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Building Act 2004

Miscellaneous provisions - Other offences and criminal proceedings - Proceedings for offences generally

387: Liability for acts of employees or agents of Crown organisations

You could also call this:

“A Crown organisation can be held responsible when its workers do something wrong, but has ways to defend itself.”

If someone working for a government organisation does something wrong under this law, the government organisation can be held responsible. This is different from what Section 386 says.

When an employee or agent of a government organisation breaks this law, the organisation itself is treated as if it did the wrong thing. This doesn’t mean the person who actually did it isn’t in trouble too.

The government organisation can defend itself if it can show it did everything it could to fix the problem. It can also defend itself if it can prove that nobody in charge knew about the wrongdoing, or if the organisation did everything it could to stop it from happening.

If a government organisation is found guilty of breaking this law, the people in charge of the organisation can also be found guilty. This can happen if they allowed the wrongdoing to happen, or if they knew about it and didn’t try to stop it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM309039.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Government and voting > Government departments
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386: Liability of principal for acts of agents, or

“When someone breaks the law while working for you, you might get in trouble too.”

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388: Strict liability and defences, or

“You can be found guilty of breaking this law even if you didn't mean to, but you can defend yourself if you had a good reason.”

Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions
Other offences and criminal proceedings: Proceedings for offences generally

387Liability for acts of employees or agents of Crown organisations

  1. Section 386 does not apply if a person acting as agent or employee of a Crown organisation commits an offence under this Act.

  2. If an offence referred to in section 6(1)(a) of the Crown Organisations (Criminal Liability) Act 2002 is committed by a person acting as the agent or employee of a Crown organisation, the Crown organisation must (without affecting the personal liability of the agent or employee) be treated for all legal purposes as having committed that offence.

  3. Despite subsection (2), if proceedings for an offence referred to in section 6(1)(a) of the Crown Organisations (Criminal Liability) Act 2002 are brought against a Crown organisation in reliance on subsection (2), it is a good defence if the Crown organisation proves that—

  4. the organisation took all reasonable steps to remedy any effects of the act or omission constituting the offence; and
    1. either—
      1. no person involved in the management of the organisation knew or could reasonably be expected to have known that the offence was to be or was being committed; or
        1. the organisation took all reasonable steps to prevent the commission of the offence.

        2. If a Crown organisation is convicted of an offence against this Act, the chief executive or principal officer (however described) of the organisation and every person concerned in the management of the organisation is guilty of the same offence if it is proved—

        3. that the act that constituted the offence took place with that person's authority, permission, or consent; and
          1. that he or she knew or could reasonably be expected to have known that the offence was to be or was being committed and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop it.

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