1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991.
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This Act may be cited as the Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991.
Subject to subsection (2), this Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
If this Act does not commence under subsection (1) within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Australia includes the external Territories.
Australian aircraft means:
an aircraft registered, or required to be registered, under the Civil Aviation Regulations; or
a Commonwealth aircraft; or
a defence aircraft.
authorised person means:
in sections 30 and 33—any of the following persons:
a protective service officer within the meaning of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979;
a member of the Australian Federal Police or an officer of the police force (however described) of a State or Territory;
the manager of any Commonwealth aerodrome or prescribed airport;
a person who is an authorised officer for the purposes of section 89 of the Migration Act 1958; or
in section 32:
a member of the Australian Federal Police; or
an officer of the police force (however described) of a State or Territory of or above the rank of sergeant; or
in section 37—an SES employee or acting SES employee in the Department who is appointed in writing by the Minister to be an authorised person for the purposes of that section; or
in section 49—a person engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 who is appointed in writing by the Minister administering the Air Navigation Act 1920 to be an authorised person for the purposes of that section;
and includes, in relation to any of those provisions, a person who is, under section 54, taken to be an authorised person for the purposes of that provision.
Civil Aviation Regulations means regulations made under the Civil Aviation Act 1988, and includes any of those regulations as in force under the law of a State.
commencing day means the day on which this Act commences.
Commonwealth aerodrome means:
an area of land or water in Australia that is owned by the Commonwealth and used, or intended for use, either wholly or partly, for, or in connection with, the arrival, departure or other movement of aircraft; or
a core regulated airport within the meaning of the Airports Act 1996;
and includes any building, structure, installation or equipment in that area, or on the land that forms the core regulated airport, that is provided for use in connection with the operation of that area or land as an aerodrome or airport.
Commonwealth aircraft means an aircraft, other than a defence aircraft, that is owned by, or in the possession or control of, the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority.
Commonwealth air navigation facilities means buildings, structures, installations or equipment, anywhere in Australia, that are provided by the Commonwealth, or a Commonwealth authority, for use in connection with aircraft navigation, but does not include any building, structure, installation or equipment forming part of a Commonwealth aerodrome.
Convention offence means an offence against a provision of Division 1 or 4 of Part 2.
dangerous goods means:
firearms, ammunition, weapons and explosive substances; or
any substance or thing that, because of its nature or condition, may endanger the safety of an aircraft or of people on board an aircraft.
defence aircraft means an aircraft of any part of the Defence Force, and includes an aircraft that is being commanded or piloted by a member of that Force in the course of his or her duties as such a member.
Division 2 aircraft means:
an aircraft (including a foreign aircraft) that is:
engaged in a flight in the course of trade and commerce with other countries or among the States; or
engaged in a flight within a Territory, between 2 Territories or between a State and a Territory; or
outside Australia while engaged in a flight that started in Australia; or
engaged in a flight between a part of Australia and a place outside Australia; or
an Australian aircraft (other than a Commonwealth aircraft or a defence aircraft) that is engaged in a flight wholly outside Australia; or
a Commonwealth aircraft or a defence aircraft that is engaged in any flight, including a flight wholly outside Australia.
Division 3 aircraft means:
an Australian aircraft (other than a Commonwealth aircraft or a defence aircraft) that is mainly used for the purpose of any of the following flights, or is engaged, or is intended or likely to be engaged, in such a flight:
a prescribed flight;
a flight between a part of Australia and a place outside Australia;
a flight wholly outside Australia; or
a Commonwealth aircraft; or
a defence aircraft; or
a foreign aircraft that is in Australia; or
a foreign aircraft that is outside Australia while engaged in a flight that started in Australia or that was, when the flight started, intended to end in Australia.
Foreign Affairs Minister means the Minister administering the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1967.
foreign aircraft means an aircraft other than an Australian aircraft, including such an aircraft owned or operated by the government of a foreign country.
Hague Convention means the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, ratified by Australia on 9 September 1972, and whose English text is set out in Schedule 1.
hijacking has the meaning given in section 9.
in flight, in relation to an aircraft, has, for the purposes of section 10 and Division 4 of Part 2, the same meaning as in the Montreal Convention.
(Note: see Article 2 of the Montreal Convention)
in service, in relation to an aircraft, has, for the purposes of section 10 and Division 4 of Part 2, the same meaning as in the Montreal Convention.
