Australian Stalking Laws

( As obtained by www.harassment-law.co.uk from Internet site www.austlii.edu.au in Jan 2000)

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, CRIMES ACT 1900 s34A

(1) A person shall not stalk another person with intent to cause-
(a) apprehension or fear of serious harm in the other person or a third person; or
(b) serious harm to the other person or a third person.

Penalty:
(a) where-
(i) the offence involved a contravention of an injunction or other order made by a court; or
(ii) the offender was in possession of an offensive weapon;
imprisonment for 5 years; and
(b) in any other case-imprisonment for 2 years.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person shall be taken to stalk another person if, on at least 2 occasions, he or she-

(a) follows or approaches the other person;
(b) loiters near, watches, approaches or enters a place where the other person resides, works or visits;
(c) keeps the other person under surveillance;
(d) interferes with property in the possession of the other person;
(e) gives or sends offensive material to the other person or leavesoffensive material where it is likely to be found by, given to orbrought to the attention of, the other person;
(f) telephones or otherwise contacts the other person;
(g) acts covertly in a manner that could reasonably be expected to arouse apprehension or fear in the other person; or
(h) engages in conduct amounting to intimidation, harassment or molestation of the other person.

(3) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1), it is notnecessary to prove that the person stalked or a third person, as thecase may be, apprehended or feared serious harm.

(4) In this section-

“harm” means physical harm, harm to mental health, or disease, whether permanent or temporary;

“harm to mental health” includes psychological harm;

“physical harm” includes unconsciousness, pain, disfigurement and anyphysical contact that might reasonably be objected to in thecircumstances, whether or not there was an awareness of that contact atthe time.

NEW SOUTH WALES, CRIMES ACT 1900 s562AB

(1) A person who stalks or intimidates another person with theintention of causing the other person to fear personal injury is liableto imprisonment for 5 years, or to a fine of 50 penalty units, or both.

(2) For the purposes of this section, causing a person to fear personalinjury includes causing the person to fear personal injury to anotherperson with whom he or she has a domestic relationship.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person intends to cause fear ofpersonal injury if he or she knows that the conduct is likely to causefear in the other person.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the prosecution is not requiredto prove that the person alleged to have been stalked or intimidatedactually feared personal injury.

NORTHERN TERRITORY, CRIMINAL CODE ACT 1997 s189

(1) A person stalks another person if, on at least 2 separate occasions –
(a) the person –
(i) follows the other person;
(ii) loiters outside or enters the place of residence or employment ofthe other person or some other place frequented by the other person;
(iii) interferes with property (whether or not the person has aninterest in the property) in the possession of the other person;
(iv) keeps the other person under surveillance; or
(v) acts covertly in a way that could reasonably be expected to arouse the other person’s apprehension or fear; and
(b) the person intends to cause –
(i) physical or mental harm to the other person or a third person; or
(ii) apprehension or fear.
(2) A person who stalks another person is guilty of an offence and is liable –
(a) to imprisonment for 2 years; or
(b) where –
(i) the person’s conduct contravened a condition of bail or aninjunction or order imposed by a court (either under a law of theCommonwealth, the Territory, a State or another Territory of theCommonwealth); or
(ii) the person was, on any occasion to which the charge relates, in the possession of an offensive weapon,
to imprisonment for 5 years

QUEENSLAND, CRIMINAL CODE ACT 1899 s359A

(1) A person must not unlawfully stalk another person.

(2) A person (the “first person” ) unlawfully stalks another person (the “second person” ) if–
(a) the first person engages in a course of conduct involving doing aconcerning act on at least 2 separate occasions to another person orother persons (whether the second person, another or others); and

(b) the first person intends that the second person be aware that thecourse of conduct is directed at the second person, even if theconcerning acts or particular concerning acts are done to, or to theproperty of, a person other than the second person; and

(d) the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person in the secondperson’s circumstances to believe that an offensive act (a “concerningoffensive act” ) is likely to happen.
(3) For the purpose of subsection (2)(d), the second person’scircumstances are those known or foreseen by the first person and thosereasonably foreseeable by the first person.

(4) It is a defence to a charge under this section to prove that thecourse of conduct was engaged in for the purposes of a genuine–
(a) industrial dispute; or

(b) political or other public dispute or issue carried on in the public interest.
(5) The offence under this section may only be committed against an individual.

