''Part IV—Abuse of the Red Cross and other emblems, signs, signals, identity cards, insignia and uniforms 15 Use of Red Cross and other emblems, signs, signals, identity cards, insignia and uniforms''
(1) Subject to this section, a person shall not, without the consent in
writing of the Minister or of a person authorized in writing by the
Minister to give consents under this section, use for any purpose
whatsoever any of the following:
(a) the emblem of a red cross with vertical and horizontal arms
of the same length on, and completely surrounded by, a white
ground, or the designation “Red Cross” or “Geneva Cross”;
(b) the emblem of a red crescent moon on, and completely
surrounded by, a white ground, or the designation “Red
Crescent”.
(c) the following emblem in red on, and completely surrounded
by, a white ground, that is to say, a lion passing from right to
left of, and with its face turned towards, the observer, holding
erect in its raised right forepaw a scimitar, with, appearing
above the lion’s back, the upper half of the sun shooting forth
rays, or the designation “Red Lion and Sun”;
(ca) the emblem of a red frame in the shape of a square on edge
on a white ground, or the designation “Red Crystal”;
(d) the emblem of a white or silver cross with vertical and
horizontal arms of the same length on, and completely
surrounded by, a red ground, being the heraldic emblem of
the Swiss Confederation;
(e) a design or wording so nearly resembling any of the emblems
or designations specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (ca) or (d)
as to be capable of being mistaken for, or, as the case may be,
understood as referring to, one of those emblems;
(f) such other emblems, identity cards, signs, signals, insignia or
uniforms as are prescribed for the purpose of giving effect to
Protocol I or Protocol III.
(1A) Subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
(2) The Minister or a person authorized by the Minister to give
consents under this section shall not refuse to give such a consent,
and shall not withdraw such a consent, except for the purpose of
giving effect to the provisions of the Conventions or of Protocol I.
(3) An authority given under section 4 of the Geneva Convention Act
1938 and in force immediately before the commencement of this
section shall be deemed to be a consent to the like effect given by
the Minister under this section.
(4) Where a court convicts a person of an offence against
subsection (1), the court may order the forfeiture to the
Commonwealth of:
(a) any goods upon or in connection with which an emblem,
designation, design, wording or sign was used by that person;
and
(b) any identity cards, insignia or uniforms used in the
commission of the offence.
(5) In the case of a trade mark registered before the day to which
subsection (5A) applies, subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) do not
apply by reason only of its consisting of or containing an emblem
or designation specified in paragraph (1)(b), (c) or (ca) or a design
or wording resembling such an emblem or designation; and where
a person is charged with using such an emblem, designation,
design or wording for any purpose and it is proved that the person
used it otherwise than as, or as part of, a trade mark so registered, it
is a defence for the person to prove:
(a) that the person lawfully used that emblem, designation,
design or wording for that purpose before the day to which
subsection (5A) applies; or
(b) in a case where the person is charged with using the emblem,
designation, design or wording upon goods, that the emblem,
designation, design or wording had been applied to the goods
before the person acquired them by some other person who
had manufactured or dealt with the goods in the course of
trade and who lawfully used the emblem, designation, design
or wording upon similar goods before the day to which
subsection (5A) applies.
(5A) For the purposes of subsection (5), this subsection applies to the
following day:
(a) to the extent that subsection (5) applies in relation to a trade
mark consisting of or containing an emblem or designation
specified in paragraph (1)(b) or (c) or a design or wording
resembling such an emblem or designation—the day on
which this Act received the Royal Assent;
(b) to the extent that subsection (5) applies in relation to a trade
mark consisting of or containing an emblem or designation
specified in paragraph (1)(ca) or a design or wording
resembling such an emblem or designation—the day on
which Schedule 1 to the Defence Legislation (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 2009 commenced.
(6) Where an offence against this section committed by a body
corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or
connivance of a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the
body corporate, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity,
he or she, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be
guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly.
(7) This section extends to the use in or outside Australia of an
emblem, designation, design, wording, sign, signal, identity card,
insignia or uniform referred to in subsection (1) on any ship or
aircraft registered in Australia.
(8) Proceedings under this section shall not be instituted without the
consent in writing of the Attorney-General.

