Section 307A Crimes Act | False or Misleading Applications

Section 307A of the Crimes Act 1900 deals with the offence of ‘False or Misleading Applications’ and reads as follows:

307A False or misleading applications

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person makes a statement (whether orally, in a document or in any other way), and
(b) the person does so knowing that, or reckless as to whether, the statement:
(i) is false or misleading, or
(ii) omits any matter or thing without which the statement is misleading, and
(c) the statement is made in connection with an application for an authority or benefit, and
(d) any of the following subparagraphs apply:
(i) the statement is made to a public authority,
(ii) the statement is made to a person who is exercising or performing any power, authority, duty or function under, or in connection with, a law of the State,
(iii) the statement is made in compliance or purported compliance with a law of the State.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years, or a fine of 200 penalty units, or both.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply as a result of subsection (1) (b) (i) if the statement is not false or misleading in a material particular.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply as a result of subsection (1) (b) (ii) if the statement did not omit any matter or thing without which the statement is misleading in a material particular.

(4) The burden of establishing a matter referred to in subsection (2) or (3) lies on the accused person.

(5) In this section:“application” includes any claim, request or other form of application and also includes, in the case of an application for an authority, any application for the issue, grant, amendment, transfer, renewal, restoration or replacement of the authority and any other application in connection with the authority.”authority” includes any licence, permit, consent, approval, registration or other form of authority.”benefit” includes any advantage and is not limited to property.

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