Serious vilification

In force

(1)

A person commits an offence if—

(a)

the person intentionally carries out an act; and

(b)

the act is a threatening act; and

(c)

the person is reckless about whether the act incites hatred toward, revulsion of, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or group of people on the ground of any of the following:

(i)

disability;

(ii)

gender identity;

(iii)

HIV/AIDS status;

(iv)

race;

(v)

religious conviction;

(vi)

sex;

(vii)

sex characteristics;

(viii)

sexuality;

(ix)

association (whether as a relative or otherwise) with a person who is, or a group of people who are, identified by reference to an attribute mentioned in subparagraphs (i) to (viii); and

(d)

the act is done other than in private; and

(e)

the person is reckless about whether the act is done other than in private.

Examples—other than in private

1 screening recorded material at an event that is open to the public, even if privately organised

2 writing a publicly viewable post on social media

3 speaking in an interview intended to be broadcast or published

4 actions or gestures observable by the public

5 wearing or displaying clothes, signs or flags observable by the public

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

(2)

In this section:

disability—see the Discrimination Act 1991, section 5AA.

gender identity—see the Discrimination Act 1991, dictionary.

HIV/AIDS status means status as a person who has the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

race—see the Discrimination Act 1991, dictionary.

religious conviction—see the Discrimination Act 1991, dictionary.

sex characteristics—see the Discrimination Act 1991, dictionary.

sexuality—see the Discrimination Act 1991, dictionary.

threatening act means an act carried out by a person only if the person—

(a)

by the act, intentionally threatens physical harm toward, or toward any property of, the person, or members of the group mentioned in subsection (1) (c) (i) to (ix); or

(b)

is reckless about whether the act incites others to threaten the harm.

Part 7A.2 Public display of Nazi symbols

This Act’s bill:Explanatory statement Second reading speech

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750 Serious vilification