Part 4Offences and matters relating to legal proceedings#

154Failure to hold licence etc.#

  1. (1)A person must not drive a vehicle transporting dangerous goods if—
  2. (a)a dangerous goods regulation requires the vehicle to be licensed to transport the goods; and
  3. (b)the vehicle is not licensed under the dangerous goods regulation.
  4. (2)A person must not drive a vehicle transporting dangerous goods if—
  5. (a)a dangerous goods regulation requires the person to be licensed to drive the vehicle; and
  6. (b)the person is not licensed under the dangerous goods regulation.
  7. (3)A person must not employ, engage or permit another person to drive a vehicle transporting dangerous goods if—
  8. (a)a dangerous goods regulation requires the other person to be licensed to drive the vehicle; and
  9. (b)the other person is not licensed under the dangerous goods regulation.

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.

Maximum penalty—500 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.

  1. (4)A person must not employ, engage or permit another person to drive a vehicle transporting dangerous goods if—
  2. (a)a dangerous goods regulation requires the vehicle to be licensed to transport the goods; and
  3. (b)the vehicle is not licensed under the dangerous goods regulation.

Maximum penalty—500 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.

  1. (5)A person who is required under a dangerous goods regulation to be accredited to be involved in transporting dangerous goods or a particular aspect of that transport must not be involved unless the person is accredited as required.
  2. (6)A person must not consign dangerous goods for transport on a vehicle if the person knows, or reasonably ought to know, that—
  3. (a)a dangerous goods regulation requires the vehicle to be licensed to transport the goods; and
  4. (b)the vehicle is not licensed under the dangerous goods regulation.

Maximum penalty—500 penalty units.

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

156Duties when transporting dangerous goods#

  1. (1)A person involved in transporting dangerous goods must ensure, as far as is practicable, that the goods are transported safely.
  2. (2)If a person involved in transporting dangerous goods contravenes this Act in circumstances where the person knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the contravention would be likely to endanger the safety of another person or of property or the environment, the person commits an offence.
  3. (3)This section is in addition to and does not limit any other provision of this Act.

Maximum penalty—

  1. (a)if the contravention results in death or grievous bodily harm to a person—1,000 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment; or
  2. (b)otherwise—500 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment.

157Additional evidentiary aids for transporting dangerous goods#

  1. (1)This section applies if, in a prosecution for a contravention of this Act—
  2. (a)an authorised officer gives evidence the officer believes, or at a particular time relevant to the exercise of a power believed, any of the following matters—
  3. (i)that dangerous goods stated in transport documentation carried in a vehicle are or were being carried in the vehicle;
  4. (ii)that particular dangerous goods are or were dangerous goods or dangerous goods of a particular type;
  5. (iii)if a marking or placard on a substance or packaging indicates or indicated that the substance is or was, or the packaging contains or contained particular dangerous goods—that the substance is or was or the packaging contains or contained the dangerous goods indicated;
  6. (iv)if a marking on a package indicates or indicated that the package contains or contained particular dangerous goods—that the package contains or contained the dangerous goods indicated;
  7. (v)if a marking on a package indicates or indicated an attribute in relation to the contents of the package—that the contents of the package have or had the indicated attribute;
  8. (vi)if a marking or placard on a vehicle or equipment indicates or indicated the vehicle or equipment is or was being used to transport dangerous goods—that the vehicle or equipment is or was being used to transport the dangerous goods indicated;
  9. (vii)if a marking or placard on a substance or packaging indicates or indicated the substance, packaging or contents of the packaging have or had an indicated attribute—that the substance, packaging or contents have or had the indicated attribute;
  10. (viii)if a marking or placard on a vehicle or packaging indicates or indicated the vehicle’s load is or was, or the contents of the packaging are or were, an indicated quantity of dangerous goods—that the vehicle is or was loaded with, or the packaging contained, the quantity of dangerous goods indicated; and
  11. (b)the court considers the belief to be, or to have been, reasonable; and
  12. (c)there is no evidence to the contrary.

The court must accept the matter as proved.

In this section—

attribute
attribute means— (a) capacity; or (b) character; or (c) date of manufacture; or (d) origin; or (e) ownership; or (f) specification; or (g) tare weight.
on
on includes attached to.

