Part 2 Public places

629   Injuring or removing plants, animals, rocks and soil in or from public place

(1)  A person who, without lawful excuse, wilfully or negligently injures, damages or unnecessarily disturbs any plant, animal, rock or soil in a public place is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(2)  A person who, without lawful excuse, removes any plant, animal, rock or soil from a public place is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

630   Breaking glass and other matter

(1)  A person who, without lawful excuse, wilfully breaks a bottle, glass, glass receptacle or syringe in a public place is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2)  A person who, in a public place, throws, places or leaves any bottle, glass, glass receptacle, syringe, broken glass or other matter or thing likely to endanger the safety of or cause injury to any person or animal or damage to any vehicle or property is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

(3)  A person who:

(a)  breaks a bottle, glass, syringe or glass receptacle in a public bathing place under the control of the council, and

(b)  does not collect and remove all portions of the bottle, glass, syringe or glass receptacle either to a receptacle (if any) provided by the council for that purpose, or to a place beyond the public bathing place,

      is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

631   Damaging, defacing or polluting public bathing place

A person who, in a public bathing place under the control of the council does any act which damages, defaces or pollutes the public bathing place or which is likely to damage, deface or pollute the public bathing place or anything relating to the public bathing place is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

632   Acting contrary to notices erected by councils

(1)  A person who, in a public place within the area of a council, fails to comply with the terms of a notice erected by the council is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2)  The terms of any such notice may relate to any one or more of the following:

(a)  the payment of a fee for entry to or the use of the place,

(b)  the taking of a vehicle into the place,

(b1)  the driving, parking or use of a vehicle in the place,

(c)  the taking of any animal or thing into the place,

(d)  the use of any animal or thing in the place,

(e)  the doing of any thing in the place,

(f)  the use of the place or any part of the place.

(2A)  However, a notice:

(a)  must not prohibit the drinking of alcohol in any public place that is a public road (or part of a public road) or car park, and

(b)  must not prohibit or regulate the taking of a vehicle into, or the driving, parking or use of any vehicle in, any public place that is a road or road related area within the meaning of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999.

Note. A council may establish an alcohol-free zone under Part 4 of this Chapter for a public place that is a public road (or part of a public road) or car park (or part of a car park).

(3)  The terms of a notice referred to in this section may:

(a)  apply generally or be limited in their application by reference to specified exceptions or factors, or

(b)  apply differently according to different factors of a specified kind,

      or may do any combination of those things.

633   Bathing (including nude bathing) and other water-based recreational activities

(1)  A person who, in a place being:

(a)  a public bathing place under the control of a council, or

(b)  a river, watercourse or tidal or non-tidal water, or

(c)  the sea adjacent to (although outside) an area, or

(d)  a public place adjacent to any of those places,

      fails to comply with the terms of a notice erected by the council is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2)  A person who is in public view in the nude in any place (other than a designated beach) referred to in subsection (1) is guilty of an offence unless a notice erected by the council at the place allows the use of the place (or part of the place) for the purposes of nude bathing.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

(3)  A council may erect a notice:

(a)  on land vested in or under the control of a council, or

(b)  on any other land, with the consent of the person who owns or controls the land.

(4)  The terms of a notice referred to in this section may relate to one or more of the following:

(a)  the conduct and costume of the bathers in the place,

(b)  the use of the place (or any part of the place open to public view) for the purposes of nude bathing,

(c)  the use of water-based recreational equipment in the place.

(4A)  However, a notice referred to in this section cannot prohibit:

(a)  the use of a designated beach for the purposes of nude bathing, or

(b)  a person from otherwise being in the nude at a designated beach.

(4B)  Accordingly, any such notice (whether erected before or after the commencement of the Local Government Amendment (Nude Bathing) Act 1996) that purports to prohibit the use of a designated beach for the purposes of nude bathing, or that purports to prohibit a person from otherwise being in the nude at a designated beach, has no effect on or after that commencement.

(4C)  A notice referred to in this section cannot prohibit or regulate the use of any waters by a vessel (within the meaning of the Marine Safety Act 1998):

(a)  in the case of a notice erected after the commencement of this subsection—unless the Minister administering that Act has consented to the erection of that notice, or

(b)  in the case of a notice erected before that commencement—if the Minister administering that Act has directed the council to remove the notice.

(5)  The terms of a notice referred to in this section may:

(a)  apply generally or be limited in their application by reference to specified exceptions or factors, or

(b)  apply differently according to different factors of a specified kind,

      or may do any combination of those things.

(6)  In this section:

designated beach means any of the following beaches, or any part of the following beaches (including the sea adjacent to any such beach):

Lady Bay (Lady Jane) Beach

Cobblers Beach

Obelisk Beach

Werrong Beach

Samurai Beach

633A   Use of skateboards, roller blades and roller skates

A person who, in a public place, uses skating equipment so as to obstruct, annoy, inconvenience or cause danger to any other person in that place is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

633B   Part not to apply to National Park reserves

This Part (section 633 excepted) does not apply to land within a National Parks and Wildlife reserve or land within a State forest or flora reserve within the meaning of the Forestry Act 1916.

633C   Part not to affect roads and traffic functions under other Acts

The provisions of this Part:

(a)  do not limit or restrict the operation of the road transport legislation with respect to roads or road related areas within the meaning of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 or the Roads Act 1993 with respect to public roads, and

(b)  do not authorise the erection of any device if the erection of any such device is inconsistent with a function exercisable under the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 with respect to roads or road related areas within the meaning of that Act or under the Roads Act 1993 with respect to public roads.