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16.3 Meaning of ‘Australia’

Commonwealth Criminal Code: Guide for practitioners

16.3 Meaning of Australia

(1) For the purposes of the application of this Part to a particular primary offence, Australia has the same meaning it would have if it were used in a geographical sense in the provision creating the primary offence.

(2) For the purposes of the application of this Part to a particular ancillary offence, Australia has the same meaning it would have if it were used in a geographical sense in the provision creating the primary offence to which the ancillary offence relates.

(3) For the purposes of this Part, if a provision creating an offence extends to an external Territory, it is to be assumed that if the expression Australia were used in a geographical sense in that provision, that expression would include that external Territory.

(4) This section does not affect the meaning of the expressions Australian aircraft, Australian citizen or Australian ship.

Overview

The purpose of this section is to bring the operation of the jurisdiction provisions in this Part into line with the scope of particular offence provisions. ‘Australia’ when used in a geographical sense may be given different meanings in different statutes. For example, sometimes it will include some or all of the external Territories, sometimes it will not. For the purpose of this Part, the meaning of ‘Australia’ will depend on the meaning it would have if used in the relevant offence provision.