Threatening to cause harm to a Commonwealth public official etc
147.2 Threatening to cause harm to a Commonwealth public official etc
Threatening to cause serious harm
A person (the first person) commits an offence if:
the first person makes to another person (the second person) a threat to cause serious harm to the second person or to a third person; and
the second person or the third person is a public official; and
the first person:
intends the second person to fear that the threat will be carried out; or
is reckless as to causing the second person to fear that the threat will be carried out; and
the first person makes the threat because of:
the official’s status as a public official; or
any conduct engaged in by the official in the official’s capacity as a public official; and
the official is a Commonwealth public official; and
if subparagraph (d)(i) applies—the status mentioned in that subparagraph was status as a Commonwealth public official; and
if subparagraph (d)(ii) applies—the conduct mentioned in that subparagraph was engaged in by the official in the official’s capacity as a Commonwealth public official.
Penalty:
if the official is a Commonwealth judicial officer, a Commonwealth law enforcement officer or a Commonwealth frontline worker—imprisonment for 9 years; or
in any other case—imprisonment for 7 years.
Absolute liability applies to the paragraphs (1)(da), (db) and (dc) elements of the offence.
Threatening to cause harm
A person (the first person) commits an offence if:
the first person makes to another person (the second person) a threat to cause harm to the second person or to a third person; and
the second person or the third person is a public official; and
the first person:
intends the second person to fear that the threat will be carried out; or
is reckless as to causing the second person to fear that the threat will be carried out; and
the first person makes the threat because of:
the official’s status as a public official; or
any conduct engaged in by the official in the official’s capacity as a public official; and
the official is a Commonwealth public official; and
if subparagraph (d)(i) applies—the status mentioned in that subparagraph was status as a Commonwealth public official; and
if subparagraph (d)(ii) applies—the conduct mentioned in that subparagraph was engaged in by the official in the official’s capacity as a Commonwealth public official.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years
Absolute liability applies to the paragraphs (2)(e), (f) and (g) elements of the offence.
Threatening to cause serious harm to a former Governor‑General, former Minister or former Parliamentary Secretary
A person (the first person) commits an offence if:
the first person makes to another person (the second person) a threat to cause serious harm to the second person or to a third person; and
the second person or the third person is a former Governor‑General, a former Minister or a former Parliamentary Secretary; and
the first person:
intends the second person to fear that the threat will be carried out; or
is reckless as to causing the second person to fear that the threat will be carried out; and
the first person makes the threat because of:
the second or third person’s status as a former Governor‑General, a former Minister or a former Parliamentary Secretary; or
any conduct engaged in by the second or third person in the second or third person’s former capacity as a Governor‑General, a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years.
Threats
For the purposes of this section, a threat may be:
express or implied; or
conditional or unconditional.
Unnecessary to prove that a threatened person actually feared harm
In a prosecution for an offence against this section, it is not necessary to prove that the person threatened actually feared that the threat would be carried out.
The statute text is free to read above. View subscription options to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.