Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA ACT 1976 - SECT 58FE

Security is money held by the Court or property other than registrable property

  (1)   If security specified in a forfeiture order is:

  (a)   money deposited with or otherwise provided to the Court; or

  (b)   property other than:

  (i)   money; or

  (ii)   registrable property;

the security vests absolutely in the Commonwealth at the time the order takes effect.

Security is money not held by the Court

  (2)   If security specified in a forfeiture order is an amount of money that has not been deposited with or otherwise provided to the Court, then:

  (a)   the amount is taken to be a civil debt payable by the provider of the security to the Commonwealth at the time the order takes effect; and

  (b)   the Commonwealth may enforce the forfeiture order as if it were an order made in civil proceedings against the provider to recover a debt due by the provider; and

  (c)   the debt arising from the order is taken to be a judgment debt; and

  (d)   if the undertaking under which the amount was provided as security also specified property to secure payment of the amount--the Commonwealth may enforce the undertaking in respect of that property.

Security is registrable property

  (3)   If security specified in a forfeiture order is registrable property, then:

  (a)   that property vests in equity in the Commonwealth but does not vest in the Commonwealth at law until the applicable registration requirements have been complied with; and

  (b)   the prosecutor may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, do anything necessary or convenient to give notice of, or otherwise protect, the Commonwealth's equitable interest in that property; and

  (c)   the Commonwealth is entitled to be registered as the owner of that property; and

  (d)   the Court may, by order, authorise a person to:

  (i)   do; or

  (ii)   authorise the doing of;

    anything necessary or convenient to obtain the registration of the Commonwealth as the owner.

  (4)   The powers of a person who is the subject of an order under paragraph   (3)(d) include executing any instrument required to be executed by a person transferring an interest in property of that kind.

Meaning of registrable property

  (5)   In this section:

"registrable property" means property, title to which is passed by registration on a register kept pursuant to a provision of any law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.