South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts49—Amendment of section 92—Electoral Commissioner may conduct
investigations etc
(1) Section
92(1)—after paragraph (a) insert:
(ab)
issue a formal reprimand to a person who, in the opinion of the Electoral
Commissioner, has been guilty of a breach of this Act; or
(2) Section
92—after subsection (2) insert:
(3) The Electoral
Commissioner may, in connection with any matter concerning the operation or
administration of this Act, seize and retain, or issue a seizure order in
respect of, anything that the Electoral Commissioner reasonably suspects has
been used in, or may constitute evidence of, a contravention of this Act.
(4) A seizure order
under this section—
(a) must
be in the form of a written notice served on the owner or person in control of
the thing to which the order relates; and
(b) may
be varied or revoked by further such written notice.
(5) If a seizure order
is issued, a person who removes or interferes with the thing to which the
order relates without the approval of the Electoral Commissioner before an
order is made under subsection (6)(b) in respect of the thing or the
seizure order is discharged under subsection (6)(c) is guilty of an
offence.
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
(6) If a thing has
been seized or made subject to a seizure order, the following provisions
apply:
(a) the
thing must, if it has been seized, be held pending proceedings for an offence
against this Act related to the thing seized, unless the Electoral
Commissioner, on application, authorises its release to the person from whom
it was seized, or to any person who had legal title to it at the time of its
seizure, subject to such conditions as the Electoral Commissioner thinks fit
(including conditions as to the giving of security for satisfaction of an
order under paragraph (b)(ii));
(b) if
proceedings for an offence against this Act relating to the thing are
instituted within the prescribed period after its seizure or the issuing of
the seizure order and the defendant is convicted or found guilty of the
offence, the court may—
(i)
order that it be forfeited to the Electoral Commissioner;
or
(ii)
if it has been released pursuant to paragraph (a) or
is the subject of a seizure order—order that it be forfeited to the
Electoral Commissioner or that the person to whom it was released or the
defendant pay to the Electoral Commissioner an amount equal to its market
value at the time of its seizure or the issuing of the seizure order, as the
court thinks fit;
(c)
if—
(i)
proceedings are not instituted for an offence against
this Act relating to the thing within the prescribed period after its seizure
or the issuing of the seizure order; or
(ii)
proceedings have been so instituted and—
(A) the defendant is found not guilty of
the offence; or
(B) the defendant is convicted or found
guilty of the offence but no order for forfeiture is made under
paragraph (b),
then—
(iii)
in the case of a thing seized—the person from whom
the thing was seized, or any person with legal title to it, is entitled to
recover from the Electoral Commissioner (if necessary, by action in a court of
competent jurisdiction) the thing itself, or if it has been damaged or
destroyed, compensation of an amount equal to its market value at the time of
its seizure; or
(iv)
in the case of a thing subject to a seizure
order—the order is discharged.
(7) In
subsection (6)—
"the prescribed period" means 6 months or such longer period as a magistrate
may, on application by the Electoral Commissioner, allow.