59A   Offences committed by disqualified holders of certificates of competency

(1)  A person who is disqualified by or under any Act from holding or obtaining a certificate of competency must not:

(a)  operate a commercial vessel to which this Division applies during the period of disqualification, or

(b)  make an application for a certificate of competency during the period of disqualification and in respect of the application state his or her name falsely or incorrectly or omit to mention the disqualification.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 18 months or both (in the case of a first offence) or 125 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to the operation of a vessel in circumstances prescribed by the regulations.

(3)  An offence under this section is a second or subsequent offence for the purposes of this section if it is the second or subsequent occasion on which the person is convicted of any offence under subsection (1) within the period of 5 years immediately before the person is convicted of the offence.

(4)  If a person is convicted by a court of an offence under subsection (1), the person:

(a)  is disqualified by the conviction (and without any specific order) for the relevant disqualification period from the date of expiration of the existing disqualification or suspension or from the date of such conviction, whichever is the later, from holding a certificate of competency, and

(b)  may also be disqualified, for such additional period as the court may order, from holding a certificate of competency.

(5)  The disqualification referred to in subsection (4) is in addition to any penalty imposed for the offence.

(6)  Subsection (1) applies to a person who is disqualified from holding a certificate of competency by a court in Australia or under any law in this State or another State or Territory.

(7)  In this section, the relevant disqualification period is:

(a)  in the case of a first offence under subsection (1)—12 months, or

(b)  in the case of a second or subsequent offence under subsection (1)—2 years.