AWRS101901 - Penalties and sanctions: Buying from an unapproved wholesaler - types of penalty

There are three types of contravention:

  • deliberate and concealed,
  • deliberate but not concealed, or
  • any other case (referred to in this guidance as non-deliberate).

Penalties for buying from an unapproved wholesaler are designed to address the behaviour that caused the contravention. The more serious the behaviour, the higher the possible penalty will be.

For example, if the behaviour causing the contravention was deliberate, the law provides for different penalty values to be applied depending on whether this action was concealed or not.  A higher penalty would be applied where the behaviour was concealed.