''The Schedules Schedule 1—Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949 CHAPTER IX.—REPRESSION OF ABUSES AND INFRACTIONS, ARTICLE 52''
At the request of a Party to the conflict, an enquiry shall be instituted, in a
manner to be decided between the interested Parties, concerning any alleged
violation of the Convention.
If agreement has not been reached concerning the procedure for the
enquiry, the Parties should agree on the choice of an umpire who will decide
upon the procedure to be followed.
Once the violation has been established, the Parties to the conflict shall put
an end to it and shall repress it with the least possible delay.

''The Schedules Schedule 1—Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949 CHAPTER IX.—REPRESSION OF ABUSES AND INFRACTIONS ARTICLE 53''
By reason of the tribute paid to Switzerland by the adoption of the reversed Federal colours, and of the confusion which may arise between the arms of Switzerland and the distinctive emblem of the Convention, the use by private individuals, societies or firms, of the arms of the Swiss Confederation, or of marks constituting an imitation thereof, whether as trade-marks or commercial marks, or as parts of such marks, or for a purpose contrary to commercial honesty, or in circumstances capable of wounding Swiss national sentiment, shall be prohibited at all times.

''Schedule 2—Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12, 1949 CHAPTER VI.—THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM ARTICLE 41''

Under the direction of the competent military authority, the emblem of the
red cross on a white ground shall be displayed on the flags, armlets and on all
equipment employed in the Medical Service.
Nevertheless, in the case of countries which already use as emblem, in
place of the red cross, the red crescent or the red lion and sun on a white
ground, these emblems are also recognized by the terms of the present
Convention.

''Schedule 2—Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12, 1949 CHAPTER VI.—THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM ARTICLE 43''
The ships designated in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 27 shall be distinctively
marked as follows:
(a) All exterior surfaces shall be white.
(b) One or more dark red crosses, as large as possible, shall be painted
and displayed on each side of the hull and on the horizontal
surfaces, so placed as to afford the greatest possible visibility
from the sea and from the air.
All hospital ships shall make themselves known by hoisting their national
flag and further, if they belong to a neutral state, the flag of the Party to the
conflict whose direction they have accepted. A white flag with a red cross shall
be flown at the mainmast as high as possible.
Lifeboats of hospital ships, coastal lifeboats and all small craft used by the
Medical Service shall be painted white with dark red crosses prominently
displayed and shall, in general, comply with the identification system prescribed
above for hospital ships.
The above-mentioned ships and craft, which may wish to ensure by night
and in times of reduced visibility the protection to which they are entitled, must,
subject to the assent of the Party to the conflict under whose power they are,
take the necessary measures to render their painting and distinctive emblems
sufficiently apparent.
Hospital ships which, in accordance with Article 31, are provisionally
detained by the enemy, must haul down the flag of the Party to the conflict in
whose service they are or whose direction they have accepted.
Coastal lifeboats, if they continue to operate with the consent of the
Occupying Power from a base which is occupied, may be allowed, when away
from their base, to continue to fly their own national colours along with a flag
carrying a red cross on a white ground, subject to prior notification to all the
Parties to the conflict concerned.
All the provisions in this Article relating to the red cross shall apply
equally to the other emblems mentioned in Article 41.
Parties to the conflict shall at all times endeavour to conclude mutual
agreements in order to use the most modern methods available to facilitate the
identification of hospital ships.

''Schedule 5—Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) PART II WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED SECTION IGENERAL PROTECTION Article 18—Identification''

1. Each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to ensure that medical and
religious personnel and medical units and transports are identifiable.
2. Each Party to the conflict shall also endeavour to adopt and to
implement methods and procedures which will make it possible to recognize
medical units and transports which use the distinctive emblem and distinctive
signals.
3. In occupied territory and in areas where fighting is taking place or is
likely to take place, civilian medical personnel and civilian religious personnel
should be recognizable by the distinctive emblem and an identity card certifying
their status.
4. With the consent of the competent authority, medical units and
transports shall be marked by the distinctive emblem. The ships and craft
referred to in Article 22 of this Protocol shall be marked in accordance with the
provisions of the Second Convention.
5. In addition to the distinctive emblem, a Party to the conflict may, as
provided in Chapter III of Annex I to this Protocol, authorize the use of
distinctive signals to identify medical units and transports. Exceptionally, in the special cases covered in that Chapter, medical transports may use distinctive
signals without displaying the distinctive emblem.
6. The application of the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5 of this Article is
governed by Chapters I to III of Annex I to this Protocol. Signals designated in
Chapter III of the Annex for the exclusive use of medical units and transports
shall not, except as provided therein, be used for any purpose other than to
identify the medical units and transports specified in that Chapter.
7. This Article does not authorize any wider use of the distinctive emblem
in peacetime than is prescribed in Article 44 of the First Convention.
8. The provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol relating to
supervision of the use of the distinctive emblem and to the prevention and
repression of any misuse thereof shall be applicable to distinctive signals.

