Crimes Act 1900 No 40
Historical version for 18 May 1992 to 11 July 1992 (accessed 26 May 2013 at 17:58) Current version
Part 5Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Forgery

Declaratory and general

250   Forging and uttering defined

For the purposes of this Act:

Forging means the counterfeiting, or altering in any particular, by whatsoever means effected, with intent to defraud, of an instrument, or document, or of some signature, or other matter, or thing, or of any attestation, or signature of a witness, whether by law required or not to any instrument, document, or matter, the forging of which is punishable under this Act.

Utter, or uttering, wherever used herein with respect to any forged instrument, document, signature, matter, or thing, or any instrument, document, or matter with a forged attestation or signature of a witness thereto, means that the person uttered, offered, disposed of, or put off, the same with intent to defraud, knowing it to be forged.

251   Uttering to be offence of same degree and subject to same punishment as forging

The uttering of any forged instrument, document, signature, matter, or thing, or of any instrument, document, or matter with a forged attestation or signature of a witness thereto, whether in any such case the same was made, or purports to have been made, in or out of New South Wales, shall, wherever the forging of the same is punishable under this Act, be an offence of the same degree, and punishable in the same manner as such forgery.

252   (Repealed)

Forgery, &c, of public seals

253   Royal or public seals

Whosoever:

forges any of Her Majesty’s seals, or the seal of New South Wales, or of any British Colony, or the impression of any such seal, or

utters any instrument, having thereon, or affixed thereto, the impression of any such forged seal, or any forged impression made, or apparently intended, to resemble the impression of any such seal, or

forges any instrument having any such impression thereon, or affixed thereto,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

254   (Repealed)

Forgery of Acts, Proclamations, &c

255   Acts, proclamations etc

Whosoever:

prints any copy of any Act, or of any proclamation or commission issued by the Governor, which copy falsely purports to have been printed by the Government Printer, or

tenders in evidence any such copy knowing the same was not printed by the Government Printer,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

256–259   (Repealed)

Forgery of India bonds, Exchequer bills, &c

260   East India bonds, Exchequer bills, or debentures etc

Whosoever forges, or utters, any East India bond, or any bond, debenture, or security made under the authority of any Act relating to the East Indies, or any indorsement on, or assignment of, any such bond, debenture, or security, or any Exchequer bill, bond, or debenture, or any indorsement on, or assignment of, any such bill, bond, or debenture, or any Treasury bill, or debenture of the Government of New South Wales, or receipt, or certificate for interest accruing thereon, shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

261–264   (Repealed)

Forgery, &c, of, or engraving plate, &c, for, bank notes, &c

265   Forging etc a bank note etc

Whosoever:

forges, or utters, any note, or bill of exchange, of any company or person carrying on the business of banking, whether in New South Wales or elsewhere, commonly called a bank note, bank bill of exchange, or bank post bill, or any indorsement on, or assignment of, any such note or bill, or

for any unlawful purpose, or without lawful authority or excuse, purchases or receives from any person, or has in his possession, any such forged bank note, bank bill of exchange, or bank post bill, knowing the same to be forged,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

266   Engraving or having any plate etc for making bank notes or paper

Whosoever, for any unlawful purpose, or without lawful authority or excuse,

engraves, or makes, upon any material, any words or writing purporting to be a bank note, bank bill of exchange, or bank post bill, of any company or person carrying on the business of banking in New South Wales, or elsewhere, or to be part of any such instrument, or any name, word, or character, resembling or apparently intended to resemble any subscription to any such instrument, issued by any such company or person, or

uses any material, or implement, or device, for making or printing any such instrument, or any part thereof, or

knowingly has in his possession any such material, or any such implement or device, or

knowingly offers, utters, disposes of, or puts off, or has in his possession, any paper, upon which any such instrument, or any part thereof, or any name, word, or character, resembling or apparently intended to resemble any such subscription as aforesaid, is made or printed,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

267   Engraving etc any part of a bank note etc

Whosoever, for any unlawful purpose, or without lawful authority or excuse,

engraves, or makes upon any material any word, number, figure, device, character, or ornament, the impression taken from which resembles, or apparently is intended to resemble, any part of a bank note, bank bill of exchange, or bank post bill, of any company or person carrying on the business of banking in New South Wales or elsewhere, or

uses, or knowingly has in his possession, any such material, or instrument, or device, for impressing upon paper or other material any word, number, figure, character, or ornament, which resembles or apparently is intended to resemble any part of any such note, or bill, or

knowingly offers, utters, disposes of, or puts off, or has in his possession, any paper or other material, upon which there is an impression of any such matter as aforesaid,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

268   Instruments in blank

Every instrument in blank, which in a complete state would be a bank note, bank bill of exchange, or bank post bill, shall be within sections 266 and 267.

