Summary Offences Act 1953

This

Act may be cited as the Summary

Offences Act 1953.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

the

Commissioner means the Commissioner of Police or the person for the time being acting in the office of Commissioner of Police;

declared public precinct—see section 66N(1);

declared public precinct period means a period during which, in accordance with a declaration under section 66N(1), an area is a declared public precinct;

major offence means—

an offence attracting a penalty or maximum penalty of life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least seven years; or

an offence against section 86A(1) of the Criminal

Law Consolidation Act 1935;

minor means a person under the age of 18 years;

motor vehicle has the same meaning as in the Motor

Vehicles Act 1959;

primary production activities—the following are primary production activities:

agricultural, pastoral, horticultural, viticultural, forestry or apicultural activities;

poultry farming, dairy farming or any business that consists of the cultivation of soils, the gathering of crops or the rearing or processing of livestock;

commercial fishing, aquaculture or the propagation or harvesting of fish or other aquatic organisms for the purposes of aquaculture;

an activity prescribed by regulation;

prostitute includes any male person who prostitutes his body for fee or reward;

public place includes—

a place to which free access is permitted to the public, with the express or tacit consent of the owner or occupier of that place; and

a place to which the public are admitted on payment of money, the test of admittance being the payment of money only; and

a road, street, footway, court, alley or thoroughfare which the public are allowed to use, notwithstanding that that road, street, footway, court, alley or thoroughfare is on private property;

public venue means a place where members of the public are gathered for an entertainment or an event or activity of any kind, whether admission is open, procured by the payment of money or restricted to members of a club or a class of persons with some other qualification or characteristic, but does not include a church or place of public worship;

senior police officer means a police officer of or above the rank of inspector;

serious and organised crime offence has the same meaning as in the Criminal

Law Consolidation Act 1935;

telephone includes any telecommunication device for the transmission of speech;

to tattoo means to insert into or through the skin any colouring material designed to leave a permanent mark.

In proceedings for an offence in which the court is authorised by this

Act to award damages or compensation, or to order the forfeiture of property or the doing of any act, the award or order may be made in addition to the penalty (if any) imposed by the court.

Subject to any provision to the contrary, where this Act provides that an act done without lawful authority, without reasonable cause, without reasonable excuse, without lawful excuse or without consent constitutes an offence, the prosecution need not prove the absence of lawful authority, reasonable cause, reasonable excuse, lawful excuse or consent, and the onus is upon the defendant to prove any such authority, cause, excuse or consent upon which he or she relies.

A person who hinders or resists a police officer in the execution of the officer's duty is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.

Upon convicting a person for an offence against this section, the court may order the convicted person to pay to the police officer against whom the offence was committed such sum as the court thinks just as compensation for—

damage caused by the defendant to property belonging to the officer or to the Crown;

bodily injury caused by the defendant to the officer.

Compensation so awarded in respect of damage to property of the Crown must be paid by the police officer to the Treasurer in aid of the Consolidated

Account.

In this section—

hinder includes disturb;

police officer includes a special constable.

A person who, without lawful excuse, discloses information that has been properly classified by the Commissioner as criminal intelligence under any Act is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

It is a defence to prosecution for an offence against this section to prove that the defendant did not know, and did not have reason to believe, that the information was classified by the Commissioner as criminal intelligence under an Act.

If

3 or more persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violence and the conduct of them (taken together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his or her personal safety, each of the persons using or threatening unlawful violence is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.

It is immaterial whether or not the 3 or more persons use or threaten unlawful violence simultaneously.

No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene.

An offence under subsection (1) may be committed in private as well as in public places.

A person is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) only if he or she intends to use or threaten violence or is aware that his or her conduct may be violent or threaten violence.

Subsection (5) does not affect the determination for the purposes of subsection (1) of the number of persons who use or threaten violence.

In this section—

violence means any violent conduct, so that—

it includes violent conduct towards property as well as violent conduct towards persons; and

it is not restricted to conduct causing or intended to cause injury or damage but includes any other violent conduct.

Example—

Throwing at, or towards, a person a missile of a kind capable of causing injury which does not hit, or falls short of, the person.

A person who, in a public place or a police station—

behaves in a disorderly or offensive manner; or

fights with another person; or

uses offensive language, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $1 250 or imprisonment for 3 months.

A person who disturbs the public peace is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $1 250 or imprisonment for 3 months.

In this section—

disorderly includes riotous;

offensive includes threatening, abusive or insulting;

public place includes, in addition to the places mentioned in section 4—

a ship or vessel (not being a naval ship or vessel) in a harbor, port, dock or river;

premises or a part of premises in respect of which a licence is in force under the Liquor

Licensing Act 1997.

