Part 4AD Criminal destruction and damage
(1) In this Part, a reference to property does not include a reference to property that is not of a tangible nature.(2) In this Part, a reference to property includes a reference to wild creatures that have been tamed or are ordinarily kept in captivity and also includes any other wild creatures or their carcasses but only if they:(a) have been reduced into possession that has not been lost or abandoned, or(b) are in the course of being reduced into possession.(3) For the purposes of this Part, an act done by a person under a reasonable belief that the person had a right to do the act does not constitute an element of any offence under this Part.(4) For the purposes of this Part, damaging property includes removing, obliterating, defacing or altering the unique identifier of the property. The unique identifier is any numbers, letters or symbols that are marked on or attached to the property as a permanent record so as to enable the property to be distinguished from similar property.
Division 2 Crimes against property generally
195 Destroying or damaging property
(1) A person who intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages property belonging to another or to that person and another is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 5 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 10 years.(1A) A person who, in the company of another person or persons, intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages property belonging to another or to that person and another is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 6 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 11 years.(2) A person who, during a public disorder, intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages property belonging to another or to that person and another is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 7 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 12 years.
196 Destroying or damaging property with intent to injure a person
(1) A person who destroys or damages property, intending by the destruction or damage to cause bodily injury to another, is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 7 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 14 years.(2) A person who, during a public disorder, destroys or damages property, intending by the destruction or damage to cause bodily injury to another, is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 9 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 16 years.
197 Dishonestly destroying or damaging property
(1) A person who dishonestly, with a view to making a gain for that person or another, destroys or damages property is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 7 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 14 years.(2) A person who, during a public disorder, dishonestly, with a view to making a gain for that person or another, destroys or damages property is liable:(a) to imprisonment for 9 years, or(b) if the destruction or damage is caused by means of fire or explosives, to imprisonment for 16 years.
198 Destroying or damaging property with intention of endangering life
A person who destroys or damages property, intending by the destruction or damage to endanger the life of another, is liable to imprisonment for 25 years.
199 Threatening to destroy or damage property
(1) A person who, without lawful excuse, makes a threat to another, with the intention of causing that other to fear that the threat would be carried out:(a) to destroy or damage property belonging to that other or to a third person, or(b) to destroy or damage the first-mentioned person’s own property in a way which that person knows will or is likely to endanger the life of, or to cause bodily injury to, that other or a third person,is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.(2) A person who, during a public disorder and without lawful excuse, makes a threat to another, with the intention of causing that other to fear that the threat would be carried out:(a) to destroy or damage property belonging to that other or to a third person, or(b) to destroy or damage the first-mentioned person’s own property in a way which that person knows will or is likely to endanger the life of, or to cause bodily injury to, that other or a third person,is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.
200 Possession etc of explosive or other article with intent to destroy or damage property
(1) A person who has possession, custody or control of an article with the intention that it should be used to destroy or damage property belonging to:(a) some other person, or(b) the first-mentioned person or the user, or both of them, and some other person,is liable (if the article is an explosive) to imprisonment for 7 years or (if the article is not an explosive) to imprisonment for 3 years.(2) A person who, during a public disorder, has possession, custody or control of an article with the intention that it should be used to destroy or damage property belonging to:(a) some other person, or(b) the first-mentioned person or the user, or both of them, and some other person,is liable (if the article is an explosive) to imprisonment for 9 years or (if the article is not an explosive) to imprisonment for 5 years.
Division 3 Crimes relating to particular kinds of property
A person who intentionally or recklessly:(a) causes water to run into a mine or any subterranean channel connected to it,(b) destroys, damages or obstructs any shaft, passage, pit, airway, waterway or drain of, or associated with, a mine,(c) destroys, damages or renders useless any equipment, building, road or bridge belonging to a mine, or(d) hinders the working of equipment belonging to a mine,is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.
202 Causing damage etc to sea, river, canal and other works
A person who:(a) intentionally or recklessly destroys, damages, removes or interferes with piles or other materials that form part of, or have been fixed or placed in position in order to secure:(i) a sea wall or other structure designed to prevent erosion by the sea,(ii) the bank or bed of, or a dam, weir or lock located on, a river or canal,(iii) a drain, aqueduct, marsh or reservoir, or(iv) a dock, quay, wharf, jetty or other harbour installation,(b) intentionally or recklessly opens a floodgate or sluice that is located at or on a dam, weir, reservoir or watercourse, or(c) with the intention of obstructing or hindering the navigation of vessels or boats on a navigable river or canal:(i) interferes with or obstructs the flow of the river or canal,(ii) damages or interferes with the bank or bed of the river or canal, or(d) destroys, damages or interferes with any structure or equipment constructed or installed in connection with the use of the river or canal for the purposes of navigation,is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.
In this Division:economic loss includes the disruption of government functions or the disruption of the use of public facilities.
public facility means any of the following (whether publicly or privately owned):
(a) a government facility, including premises used by government employees in connection with official duties,(b) a public infrastructure facility, including a facility providing water, sewerage, energy or other services to the public,(c) a public transport facility, including a conveyance used to transport people or goods,(d) a public place, including any premises, land or water open to the public,(e) a public computer system, including a computer system used for the operation of a public facility, for the provision of banking services or for other services to the public.
A person:(a) whose conduct causes damage to a public facility, and(b) who intended to cause that damage, and(c) who intended by that conduct to cause:is guilty of an offence.(i) extensive destruction of property, or(ii) major economic loss,Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 25 years.
(1) A person who:(a) makes to another person a threat to damage a public facility, and(b) intends that person to fear that the threat will be carried out and will cause:is guilty of an offence.(i) extensive destruction of property, or(ii) major economic loss,Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 14 years.
(2) In the prosecution of an offence under this section it is not necessary to prove that the person threatened actually feared that the threat would be carried out.(3) For the purposes of this section:(a) a threat may be made by any conduct, and may be explicit or implicit and conditional or unconditional, and(b) a threat to a person includes a threat to a group of persons, and(c) fear that a threat will be carried out includes apprehension that it will be carried out.
In this Division:causing a fire includes:
(a) lighting a fire, or(b) maintaining a fire, or(c) failing to contain a fire, except where the fire was lit by another person or the fire is beyond the control of the person who lit the fire.firefighter means a member of a fire brigade under the Rural Fires Act 1997 or the Fire Brigades Act 1989 or of any other official firefighting unit (including a unit from outside the State).
spread of a fire means spread of a fire beyond the capacity of the person who causes the fire to extinguish it.
(1) A person:(a) who intentionally causes a fire, and(b) who is reckless as to the spread of the fire to vegetation on any public land or on land belonging to another,is guilty of an offence.Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 14 years.
(2) For the purposes of this section, recklessness may also be established by proof of intention.(3) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence against this section if:(a) the person is a firefighter or acting under the direction of a firefighter, and(b) the person caused the fire in the course of bushfire fighting or hazard reduction operations.(4) If on the trial of a person for an offence against this section the jury is not satisfied that the accused is guilty of the offence charged but is satisfied on the evidence that the accused is guilty of an offence against section 100 (1) of the Rural Fires Act 1997, it may find the accused not guilty of the offence charged but guilty of the latter offence, and the accused is liable to punishment accordingly.