157ADocument signed by chief executive is evidence of matters stated in it if no evidence to the contrary#

In a prosecution for a contravention of this Act, a court may admit each of the following documents as evidence if the document purports to be signed by the chief executive—

  • (a) a document relating to whether a person is exempt from a requirement under section 153;
  • (b) a document relating to a vehicle, equipment or another item required under a dangerous goods regulation to be approved by the chief executive;
  • (c) a document relating to an accreditation or licence under a dangerous goods regulation about the transport of dangerous goods.

If there is no evidence to the contrary, the court must accept the document as proof of the facts stated in it.

This section does not limit section 123C, 123F or 123G.

158Recovery of costs from convicted person#

A court convicting a person of an offence against this Act about the transport of dangerous goods may order the person to pay to a government entity or the State any of the following—

  • (a) costs that have been reasonably incurred in investigating and prosecuting the offence including, for example, collecting, packaging, testing, transporting, storing, destroying the dangerous goods or other evidence;
  • (b) costs that, after the conviction, will be reasonably incurred in collecting, packaging, testing, transporting, storing, destroying, selling or otherwise disposing of the dangerous goods or other evidence, whether or not there is an order under section 161 for forfeiture of the dangerous goods or other things.

An amount ordered to be paid under subsection (1) is a debt owing to the entity or the State.

Subsection (1) is in addition to any other order the court may make.

A document purporting to be signed by any of the following stating details of the costs that have been or will be reasonably incurred for a matter mentioned in subsection (1) is evidence of the costs—

  • (a) for the department—the chief executive;
  • (b) for another government entity—the person who is the chief executive or otherwise responsible for the entity.

160Exclusion orders prohibiting involvement in the transport of dangerous goods#

This section applies if a person is convicted of an offence against this Act relating to the transport of dangerous goods.

The court before which the person is convicted may, after having regard to the following matters, make an order (an exclusion order) that the person be prohibited for a stated period from involvement in the transport of dangerous goods—

  • (a) the person’s record in the transport of dangerous goods;
  • (b) the person’s criminal history to the extent the court considers it relevant to the making of the exclusion order;
  • (c) the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence;
  • (d) any other matters the court considers appropriate.

However, the court must not make an exclusion order that prohibits the person from either of the following—

  • (a) driving a vehicle other than a dangerous goods vehicle; or
  • (b) registering a vehicle.

A person must not contravene an exclusion order made under subsection (2).

Maximum penalty—500 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.

Subsections (2) and (2A) do not limit any other penalty the court may impose for the offence.

If a court has made an exclusion order, the court may revoke or amend the exclusion order on the application of—

  • (a) the chief executive; or
  • (b) the person for whom the order was made but only if the court is satisfied there has been a change of circumstances warranting revocation or amendment and the chief executive was given reasonable notice of the application.

For subsection (5), the chief executive is entitled to appear and be heard and to give and produce evidence at the hearing of the application for or against the granting of the revocation or amendment.

In this section—

criminal history
criminal history, of a person, means each of the following despite the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986, sections 6, 8 and 9— (a) every conviction of the person for an offence, in Queensland or elsewhere, and whether before or after the commencement of this Act; (b) every charge made against the person for an offence, in Queensland or elsewhere, and whether before or after the commencement of this Act.

161Forfeiting dangerous goods#

If a person is convicted of an offence against this Act relating to the transport of dangerous goods, the court before which the person is convicted may order the dangerous goods or their packaging, or other things used to commit the offence, be forfeited to the State.

Dangerous goods, their packaging or other things that are forfeited may be destroyed or otherwise dealt with as directed by the chief executive.

Subsection (1) does not limit the court’s power to make any other order on the conviction including an order under section 158.

161AHelping in emergencies or accidents#

This section applies if an individual, other than an official mentioned in section 167—

  • (a) helps, or attempts to help, in a situation in which an emergency or accident involving the transport of dangerous goods happens or is likely to happen; and (b) the help, or attempt to help, is given—

(b) the help, or attempt to help, is given— (i) honestly and without negligence; and (ii) without any fee, charge or other reward.

(2) The individual does not incur civil liability for helping or attempting to help.

(3) However, this section does not apply to an individual whose act or omission wholly or partly caused the emergency or accident involving the transport of dangerous goods.

Source: TORUM Act 1995 · pages 415–423 Open PDF at this page Search this document