A person who intentionally—

obstructs or disturbs—

a religious service; or

a wedding or funeral (whether secular or religious); or

obstructs or disturbs persons proceeding to or from a religious service, wedding or funeral in a way that is calculated to be offensive and is related in some way to their attendance, or intention to attend, the religious service, wedding or funeral, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.

In this section—

religion means any philosophy or system of belief that is generally recognised in the Australian community as being of a religious nature;

religious service means a lawful assembly of the adherents of any religion for the purpose of prayer or any other form of religious observance.

Any person who—

makes or accepts, either orally or in writing, any challenge to fight for money; or

engages in a prize fight, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $750.

Subsection (1) does not apply to a contestant in a professional or public boxing or martial art event, within the meaning of the Boxing and Martial Arts Act 2000, if—

the event is promoted by a person who is licensed or otherwise authorised to act as promoter of the event in accordance with that Act; and

the contestants participating in the event are registered in relation to, or otherwise authorised to participate as contestants in, events of that kind under that Act.

A person who supplies methylated spirits, or a liquid containing methylated spirits, knowing, or having reason to suspect, that it is intended to be drunk, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $750.

In this section—

methylated spirits means industrial spirit or commercial methylated spirit, that is to say, ethyl alcohol which has been denatured by the addition of methyl alcohol, benzene, pyridine or any other methylating or denaturing substance or agent.

Subject to this section, a person who—

sells a prohibited item; or

supplies a prohibited item in connection with the sale, or possible sale, of goods, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty:

if the offender is a body corporate—$50 000;

if the offender is a natural person—$10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.

A person who—

sells a prohibited item to a minor; or

supplies a prohibited item to a minor in connection with the sale, or possible sale, of goods, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty:

if the offender is a body corporate—$100 000;

if the offender is a natural person—$20 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.

If a body corporate commits an offence against subsection (1) or subsection (2), any director or manager of the body corporate is also guilty of an offence and liable to the same penalty as may be imposed for the principal offence when committed by a natural person unless it is proved that he or she could not, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, have prevented the commission of the principal offence by the body corporate.

A person may be prosecuted and convicted of an offence under subsection (3) whether or not the body corporate has been prosecuted or convicted of the offence committed by the body corporate.

If a person is convicted of an offence against this section, any prohibited item seized as evidence of the offence may be retained by the Commissioner of Police and is forfeited to the Crown—

if an appeal has not been lodged within the period provided for lodging an appeal against the conviction—at the end of the period; or

if an appeal has been lodged within the period provided for lodging an appeal against the conviction—when the appeal lapses or is finally determined.

An item forfeited under subsection (5) may be dealt with and disposed of in such manner as the Commissioner of Police may direct.

In this section—

cocaine kit—a cocaine kit is constituted by 2 or more of the following items packaged as a unit apparently for use for the purposes of preparing for introduction, or for introducing, cocaine into the body of a person:

a razor blade;

a tube;

a mirror;

a scoop;

a glass bottle;

any other item apparently for use together with any item referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e) to prepare for introduction, or to introduce, cocaine into the body of a person;

prohibited item means—

a water pipe; or

a prohibited pipe; or

a cocaine kit; or

an item of a kind prescribed by regulation for the purposes of this definition;

prohibited pipe means—

a device (other than a water pipe) that is apparently intended for use or designed for use in smoking cannabis, cannabis resin or methamphetamine crystals; or

components that, when assembled together, form such a device, and includes, without limitation, a device known as a hash pipe and a device known as an ice pipe;

sell means—

sell, barter or exchange; or

offer or agree to sell, barter or exchange; or

expose for sale, barter or exchange; or

have in possession for sale, barter or exchange;

supply includes offer to supply;

water pipe means—

a device capable of being used for smoking by means of the drawing of smoke fumes through water or another liquid; or

components that, when assembled together, form such a device; or

a device that is apparently intended to be such a device but that is not capable of being so used because it needs an adjustment, modification or addition, and includes, without limitation, devices known as bongs, hookahs, narghiles, shishas and ghalyans.

A person who knowingly—

kills or otherwise processes a dog or cat for the purpose of human consumption; or

supplies to another person a dog or cat (whether alive or not), or meat from a dog or cat, for the purpose of human consumption; or

consumes meat from a dog or cat, is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $1 250.

In this section—

cat means an animal of the species Felis catus;

dog means an animal of the species Canis familiaris;

meat means the whole or part of a killed animal.