Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to this section, where any goods (including any animal or plant) or any premises comprising buildings or other structures are destroyed under or in accordance with this Act, the Minister may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, approve the payment of compensation under this section in respect of those goods or premises.
(2) The Minister shall not approve the payment of compensation under this section in respect of:
(a) goods unlawfully imported into Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island; or
(b) goods lawfully imported into Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island that were in quarantine at all times between their importation and destruction, other than a prescribed animal destroyed at a quarantine station.
(3) The Minister shall not approve the payment of compensation under this section in respect of goods or premises where the Minister is satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that:
(a) the goods or premises were destroyed by reason of an act or omission in contravention of a law of the Commonwealth, a law of a State or a law of a Territory; and
(b) a person who had, or was a member of a partnership that had, an interest in the goods or premises at the time of their destruction:
(i) was a party to, or was in any way directly or indirectly concerned in, the act or omission;
(ii) had an interest in the goods or premises at the time when the act or omission occurred and, at an earlier time, knew, ought to have known, or had reasonable grounds for suspecting, that the act or omission would occur; or
(iii) acquired an interest in the goods or premises after the act or omission occurred and, at the time when he or she acquired that interest, knew, ought to have known, or had reasonable grounds for suspecting, that the act or omission had occurred.
(4) Where an animal destroyed at a quarantine station had been lawfully imported into Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island and had been in quarantine at all times between its importation and destruction, the Minister shall not approve the payment of compensation under this section in respect of the animal if he or she is satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that, before the animal left its place of origin for exportation to Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island, the animal was infected, or was likely to be infected, with a disease or pest for reasons relating to which the animal was destroyed.
(5) Subject to this section, compensation approved under this section in respect of goods or premises shall:
(a) where there is only one owner of the goods or premises--be paid to the owner; or
(b) where there are 2 or more owners of the goods or premises--be divided among those owners in accordance with their interests in the goods or premises at the time of their destruction.
(6) If a quarantine officer or other person who causes goods or premises to be destroyed under this Act knows, at the time of the destruction of the goods or premises, the name and address of the owner or any of the owners of the goods or premises, the quarantine officer or other person must give written notice of the destruction of the goods or other premises to that owner or each of those owners, either personally or by post.
(7) An owner is not entitled to compensation under this section in respect of goods or premises unless a claim for compensation in respect of the goods or premises is made by or on behalf of the owner within 12 months after:
(a) if under subsection (6) notice of the destruction of the goods or premises is required to be given to him or her--that notice is given; or
(b) in any other case--the goods or premises are destroyed.
(8) A claim for compensation under subsection (7) shall be in a form approved by the Minister and shall be accompanied by such documents as are required by that form to accompany the claim.
(9) The compensation payable under this section in respect of goods or premises is an amount equal to:
(a) except where paragraph (b) or (c) applies--the market value of the goods or premises immediately before their destruction;
(b) in the case of an animal (other than an animal to which paragraph (c) applies) destroyed by reason of the animal being infected, or suspected of being infected, with a disease or pest--the market value that the animal would have had at the time of its destruction if it had not been infected or suspected of being infected; or
(c) in the case of an animal imported into Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island that was in quarantine at all times between its importation and destruction--the sum of the market value of the animal in the country of export at the time of export and the charges for freight, maintenance or similar expenses in respect of the animal incurred after the animal left its place of origin for exportation to Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island and before its destruction.
(10) If the Minister and the owner or the owners entitled to compensation under this section in respect of goods or premises do not agree as to the market value or sum that, in accordance with subsection (9), is to be the amount of that compensation, that market value or sum shall be determined by a person agreed upon by the Minister and by the owner or owners entitled to that compensation.
(11) Where the Minister approves the payment of compensation under this section in respect of goods or premises and:
(a) the Minister and the owner or owners entitled to be paid that compensation agree on the market value or sum that, in accordance with subsection (9), is to be the amount of that compensation; or
(b) that market value or sum is determined in accordance with subsection (10);
that amount of compensation is payable to the owner or owners so entitled and the amount so payable to the owner or an owner may be recovered by him or her by action against the Commonwealth in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(12) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person makes a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular; and
(b) the statement is made with the intention of obtaining pecuniary benefit for the person or for another person under this section; and
(c) the person knows the statement to be false or misleading in that particular.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.
(12A) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person makes a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular; and
(b) the statement is made with the intention of obtaining pecuniary benefit for the person or for another person under this section; and
(c) the person is reckless as to whether or not the statement is false or misleading in that particular.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.
(12B) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person does a fraudulent act; and
(b) the act is done with the intention of obtaining pecuniary benefit for the person or for another person under this section.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.
(13) For the purposes of this section:
(a) goods subject to quarantine or ordered into quarantine shall be taken to be in quarantine;
(b) where goods imported into Australia, the Cocos Islands or Christmas Island on a vessel are ordered into quarantine on, or soon after, the granting of pratique in relation to that vessel, the goods shall be deemed to have continued to be subject to quarantine during the period commencing when pratique was granted in relation to the vessel and ending when the goods were ordered into quarantine; and
(c) where goods subject to quarantine or ordered into quarantine are released from quarantine for the purpose of exportation, the goods shall be deemed to continue to be in quarantine.
(14) In this section and subject to subsection (14A), owner , in relation to goods or premises that have been destroyed, means a person who, or a partnership which, had an interest in the goods or premises at the time of their destruction, but does not include a person who had such an interest by reason only that he or she was entitled to the benefit of a mortgage or other charge, or a lien, in respect of the goods or premises (other than a PPSA security interest) unless he or she was in possession of the goods or occupying, or otherwise in control of, the premises, at that time.
(14A) For the purposes of the definition of owner in subsection (14), a person who, or a partnership which, had an interest in the goods or premises at the time of their destruction does not include a person or partnership if the person or partnership:
(a) holds a PPSA security interest in the goods or premises; but
(b) is not in possession or control of the goods or premises at that time.
(15) In this section, prescribed animal means an animal other than any of the following, that is to say:
(a) a horse, an ass, a mule or a pig;
(b) a ruminant;
(c) an animal imported for the purposes of a zoo or circus; or
(d) an animal imported by an organization engaged in scientific research for the purposes of that research.
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