269   Having moulds for paper with the name of any banker

Whosoever, for any unlawful purpose, or without lawful authority or excuse,

makes or uses, any frame, mould, or instrument for the manufacture of paper, with the name or firm of any company or person carrying on the business of banking in New South Wales or elsewhere appearing visible in the substance of the paper, or knowingly has in his possession any such frame, mould, or instrument, or

makes, uses, sells, exposes for sale, utters, or disposes of, or knowingly has in his possession, any paper, in the substance of which the name or firm of any such company or person appears visible, or by any art or contrivance causes the name or firm of any such company or person to appear visible in the substance of the paper upon which the same is written or printed,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

270   Engraving plates for foreign bills or notes

Whosoever, for any unlawful purpose, or without lawful authority or excuse,

engraves, or makes upon any material, any bill of exchange, promissory-note, undertaking, or order for payment of money, or any part of any such instrument, in whatsoever language the same is expressed, and whether the same is under seal or not, or intended to be under seal, purporting to be the bill, note, undertaking, or order, or part of the bill, note, undertaking, or order of a foreign prince or State, or any body corporate, or body of the like nature, or person or company of persons, in any country not under the dominion of Her Majesty, or

uses, or knowingly has in his possession any material upon which any such foreign bill, note, undertaking, or order, or any part thereof, is engraved, or made, or

knowingly offers, utters, disposes of, or puts off, or has in his possession, any paper upon which any part of any such instrument is made or printed,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

Forgery, &c, of wills, &c

271   Forging wills

Whosoever forges, or utters, any will, testament, codicil, or testamentary instrument shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

272–276   (Repealed)

Forgery of signature of Judge

277   (Repealed)

278   Forging signature of Supreme Court Judge to decree etc or tendering same in evidence with forged signature

Whosoever:

forges the signature of any Judge of the Supreme Court purporting to be attached or appended to any decree, order, certificate, or other official, or judicial document, or

tenders in evidence any such decree, order, certificate, or document, as aforesaid, with a false or counterfeit signature of any such Judge thereto, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

279–283   (Repealed)

Forgery, &c, of instruments of evidence

284   (Repealed)

285   Forgery of signature to copies etc admissible in evidence of decrees etc

Whosoever, where any copy of any judgment, decree, rule, or order filed or recorded in the Supreme Court at Sydney, or formerly filed or recorded in the Supreme Court of New South Wales for the district of Port Phillip, is admissible in evidence when certified under the hand of the proper officer of such Court,

forges the signature of such officer to any such copy, or

tenders in evidence any such copy with a false or counterfeit signature thereto, knowing the same to be false,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

286–288   (Repealed)

289   Forgery of seal etc on public documents etc and copies admissible in evidence

Whosoever, where any certificate, or official, or public document, or any document or proceeding of any corporation, or joint stock or other company, now or hereafter to be established, or any certified copy of any document, or by-law, or entry in any register or other book, or of any other proceeding, is admissible in evidence under any Act, now or hereafter in force, when purporting to be sealed or stamped and signed as directed by the Act under which the same is so admissible,

forges the seal, stamp, or signature appended to any such certificate, or document, or proceeding, or to any such certified copy, as aforesaid, or

tenders in evidence any such certificate, or document, or proceeding, or any such certified copy, as aforesaid, with a false or counterfeit seal, stamp, or signature thereto, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

290   (Repealed)

291   Forging etc certificate issued by officer outside New South Wales

Whosoever, where a certificate of the birth, marriage, or death, of any person in any part of the British dominions other than New South Wales, is admissible in evidence when purporting to be issued by the officer authorised by the law in that behalf of such part of the said dominions,

forges, or utters any such certificate, or

tenders, or causes to be tendered, in evidence any such certificate, knowing the same to be forged,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

292–295   (Repealed)

Falsifying entries of births, deaths, &c

296   Falsifying entries of births etc or giving false certificates

Whosoever:

unlawfully destroys, defaces, or injures, any register of births, marriages, deaths, or burials, now or hereafter by law required to be kept, or any certified copy of any such register, or

forges, or fraudulently obliterates, or alters in any such register or copy, any entry relating to any birth, marriage, death, or burial, or fraudulently inserts in any such register or copy any false entry, or matter relating to any such matter, or

fraudulently gives any false certificate relating to any birth, marriage, death, or burial, or certifies any writing to be a copy, or extract from, any such register, knowing such writing or the entry to which it relates to be false, or

forges, or utters, the signature, or any seal, or stamp, of or belonging to, or used by, the Registrar-General or any local, district or other registrar, or

causes, or knowingly permits, the doing of any such act as aforesaid,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

297   Making false entries in copies sent to registrar

Whosoever:

wilfully inserts, in any copy of any register required by law to be transmitted to a registrar, any false entry or matter relating to any birth, marriage, or burial, or

forges, or utters, any copy of any such register, or wilfully signs, or verifies, any copy of any such register, which copy is false in any part, knowing the same to be false, or

forges, or unlawfully destroys, defaces, or injures, or for any fraudulent purpose takes from its place of deposit, or conceals, any such register or copy, or

causes, or knowingly permits, the doing of any such act as aforesaid,

shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.

Obtaining or demanding property on forged instruments

298   Demanding property on forged instruments

Whosoever, with intent to defraud, obtains, or demands, or causes to be delivered, or paid to any person, or endeavours to obtain, or cause to be delivered, or paid to any person, any property, upon or by virtue of any forged instrument, knowing the same to be forged, or upon or by virtue of any probate, or letters of administration, knowing the will, codicil, or testamentary writing, on which the same was, or were, obtained, to have been forged, or such probate, or letters, to have been obtained by any false oath or affirmation, shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years.
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