(6) Unlawful stalking is a crime for which the first person is liable to a maximum penalty of–
(a) imprisonment for 5 years if, for any of the concerning acts constituting the offence, the first person–
(i) unlawfully uses or threatens to use unlawful violence against another person or another person’s property; or

(ii) has possession of a weapon within the meaning of the Weapons Act 1990 ; or

(iii) contravenes an injunction or order imposed or made by a courtunder a law of the State, the Commonwealth, another State or aTerritory, or threatens this; or
(b) imprisonment for 3 years in any other case.
(7) In this section–
“concerning act” means any of the following acts–
(a) following, loitering near, watching or approaching another person;

(b) telephoning or otherwise contacting another person;

(d) interfering with property in the possession of another person;

(e) leaving offensive material where it will be found by, given to or brought to the attention of, another person;

(f) giving offensive material to another person, directly or indirectly;

(g) an act of harassment, intimidation or threat against another person;

(h) an unlawful act committed against the person or property of another person;
“concerning offensive act” means an unlawful act of violence by the first person against–
(a) the second person’s person or property; or

(b) a person, other than the second person, about whose health orcustody the second person would reasonably be expected to be seriouslyconcerned if the act were done, including, for example, a dependant,relative, friend, employer or associate of the second person; or

(c) the property of a person, other than the second person, about whoseproperty the second person would reasonably be expected to be seriouslyconcerned if the act were done, including, for example, the premiseswhere the second person lives or works, or the property of a dependant,relative, friend, employer or associate of the second person;
“property” of a person other than the first person includes property inwhich both the first person and the other person have an interest;
“unlawful” act means an unlawful act constituting an offence;
“violence” against the person includes an act depriving a person of liberty;
“violence” against property includes an unlawful act of damaging, destroying, removing, using or interfering with property.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 s19AA

(1) A person stalks another if-
“(a)” on at least two separate occasions, the person-
(i) follows the other person; or
(ii) loiters outside the place of residence of the other person or some other place frequented by the other person; or
(iii) enters or interferes with property in the possession of the other person; or
(iv) gives offensive material to the other person, or leaves offensivematerial where it will be found by, given to or brought to theattention of the other person; or
(v) keeps the other person under surveillance; or
(vi) acts in any other way that could reasonably be expected to arouse the other person’s apprehension or fear; and
“(b)” the person-
(i) intends to cause serious physical or mental harm to the other person or a third person; or
(ii) intends to cause serious apprehension or fear.
(2) A person who stalks another is guilty of an offence.

Penalty:
“(a)” if-
(i) the offender’s conduct contravened an injunction or an orderimposed by a court (either under a law of the State or theCommonwealth); or
(ii) the offender was, on any occasion to which the charge relates, in possession of an offensive weapon,
imprisonment for not more than 5 years;
“(b)” in any other case-imprisonment for not more than 3 years.
(3) A person who is charged with stalking is (subject to any exclusionin the instrument of charge) to be taken to have been charged in thealternative with offensive behaviour[1] so that if the court is notsatisfied that the charge of stalking has been established but issatisfied that the charge of offensive behaviour has been established,the court may convict the person of offensive behaviour.
(4) A person who has been acquitted or convicted on a charge ofstalking may not be convicted of another offence arising out of thesame set of circumstances and involving a physical element that iscommon to that charge.

VICTORIA, CRIMES ACT 1958 s21A

(1) A person must not stalk another person.
Penalty: Level 5 imprisonment (10 years maximum).

(2) A person (the offender) stalks another person (the victim) if theoffender engages in a course of conduct which includes any of thefollowing-
(a) following the victim or any other person;
(b) telephoning, sending electronic messages to, or otherwise contacting, the victim or any other person;
(c) entering or loitering outside or near the victim’s or any otherperson’s place of residence or of business or any other placefrequented by the victim or the other person;
(d) interfering with property in the victim’s or any other person’spossession (whether or not the offender has an interest in theproperty);
(e) giving offensive material to the victim or any other person orleaving it where it will be found by, given to or brought to theattention of, the victim or the other person;
(f) keeping the victim or any other person under surveillance;
(g) acting in any other way that could reasonably be expected to arouseapprehension or fear in the victim for his or her own safety or that ofany other person-

with the intention of causing physical or mental harm to the victim orof arousing apprehension or fear in the victim for his or her ownsafety or that of any other person and the course of conduct engaged inactually did have that result.

(3) For the purposes of this section an offender also has the intentionto cause physical or mental harm to the victim or to arouseapprehension or fear in the victim for his or her own safety or that ofany other person if that offender knows, or in all the particularcircumstances that offender ought to have understood, that engaging ina course of conduct of that kind would be likely to cause such harm orarouse such apprehension or fear and it actually did have that result.

(4) This section does not apply to conduct engaged in by a person performing official duties for the purpose of-

(a) the enforcement of the criminal law; or
(b) the administration of any Act; or
(c) the enforcement of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty; or
(d) the execution of a warrant; or
(e) the protection of the public revenue-

that, but for this sub-section, would constitute an offence against sub-section (1).

(5) Despite anything to the contrary in the Crimes (Family Violence)Act 1987, the Court within the meaning of that Act may make anintervention order under that Act in respect of a person (thedefendant) if satisfied on the balance of probabilities that thedefendant has stalked another person and is likely to continue to do soor to do so again and for this purpose that Act has effect as if theother person were a family member in relation to the defendant withinthe meaning of that Act if he or she would not otherwise be so.