What happens if I forget to hand back my border force ID after leaving my job?

The situation

I am writing because I am a bit worried about some paperwork following my recent resignation from my role with the Australian Border Force here in Victoria. I worked as an authorised officer for about three years, and my last official shift was on the 14th of October. During my time there, I was always given a formal identity card with my photo on it, which I was required to carry on me at all times while I was on duty. Now that I have finished my employment and moved on to a different career in the private sector, I am trying to organise my affairs. I have already sent an email to my former supervisor asking about the proper procedure for returning my equipment, but I haven't received a reply yet. It has been nearly two weeks since I left, and I still have the physical ID card sitting on my kitchen bench. I am worried that if I don't get it back to the Secretary or the Commissioner immediately, I might accidentally break a rule or face a fine. Do I have a specific legal deadline to return this card once I stop being an officer, and what are the consequences if I simply lose it before I can post it back?

Detailed Analysis

Under the Migration Act 1958, because you were an authorised officer, you have a legal obligation regarding your identity card. The law states that a person commits an offence if "the person ceases to be an authorised officer... and the person does not, as soon as practicable after so ceasing, return the identity card to the Secretary or Australian Border Force Commissioner"^[1]. This means that once you stopped being an officer on 14 October, you were required to return the card to the Secretary or the Commissioner as soon as it was reasonably possible to do so. Unlike some other roles that have a strict 14-day limit, your requirement is based on what is "practicable," which is a term meaning it is possible or able to be done in the circumstances^[1].

If you fail to return the card in a timely manner, you could face a penalty of 1 penalty unit^[1]. This is a type of "strict liability" offence, which means the authorities do not need to prove you intended to break the law; they only need to prove that you didn't return the card as required^[1].

However, you do not need to worry about a fine if the card is missing due to circumstances beyond your control. The law provides a specific protection: "Subsection (4) does not apply if the identity card was lost or destroyed"^[1]. Therefore, if you were to lose the card before you could post it back, you would not be committing an offence under this section.

It is currently unclear how the Secretary or Commissioner defines "as soon as practicable" in your specific case, but since you have already reached out to your supervisor, you are demonstrating an effort to comply.

Statutory Citations

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