Dealing in Identification Information

Dealing in Identification Information is an offence under section 372.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

1. You dealt in identification information
2. You intended that a person, whether you or someone else, would use the information to pretend to be, or pass off as, another person whether that person was living, dead, real or fictitious, for the purpose of:

1. Committing an offence, or
2. Facilitating the commission of an offence, and

3. The intended offence was a Commonwealth indictable offence, or a foreign indictable offence.

‘Identification information’ is that which relates to another person, whether dead or alive, real or fictitious, that is capable of being used to identify a person, whether by itself or in conjunction with other information.

It includes:

1. A name, address, date or place of birth, marital status, relative’s identity
2. A driver licence or driver licence number
3. A passport or passport number
4. A voice print or biometric data
5. A credit or debit card, its number or data stored or encrypted on it
6. A financial account number, user name or password
7. A digital signature
8. Any series of numbers and/or letters intended for use as personal information, and
9. An ABN.

‘Dealt in’ includes make, supply or use.

An ‘indictable offence’ is one which can be referred to a higher court such as the District or Supreme Court.

You may be found guilty even if:

1. Committing the intended indictable offence was impossible
2. The intended indictable offence was to be committed at a later time, or
3. The person to whom the identification information related consented to its use.

Duress and necessity are defences to the charge.