Division 5 under Part 1 of Crimes Act Victoria (1958) is about the offence of destruction of evidence. In this article we will outline the relevant sections:
Section 253: Definitions Related to Destruction of Evidence
S253 provides definitions of terms that appear under Division 5, Part 1 of the Crimes Act Victoria.
- “Associate,” concerning a body corporate, encompasses:
- (a) an individual employed by or acting as an agent of the body corporate while performing duties within the scope of their employment or authority, whether actual or apparent; or
- (b) an official of the body corporate.
- “Board of directors” refers to the entity, regardless of its name, that holds the executive authority within the body corporate.
- “Corporate culture” denotes a collective attitude, policy, rule, code of conduct, or customary practice that exists either throughout the entire body corporate. Or within the specific part where the relevant behaviour occurs or the relevant intention is formed.
- The definition of “legal proceeding” is in alignment with its meaning as specified in the Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1958.
- “Officer,” regarding a body corporate, signifies an officer as defined under section 9 of the Corporations Act, acting within the actual or apparent scope of their employment or authority.
- “Relevant conduct” pertains to actions involving the destruction, concealment, or alteration to the point of being unreadable, undecipherable, or unidentifiable, of any document or item of any nature.
- “Relevant intention” signifies the intention to prevent a party from using a document or any other item as evidence in a legal proceeding.
Section 254: Destruction of Evidence
This Section outlines the offence of destruction of evidence.
Point (1) states that any individual who:
- (a) Possesses the knowledge that a document or any other item, regardless of its nature, is or is reasonably likely to be necessary as evidence in a legal proceeding; and
- (b) Either:
- (i) Destroys, conceals, or renders it unreadable, undecipherable, or unidentifiable; or
- (ii) Explicitly, implicitly, or by tacit authorisation, allows another person to destroy, conceal, or render it unreadable, undecipherable, or unidentifiable, and that other person carries out such actions; and
- (c) Engages in the activities described in paragraph (b) with the intent to prevent someone from using it as evidence in a legal proceeding —
is found guilty of an indictable offence and is subject to a level 6 imprisonment (maximum of 5 years) or a level 6 fine, or both.
Note that the definition of “document” is in accordance with the Evidence Act 2008. Moreover, the maximum fine that can be imposed on a corporate body found guilty of an offence under this section is 3000 penalty units, as specified in the Sentencing Act 1991 s. 113D.
Moreover, this section is applicable to a legal proceeding, whether it is ongoing or anticipated to commence in the future.

Section 255: Corporate Liability for Violations of Section 254
This Section outlines corporate liability for violations of section 254:
Point (1) states that in the context of legal proceedings against a corporate entity for a violation of section 254:
- (a) Any relevant actions conducted by an associate of the corporate body shall also be imputed to the corporate body.
- (b) The knowledge possessed by an associate of the corporate body shall also be attributed to the corporate body.
- (c) The intention, whether of the corporate body’s board of directors, an officer of the corporate body, or any other associate of the corporate body, shall also be imputed to the corporate body if a corporate culture within the corporate body directed, encouraged, tolerated, or contributed to the formation of such intention.
Secondly, if an officer of a corporate body contravenes section 254, the corporate body is considered to have also contravened that section and may be prosecuted and found guilty of an offence under that section, regardless of whether the officer has faced legal action or has been found guilty of the offence.
In a legal proceeding against a corporate body for a violation of section 254, based on subsection (2), the corporate body may use the defence that it diligently took measures to prevent the officer’s contravention of that section.
(4) The means by which authorisation or permission, as required by section 254(1)(b)(ii), may be established include:
- (a) Demonstrating that an officer of the corporate body provided such authorisation or permission.
- (b) Demonstrating that the corporate body’s board of directors granted such authorisation or permission.
- (c) Demonstrating the existence of a corporate culture within the corporate body that directed, encouraged, tolerated, or led to the execution of the relevant actions.
Additional Provisions
(5) Subsection (4)(a) does not apply if the corporate body can prove that it diligently acted to prevent such authorisation or permission from being granted.
(6) Factors relevant to the application of subsection (1)(c)(iii) or (4)(c) include:
- (a) Whether an officer of the corporate body has granted authority to commit an offence against section 254 or an offence of a similar nature.
- (b) Whether the associate of the corporate body who executed the relevant actions or formed the relevant intention reasonably believed or had a reasonable expectation that an officer of the corporate body would have authorised or permitted the execution of the relevant actions with the relevant intention.
(7) It is not necessary, except as provided in subsection (8), that each element of an offence against section 254 attributed to a corporate body by virtue of subsection (1) be supplied by the same associate of the corporate body.
(8) The elements referred to in section 254(1)(b)(i) and (c) must be supplied by the same associate of the corporate body, except as provided by subsection (7).

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