Australian Capital Territory

Crimes Amendment Act 2002
2002 No 3

An Act to amend the Crimes Act 1900

    
    
Notified under the Legislation Act 2001 on 14 March 2002
(see www.legislation.act.gov.au)

The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory enacts as follows:

1	Name of Act
This Act is the Crimes Amendment Act 2002.
2	Commencement
This Act commences on its notification day.
3	Act amended
This Act amends the Crimes Act 1900.
4	New division 6.6A
insert
Division 6.6A	Offences relating to causing public alarm
140A	Acting with intent to cause public alarm
		A person must not, with the intention of causing public alarm or anxiety—
	(a)	do something that could endanger someone else’s life or health; or
	(b)	do something that, in the circumstances in which it is done, a reasonable person would suspect could endanger someone else’s life or health (whether or not it could do so).
Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.
140B	Threatening to act with intent to cause public alarm
	(1)	A person must not threaten to do something that could endanger someone else’s life or health with the intention of causing public alarm or anxiety.
Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.
	(2)	For this section, a threat may be made by any conduct, and may be explicit or implicit and conditional or unconditional.
140C	Making false statements with intent to cause public alarm
	(1)	A person must not make a statement that the person believes to be false with the intention of—
	(a)	inducing the person to whom the statement is made or others to believe that something that could endanger someone else’s life or health has been done; and
	(b)	in that way, causing public alarm or anxiety.
Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.
	(2)	For this section, making a statement includes communicating information by any means.
140D	Territorial nexus for offences
It is immaterial that the conduct of a person forming an offence against this division happened outside the ACT if the person intended by the conduct to cause public alarm or anxiety in the ACT.

Endnotes
Republications of amended laws
1	For the latest republication of amended laws, see www.legislation.act.gov.au.
Penalty units
2	The Legislation Act 2001, s 133 deals with the meaning of offence penalties that are expressed in penalty units.

[Presentation speech made in Assembly on 11 December 2001]

I certify that the above is a true copy of the Crimes Amendment Bill 2002 which originated in the Assembly as the Crimes Amendment Bill 2001 (No 2) and was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 5 March 2002.

					Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

© Australian Capital Territory 2002