Summary Offences Act 1953

A person commits an offence against this section if—

the person publishes material depicting conduct constituting, or apparently constituting, a prescribed offence; and

the person publishes the material with the intention of—

encouraging, glorifying or promoting the conduct; or

increasing the person's notoriety, or another person's notoriety, because of their involvement in the conduct.

Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

A penalty imposed under this section must not exceed the maximum penalty that may be imposed for the relevant prescribed offence or, if the relevant prescribed offence is an offence against the law of another jurisdiction, the maximum penalty that may be imposed for the equivalent prescribed offence in this State.

A person may be charged with an offence against this section whether or not the person, or any other person, has been, or is to be, charged with the prescribed offence to which the offence against this section relates.

A person does not contravene subsection (1) if the publication of the material was for a legitimate public purpose.

For the purposes of subsection (4), the publication of material will only be taken to be for a legitimate public purpose if the publication was in the public interest having regard to the following:

whether the publication was for the purpose of educating or informing the public;

whether the publication was for the purpose of making or publishing a fair and accurate report of any event or matter of public interest;

whether the publication was for the purpose of a work of artistic merit;

whether the publication was for a purpose connected to law enforcement or public safety;

whether the publication was for a medical, legal or scientific purpose;

any other factor prescribed by the regulations.

It is a defence to a charge of an offence against subsection (1) for the defendant to prove that the conduct depicted did not constitute a prescribed offence.

In this section—

material includes—

any photographic, electronic or other information or data from which an image or representation may be produced or reproduced; and

any audio, video or other recording from which an image or sound may be produced or reproduced, but does not include a publication, film or computer game that has been classified within the meaning of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995;

prescribed offence means—

an offence involving driving or operating a vehicle or vessel; or

an offence involving the use of, or the threat of using, violence; or

an offence involving a weapon; or

an offence involving interference with, damage to, or destruction of, property; or

theft or an offence of which theft is an element; or

criminal trespass or an offence of which trespass is an element; or

an offence, or offence of a class, declared by the regulations to be a prescribed offence; or

an offence against the law of another jurisdiction that would, if committed in this State, constitute an offence prescribed by a preceding paragraph, but does not include an offence, or offence of a class, declared by the regulations to be excluded from the ambit of this definition;

publish means publish by electronic means and includes posting, uploading or sharing material via the Internet or on a social media platform or other electronic platform.