Damaging or Desecrating a Protected Place is an offence under Section 8 of the Summary Offences Act 1988 which is punishable by a community correction order, or a fine of up to 40 penalty units which is currently equivalent to $4,400.
To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:
A ‘protected place’ is defined as:
A shrine, monument or statue located in a public place, including a war memorial or an interment site.
An ‘interment site’ includes a cemetery or crematorium.
A ‘public place’ is defined as:
A place or part of a premises that is open to, or used by the public, whether or not for payment, and whether or not only open to a limited class of persons. It includes privately owned parks, building, monuments and cemeteries provided they are open to at least part of the public.