# Mistake of fact

> act-s486ZE — as in force on 2026-06-04 — C2026C00232 · Compilation No. 171 — https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026C00232/latest/text

486ZE Mistake of fact
          (1) A person is not liable to have a civil penalty order made against the
              person for a contravention of a civil penalty provision if:
               (a) at or before the time of the conduct constituting the
                   contravention, the person:
                     (i) considered whether or not facts existed; and
                    (ii) was under a mistaken but reasonable belief about those
                         facts; and
               (b) had those facts existed, the conduct would not have
                   constituted a contravention of the civil penalty provision.










          (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person may be regarded as
              having considered whether or not facts existed if:
               (a) the person had considered, on a previous occasion, whether
                    those facts existed in the circumstances surrounding that
                    occasion; and
               (b) the person honestly and reasonably believed that the
                    circumstances surrounding the present occasion were the
                    same, or substantially the same, as those surrounding the
                    previous occasion.
          (3) A person who wishes to rely on subsection (1) or (2) in
              proceedings for a civil penalty order bears an evidential burden in
              relation to that matter.