the
charge has ceased to be expunged.
(2) The charge, and any conviction in respect of that
charge, ceases to be expunged on and from the
date of the determination under subsection (1).
(3) The Secretary must, within 28 days of making a
determination under subsection (1) -
(a) give the person who made the application
to have the charge expunged written
notice of the determination and inform
the person in writing of -
(i) the reasons for the determination;
and
(ii) the person's right to have the
determination reviewed under
section 19; and
(b) notify any relevant data controller in
writing that the charge, and any
conviction in respect of that charge, has
ceased to be expunged.
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 4 - Miscellaneous s. 19
19. Review of decisions
(1) In this section -
reviewable decision means -
(a) a decision to expunge a charge
under section 12(2)(a); or
(b) a decision to refuse to expunge a
charge under section 12(2)(b); or
(c) a determination that a charge has
ceased to be expunged under
section 18(1).
(2) If the Secretary, or a person acting as the
delegate of the Secretary, makes a reviewable
decision -
(a) an interested person may apply to the
Magistrates Court (Administrative
Appeals Division) under the Magistrates
Court (Administrative Appeals Division)
Act 2001 for a review of the decision;
and
(b) that decision is a reviewable decision for
the purposes of the Magistrates Court
(Administrative Appeals Division) Act
2001.
(3) For the purposes of this section, each of the
following persons is taken to be an interested
person:
(a) for a decision to expunge a charge under
section 12(2)(a) -
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Act No. of
s. 20 Part 4 - Miscellaneous
(i) a person who has made a
submission pursuant to
section 8(5) in relation to the
charge; and
(ii) a data controller who has any
official criminal records relating
to the charge under their
management or control;
(b) for a decision to refuse to expunge a
charge under section 12(2)(b), the
applicant;
(c) for a determination that a charge has
ceased to be expunged, the person who
made the application to have the charge
expunged.
(4) Despite section 36(1) of the Magistrates Court
(Administrative Appeals Division) Act 2001, the
review by the Magistrates Court (Administrative
Appeals Division) of a reviewable decision made
under this Act is to be held in private.
20. No entitlement to compensation
If a charge or a conviction for an offence is
expunged under section 12(6), a person is not
entitled to compensation of any kind, on account
of that charge or conviction becoming expunged,
in respect of the fact that -
(a) the person was charged with, or
prosecuted for, the offence; or
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 4 - Miscellaneous s. 21
(b) the person was convicted of, or sentenced
for, the offence; or
(c) the person served a sentence for the
offence; or
(d) the person was required to pay a fine or
other money (including costs or any
amount by way of restitution or
compensation) on account of being
convicted of, or sentenced for, the
offence; or
(e) the person has an expunged charge or
expunged conviction; or
(f) the person incurred any loss, or suffered
any consequence, as a result of an event
referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d)
or (e), whether or not that person was the
person whose charge or conviction was
expunged.
21. Royal prerogative of mercy not affected
Nothing in this Act is to be taken as affecting the
royal prerogative of mercy.
22. Integrity of official criminal records
Subject to section 14(2), nothing in this Act is to
be taken as authorising or requiring any person
to destroy, cull or edit any documents containing
official criminal records.
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 23 Part 4 - Miscellaneous
23. Prior lawful acts not affected
Nothing in this Act is to be taken as affecting
anything lawfully done before a charge or a
conviction for a historical offence is expunged.
24. Offence to give false or misleading information
A person must not, in answering a question,
giving information or providing a document
under this Act -
(a) make a statement knowing it to be false
or misleading; or
(b) omit any matter from a statement
knowing that without that matter the
statement is false or misleading; or
(c) provide a document that the person
knows to be false or misleading without
informing the person to whom the
document is provided of that knowledge.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 30 penalty units.
25. Delegation by Secretary
The Secretary may delegate any of his or her
functions or powers under this Act, other than
this power of delegation.
26. Information sharing
A person who is a personal information
custodian, within the meaning of the Personal
32
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 4 - Miscellaneous s. 27
Information Protection Act 2004, is not taken to
contravene that Act by reason only of collecting,
using or disclosing, or otherwise dealing with,
personal information for the purposes of this
Act.
27. Infringement notices
(1) In this section -
infringement offence means an offence
against this Act or the regulations that is
prescribed by the regulations to be an
infringement offence.
(2) The Secretary may issue and serve an
infringement notice on a person if he or she
reasonably believes that the person has
committed an infringement offence.
(3) An infringement notice may not be served on an
individual who has not attained the age of 16
years.
(4) An infringement notice is to be in accordance
with section 14 of the Monetary Penalties
Enforcement Act 2005.
(5) The regulations -
(a) may prescribe, for infringement offences,
the penalties payable under infringement
notices; and
(b) may prescribe different penalties for
bodies corporate and individuals.
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
s. 28 Part 4 - Miscellaneous
28. Regulations
(1) The Governor may make regulations for the
purposes of this Act.
(2) The regulations may be made so as to apply
differently according to matters, limitations or
restrictions, whether as to time, circumstance or
otherwise, specified in the regulations.
(3) The regulations may -
(a) provide that a contravention of any of the
regulations is an offence; and
(b) in respect of such an offence, provide for
the imposition of a fine not exceeding 50
penalty units and, in the case of a
continuing offence, a further fine not
exceeding 10 penalty units for each day
during which the offence continues.
(4) The regulations may authorise any matter to be
from time to time determined, applied, regulated
or approved by the Secretary.
29. Administration of Act
Until provision is made in relation to this Act by
order under section 4 of the Administrative
Arrangements Act 1990 -
(a) the administration of this Act is assigned
to the Minister for Justice; and
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Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
Part 4 - Miscellaneous s. 30
(b) the department responsible to that
Minister in relation to the administration
of this Act is the Department of Justice.
30. Consequential amendments
The legislation specified in Schedule 1 is
amended as specified in that Schedule.
35
Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017
Act No. of
sch. 1
SCHEDULE 1 - CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS
Section 30
Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
1. The definition of irrelevant criminal record in
section 3 is amended as follows:
(a) by inserting in paragraph (i) "or" after
"arises;";
(b) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (i):
(j) the person's charge or conviction
was expunged under the
Expungement of Historical
Offences Act 2017;
36 Government Printer, Tasmania