''Schedule 5—Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), PART III METHODS AND MEANS OF WARFARE COMBATANT AND PRISONER-OF-WAR STATUS SECTION I METHODS AND MEANS OF WARFARE, Article 39—Emblems of nationality''
1. It is prohibited to make use in an armed conflict of the flags or military
emblems, insignia or uniforms of neutral or other States not Parties to the
conflict.
2. It is prohibited to make use of the flags or military emblems, insignia or
uniforms of adverse Parties while engaging in attacks or in order to shield,
favour, protect or impede military operations.
3. Nothing in this Article or in Article 37, paragraph 1 (d), shall affect the
existing generally recognized rules of international law applicable to espionage
or to the use of flags in the conduct of armed conflict at sea.

''Schedule 5 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), Chapter II, THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM, Article 3—Shape and nature''

The distinctive emblem (red on a white ground) shall be as large as appropriate under the circumstances. For the shapes of the cross, the crescent or the lion and sun, the High Contracting Parties may be guided by the models shown in Figure 2.

At night or when visibility is reduced, the distinctive emblem may be lighted or illuminated; it may also be made of materials rendering it recognizable by technical means of detection.

''9 Schedule, CHAPTER VII.—THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM, ARTICLE 39''

Under the direction of the competent military authority, the emblem shall
be displayed on the flags, armlets and on all equipment employed in the
Medical Service.

''Schedule 1, CHAPTER VII.—THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM, ARTICLE 38''

As a compliment to Switzerland, the heraldic emblem of the red cross on a white ground, formed by reversing the Federal colours, is retained as the emblem and distinctive sign of the Medical Service of armed forces.

Nevertheless, in the case of countries which already use as emblem, in place of the red cross, the red crescent or the red lion and sun on a white ground, those emblems are also recognized by the terms of the present Convention.

''Schedule, CHAPTER VII.—THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM, ARTICLE 42''

The distinctive flag of the Convention shall be hoisted only over such
medical units and establishments as are entitled to be respected under the
Convention, and only with the consent of the military authorities.
In mobile units, as in fixed establishments, it may be accompanied by the
national flag of the Party to the conflict to which the unit or establishment
belongs.
Nevertheless, medical units which have fallen into the hands of the enemy
shall not fly any flag other than that of the Convention.
Parties to the conflict shall take the necessary steps, in so far as military
considerations permit, to make the distinctive emblems indicating medical units
and establishments clearly visible to the enemy land, air or naval forces, in
order to obviate the possibility of any hostile action.

''Schedule 1, CHAPTER VII.—THE DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM, ARTICLE 44''
With the exception of the cases mentioned in the following paragraphs of
the present Article, the emblem of the Red Cross on a white ground and the
words “Red Cross,” or “Geneva Cross” may not be employed, either in time of
peace or in time of war, except to indicate or to protect the medical units and
establishments, the personnel and material protected by the present Convention
and other Conventions dealing with similar matters. The same shall apply to theemblems mentioned in Article 38, second paragraph, in respect of the countries
which use them. The National Red Cross Societies and other Societies
designated in Article 26 shall have the right to use the distinctive emblem
conferring the protection of the Convention only within the framework of the
present paragraph.
Furthermore, National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun)
Societies may, in time of peace, in accordance with their national legislation,
make use of the name and emblem of the Red Cross for their other activities
which are in conformity with the principles laid down by the International Red
Cross Conferences. When those activities are carried out in time of war, the
conditions for the use of the emblem shall be such that it cannot be considered
as conferring the protection of the Convention; the emblem shall be
comparatively small in size and may not be placed on armlets or on the roofs of
buildings.
The international Red Cross organizations and their duly authorized
personnel shall be permitted to make use, at all times, of the emblem of the Red
Cross on a white ground.
As an exceptional measure, in conformity with national legislation and
with the express permission of one of the National Red Cross (Red Crescent,
Red Lion and Sun) Societies, the emblem of the Convention may be employed
in time of peace to identify vehicles used as ambulances and to mark the
position of aid stations exclusively assigned to the purpose of giving free
treatment to the wounded or sick.