Section 236 — Offences relating to visas

236 Offences relating to visas

(1) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person uses a visa with the intention of:

(i) travelling to Australia; or

(ii) remaining in Australia; or

(iii) identifying himself or herself; and

(b) the visa is a visa that was granted to another person. Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years or 1,000 penalty units, or both.

(2) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person has a visa in his or her possession or under his or her control; and

(b) the visa is a visa that was not granted to the person.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years or 1,000 penalty units, or both.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse. Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (3) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

(4) The fault element for paragraph (2)(a) is intention. Note: Section 5.2 of the Criminal Code defines intention.