Section 52 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act Queensland states:

(2) A person must not state anything to an official for a transport Act that the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular.

 (3) It is enough for a complaint against a person for an offence against subsection (2) to state that the statement made was false or misleading to the person's knowledge.

In order for the Police to prove their case at Court, they must prove each of the following matters beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) The accused stated something to Queensland Transport or Police; AND

(2) That statement was provided pursuant to:

(a) the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act Queensland (or its regulations); OR

(b) the Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Act Queensland (or its regulations); AND

(3) Content in that statement was false or misleading; AND

(4) The content that was false or misleading was in respect of a material particular; AND

(5) The accused knew or believed that content in that statement was false or misleading.

It will be necessary for the Police in every offence to prove that the accused was the person who committed the offence. Click here to learn more about identification evidence.

Maximum penalty:

(a) if the information relates to a heavy vehicle, a prescribed dangerous goods vehicle or the transportation of dangerous goods - 100 penalty units; OR

(b) otherwise 60 penalty units.

Penalty unit = $100.00

Under section 3(5) of the Criminal Code Act  Queensland this offence is classed a simple offence and therefore may be heard in the Magistrates Court pursuant to section 19 of the Justices Act Queensland.

Possible defences to this offence include but are not limited to:

1. You never in fact gave any statement to Queensland Transport or Police.

2. You never in fact provided a statement to Queensland Transport or Police pursuant to the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act Queensland (or its regulations) or the Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Act Queensland (or its regulations).

3. The content in the statement was in fact true and presented in a manner that accurately portrayed the true meaning of the information.

4. The content that was false or misleading was not in respect of a material particular.

5. You were unaware that the content was false or misleading and believed the information to be true and presented in a manner that accurately portrayed the true meaning of the information.

6. Duress - example: there was a threat of harm to the accused or another person that the accused reasonably believed would be carried out if he/she did not present false or misleading content in their statement.

7. Insanity.

Identification i.e. the offender was not the accused.