Litter Act 2007

A person must not deposit litter in any public place except in a receptacle that the owner or controller of the public place has provided for litter. Fine not exceeding – if the litter consists only of a single item of personal litter, 2 penalty units; or if paragraph (a) of this penalty does not apply but the litter does not exceed 55 litres in volume, 20 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 55 litres, but does not exceed 2 cubic metres, in volume, 50 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 2 cubic metres, but does not exceed 10 cubic metres, in volume – 100 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 200 penalty units in the case of a body corporate; or if the litter exceeds 10 cubic metres in volume – 200 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 500 penalty units in the case of a body corporate.

A person must not, in a public place, deposit litter in any receptacle provided for litter if it is, or reasonably ought to be, evident to the person that – from markings on the receptacle or elsewhere at the public place, the receptacle is not a suitable receptacle for litter of that nature; or from the nature of the litter or receptacle, the receptacle is not a suitable receptacle for the litter; or the receptacle is already full; or the receptacle has insufficient space, or remaining space, to hold the litter; or the receptacle is undergoing repairs or maintenance, is sealed or is otherwise temporarily unavailable for use as a receptacle for litter. Fine not exceeding – if the litter consists only of a single item of personal litter, 2 penalty units; or if paragraph (a) of this penalty does not apply but the litter does not exceed 55 litres in volume, 20 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 55 litres, but does not exceed 2 cubic metres, in volume, 50 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 2 cubic metres, but does not exceed 10 cubic metres, in volume – 100 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 200 penalty units in the case of a body corporate; or if the litter exceeds 10 cubic metres in volume – 200 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 500 penalty units in the case of a body corporate.

A person must not, in a public place, deposit litter in any receptacle provided for litter if – it is, or reasonably ought to be, evident to the person from the nature of the litter that the litter is of household or commercial origin; and there are no markings on the receptacle to indicate that it is for litter of household or commercial origin. Fine not exceeding – if the litter does not exceed 55 litres in volume, 20 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 55 litres, but does not exceed 2 cubic metres, in volume, 50 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 2 cubic metres, but does not exceed 10 cubic metres, in volume – 100 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 200 penalty units in the case of a body corporate; or if the litter exceeds 10 cubic metres in volume – 200 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 500 penalty units in the case of a body corporate.

A person must not deposit litter in any open private place if the person – is not the owner or occupier of the open private place; and does not have the consent of the owner or occupier of the open private place to deposit the litter in the open private place. Fine not exceeding – if the litter consists only of a single item of personal litter, 2 penalty units; or if paragraph (a) of this penalty does not apply but the litter does not exceed 55 litres in volume, 20 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 55 litres, but does not exceed 2 cubic metres, in volume, 50 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 2 cubic metres, but does not exceed 10 cubic metres, in volume – 100 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 200 penalty units in the case of a body corporate; or if the litter exceeds 10 cubic metres in volume – 200 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 500 penalty units in the case of a body corporate.

A person must not deposit litter in any open private place in such a way that – the litter or any part of the litter escapes into a public place or another private place; or the litter or any part of the litter is likely to escape into a public place or another private place. Fine not exceeding – if the litter consists only of a single item of personal litter, 5 penalty units; or if paragraph (a) of this penalty does not apply but the litter does not exceed 55 litres in volume, 20 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 55 litres, but does not exceed 2 cubic metres, in volume, 50 penalty units; or if the litter exceeds 2 cubic metres, but does not exceed 10 cubic metres, in volume – 100 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 200 penalty units in the case of a body corporate; or if the litter exceeds 10 cubic metres in volume – 200 penalty units in the case of an individual; or 500 penalty units in the case of a body corporate.

Subject to subsections (7) and (8), every offence under this section is an offence of strict liability.

It is a defence in proceedings for a minor offence under this section if the defendant establishes that the deposition of the relevant litter was accidental and the defendant took reasonable steps to retrieve it.

It is a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section, other than a minor offence, if the defendant establishes that – the deposition of the relevant litter was accidental and the defendant took reasonable steps to retrieve it; or the deposition of the relevant litter was done in good faith in urgent response to a civil or other emergency in order to prevent or minimise a genuine risk to the safety of persons or property; or the deposition of the relevant litter was an unavoidable consequence of a lawful activity.

For the purposes of subsection (8)(c), a consequence is taken to be unavoidable if at the relevant time there was no reasonably practicable way of avoiding it.

Nothing in this section applies to, or prevents – the deposition of litter in accordance with any authority lawfully given by or on behalf of the State Crown; or the deposition of litter in a municipal area in accordance with any authority lawfully given by or on behalf of its council; or the deposition of litter in any place if there is lawful authority to do so; or the placement in a public place of a council-supplied receptacle, containing litter from a private property adjacent to or near that public place, for the litter to be removed by and in accordance with the publicised protocols of a council's routine garbage collection or recycling service; or the placement in a public place of green waste, from a private property adjacent to or near that public place, for removal by and in accordance with the publicised protocols of a council's green-waste collection service; or the placement of unwanted household items, from a private residence adjacent to or near that public place, for removal by and in accordance with the publicised protocols of a council's periodic clean-up or recycling service.

In this section – markings includes words and signs; minor offence means an offence involving only a single item of personal litter; nature, of litter, means its nature having regard to – its composition; and its size, shape and volume; and its odour, viscosity, combustibility and perishability; and its potentialities to cause, in either its instant or a transformed state, a safety, health or environmental hazard; personal litter means litter consisting of, or like, any of the following:a bus, movie or parking ticket; an automatic bank teller docket or sales receipt; a cigarette butt or piece of chewing gum; a lolly wrapper, crisp packet, sandwich container or food sachet; a drinking straw or soft drink bottle; the core or skin of a piece of fruit; a fried potato chip; suitable includes safe.