156A   Offence of damaging reserved land

(1)  A person must not, on or in land reserved under this Act or acquired under Part 11:

(a)  remove any water other than for purposes authorised by or under any Act or for the purposes of personal use on the land, or

(b)  damage or remove any vegetation, rock, soil, sand, stone or similar substance, or

(c)  damage any object or place of cultural value, or

(d)  cause or permit any removal or damage referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

Maximum penalty:

(a)  in the case of a corporation—10,000 penalty units, or

(b)  in the case of an individual—1,000 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment, or both.

(2)  It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) if the accused proves that the removal or damage concerned:

(a)  was done in accordance with the consent of the Director-General or of a person or body that has the care, control and management of the land concerned under this Act, or

(b)  was authorised to be done, and was done in accordance with, a licence under this Act or a licence granted under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, or

(c)  was essential for the carrying out of:

(i)  development in accordance with a development consent within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, or

(ii)  an activity, whether by a determining authority or pursuant to an approval of a determining authority within the meaning of Part 5 of that Act if the determining authority has complied with that Part, or

(iii)  a project approved under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, or

(d)  was authorised to be done by or under Part 2 of the Rural Fires Act 1997, the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 or the State Emergency Service Act 1989 and was reasonably necessary in order to avoid a threat to life or property.

(3)  It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) if the offence relates to the damage of an object or place of cultural value and the accused proves that he or she did not know, and could not reasonably have known, that the object or place concerned had cultural value.

(4), (5)  (Repealed)