In NSW, part 4 of the Crimes Act NSW deals with the property offences not appropriately covered by the common law. The recent case of the theft of various expensive artworks by the now notorious Indian art dealer Subhash Kapoor exposed relevant officials of the National Gallery of Australia to potential criminal prosecution.
Section 188 of the crimes Act NSW 1900 makes “receiving stolen property where stealing a serious indictable offence” a crime. It provides that the person in receipt of property having received it knowing it was stolen liable to prosecution as an accessory or for a substantive charge. Therefore it is most important that George Brandis and other Australian government officials make it very clear exactly what the Australian Government knew Kapoor stole the goods and how they became aware.