Criminal Code Act 1995

Schedule - The Criminal Code  

Section 3

CHAPTER 9 - DANGERS TO THE COMMUNITY  

Part 9.2 - Psychoactive substances  

Division 320 - Psychoactive substances  

SECTION 320.2   Importing psychoactive substances  

(1)  
A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person imports a substance; and

(b) the substance is a psychoactive substance.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years, or 300 penalty units, or both.

(2)  
Subject to subsection (3), this section does not apply to a substance if it is:

(a) food (within the meaning of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 ) for which:

(i) there is a standard (within the meaning of that Act); or

(ii) in the form in which the substance is presented, there is a tradition in Australia and New Zealand of using the substance as food for humans; or

(b) a tobacco product (within the meaning of section 8 of the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 ); or

(c) goods that are listed goods, or registered goods, within the meaning of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 ; or

(d) goods that are represented in any way to be:

(i) for therapeutic use (within the meaning of that Act); or

(ii) for use as an ingredient or component in the manufacture of therapeutic goods (within the meaning of that Act);

other than goods that are represented as a serious drug alternative; or

(e) therapeutic goods that are:

(i) exempt goods (within the meaning of that Act); or

(ii) exempt under section 18A of that Act; or

(iii) the subject of an approval or authority under section 19 of that Act; or

(iv) the subject of an approval under section 19A of that Act; or

(f) a substance or mixture of substances:

(i) that is an agricultural chemical product (within the meaning of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code set out in the Schedule to the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 ); or

(ii) that would be such an agricultural chemical product, apart from regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 4(4)(b) of that Code; or

(g) a substance or mixture of substances:

(i) that is a veterinary chemical product (within the meaning of that Code); or

(ii) to which paragraph 5(4)(a) of that Code applies; or

(iii) that would be such a veterinary chemical product, apart from regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 5(4)(b) of that Code; or

(h) a substance or mixture of substances that is an active constituent (within the meaning of that Code) for a proposed or existing chemical product (within the meaning of that Code), and that:

(i) is an approved active constituent (within the meaning of that Code); or

(ii) is an exempt active constituent (within the meaning of subsection 69B(1) of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 ); or

(iii) is imported into Australia with the written consent of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority under subsection 69B(1B) of that Act; or

(i) an industrial chemical within the meaning of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 ; or

(ia) a plant or fungus, or an extract from a plant or fungus; or

(j) a controlled drug, controlled plant, controlled precursor, border controlled drug, border controlled plant or border controlled precursor; or

(k) a prohibited import within the meaning of the Customs Act 1901 ; or

(l) prescribed by, or included in a class of substances prescribed by, the regulations.

Note:

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) ).

(3)  
Subsection (2) does not apply to a substance that contains any psychoactive substance that is not of a kind specified in any of paragraphs (2)(a) to (l).

(4)  
In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1), it is not necessary to prove that the defendant was reckless as to:

(a) the particular identity of the substance; or

(b) whether the substance had a particular psychoactive effect.