(Note: see Article 2 of the Montreal Convention)
landing includes alighting on water.
magistrate means:
a magistrate of a Territory other than the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory; or
a magistrate of a State, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory to whom an arrangement in force under section 51 applies.
member of the crew, in relation to an aircraft, means a person having duties or functions on board the aircraft.
Montreal Convention means the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, ratified by Australia on 12 July 1973, and whose English text is set out in Schedule 2.
part of Australia means a State or Territory.
prescribed aircraft means:
an Australian aircraft, whether it is in Australia or not; or
any other aircraft that is in Australia or engaged in a prescribed flight; or
a visiting government aircraft.
prescribed flight means a flight of an aircraft:
in the course of trade and commerce with other countries or among the States; or
within a Territory, between 2 Territories or between a State and a Territory; or
within a State.
Protocol means the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, being the Protocol to which Australia acceded on 23 October 1990, and whose English text is set out in Schedule 3.
remand includes further remand.
serious harm has the same meaning as in the Criminal Code.
threaten has the meaning given in section 4.
Tokyo Convention means the Convention on Offences and certain other Acts committed on board Aircraft, to which Australia acceded on 22 June 1970, and whose English text is set out in Schedule 4.
unlawful act, in Division 4 of Part 2, means an act described in section 10.
visiting government aircraft means an aircraft that:
is owned or operated by the government of a foreign country, or a part of such a country; and
is in Australia, or is engaged in a flight that started outside Australia and ends, or is intended to end, in Australia.
For the purposes of this Act, a person is taken to threaten to do an act if the person makes any statement or does anything else indicating, or from which it could reasonably be inferred, that it is his or her intention to do that act.
For the purposes of this Act, a flight of an aircraft is taken to start:
when the last external door is closed in preparation for the first movement of the aircraft for the purpose of taking off on the flight; or
if the aircraft moves, before all the external doors are closed, for the purpose of taking off on the flight—when it first so moves.
Subject to this section, a flight of an aircraft is, for the purposes of this Act, taken to end when the first external door is opened after the aircraft comes to rest on the next landing it makes after starting the flight.
Where an aircraft makes a forced landing, its flight is, for the purposes of this Act, taken to end when the competent authorities take over responsibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board.
If, after an aircraft starts a flight:
the aircraft is destroyed before the flight is taken to have ended under subsection (1) or (2); or
the flight is abandoned;
the flight is, for the purposes of this Act, taken to end when the aircraft is destroyed, or the flight is abandoned, as the case requires.
For the purposes of this Act, a flight of an aircraft is taken to be a flight between 2 parts of Australia if the flight starts in one of those parts and ends, or is, when the flight starts, intended to end, in the other part.
For the purposes of this Act, a flight of an aircraft is taken to be a flight within a Territory if the flight starts in the Territory and ends, or is, when the flight starts, intended to end, in the Territory, whether or not the aircraft goes, or will or may go, outside the Territory during the flight.
For the purposes of this Act, a flight of an aircraft is taken to be a flight within a State if:
the flight starts in the State; and
the flight ends in the State or is, when the flight starts, intended to end, in the State;
whether or not the aircraft goes, or will or may go, outside the State during the flight.
For the purposes of Division 1 of Part 2, a person hijacks an aircraft if, while on board the aircraft, the person seizes, or exercises control of, the aircraft by force or threat of force, or by any other form of intimidation.
For the purposes of Division 4 of Part 2, a person commits an unlawful act if he or she:
commits an act of violence against anyone on board an aircraft in flight, being an act likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft; or
destroys an aircraft in service, or causes damage to such an aircraft which renders it incapable of flight or which is likely to endanger its safety in flight.
For the purposes of Division 4 of Part 2, a person commits an unlawful act if he or she does any of the following:
places, or causes to be placed, on an aircraft in service a substance or thing that is likely to destroy the aircraft;
places, or causes to be placed, on an aircraft in service a substance or thing that is likely to cause damage to the aircraft which renders it incapable of flight or which is likely to endanger its safety in flight;
destroys or damages any navigation facilities or interferes with their operation, being destruction, damage or interference that is likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight;
communicates information which he or she knows to be false, thereby endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight.
This Act extends to the external Territories.
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