Document destruction a crime in Victoria.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis

It is now a crime in the Australian province of Victoria to destroy documents or anything else of any kind likely to be used as evidence in legal proceedings. Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2006 (Vic) (Act) covers all kinds of documents, paper and electronic, as well as DVDs and sound and data recordings. The law applies to anyone that does business in Victoria.

The new legislation follows the widely publicized Victorian Court of Appeal decision in British American Tobacco Australia Services Ltd v Cowell (Representing the Estate of McCabe (deceased)) (2002) 7 VR 524 (the BATA decision) and amends the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic).

Prior to this law, in Victoria, document destruction would generally not result in criminal charges unless the documents were destroyed after legal proceedings had begun and amounted to an attempt to pervert the course of justice or contempt.

Under the new law, individuals or companies may be found guilty of an indictable offense. A company may be guilty as a result of the activity of its officers or associates. According to the wording of the law, a company or person can be convicted under the law if a court finds that that company or individual knows that a document or other record will be, or is reasonably likely to be, used as evidence in legal proceedings and that person:

* "Destroys, conceals, or renders that document or other thing illegible, undecipherable, or incapable of identification

* Expressly, tacitly, or impliedly authorizes or permits any other...