Heritage Act 2017

A person commits an offence if—

the person knowingly or negligently—

defaces, damages or otherwise interferes with an archaeological site; or

carries out an act that is likely to endanger an archaeological site; and

the person is not—

permitted to do so by a determination under section 123A; or

authorised to do so by a consent issued under this Part; and

the archaeological site—

is recorded in the Heritage Inventory; or

is not recorded in the Heritage Inventory and is not—

a site which is determined by the Executive Director to have low archaeological value; or

a site which has been removed from the Heritage Inventory under section 119; and

the archaeological site is not a registered archaeological place or a registered archaeological artefact.

A person commits an offence if—

the person knowingly—

uncovers or exposes land for the purpose of uncovering or discovering an archaeological site; or

disturbs or excavates land for the purpose of uncovering or discovering an archaeological site; and

the person is not—

permitted to do so by a determination under section 123A; or

authorised to do so by a consent issued under this Part; and

the archaeological site—

is recorded in the Heritage Inventory; or

is not recorded in the Heritage Inventory and is not—

a site which is determined by the Executive Director to have low archaeological value; or

a site which has been removed from the Heritage Inventory under section 119; and

the site is not a registered archaeological place or a registered archaeological artefact.

A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) or (2) is liable to—

in the case of a natural person, 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both;

in the case of a body corporate, 1200 penalty units.