CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 35 Stalking

CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 35

    (1)     A person must not stalk someone with intent—

        (a)     to cause apprehension, or fear of harm, in the person stalked or someone else; or

        (b)     to cause harm to the person stalked or someone else; or

        (c)     to harass the person stalked.

Maximum penalty:

        (a)     for an aggravated offence against this section—

              (i)     imprisonment for 7 years if—

    (A)     the offence involved a contravention of an injunction or other order made by a court; or

    (B)     the offender was in possession of an offensive weapon; or

              (ii)     in any other case—imprisonment for 3 years; or

        (b)     for an offence against this section other than an aggravated offence—

              (i)     imprisonment for 5 years if—

    (A)     the offence involved a contravention of an injunction or other order made by a court; or

    (B)     the offender was in possession of an offensive weapon; or

              (ii)     in any other case—imprisonment for 2 years.

Note     Section 48C (Aggravated offences—pt 2 offences involving family violence) makes provision in relation to an aggravated offence against this section.

    (2)     For this section, a person stalks someone else (the stalked person ) if, on at least 2 occasions, the person does 1 or more of the following:

        (a)     follows or approaches the stalked person;

        (b)     loiters near, watches, approaches or enters a place where the stalked person resides, works or visits;

        (c)     keeps the stalked person under surveillance;

        (d)     interferes with property in the possession of the stalked person;

        (e)     gives or sends offensive material to the stalked person or leaves offensive material where it is likely to be found by, given to or brought to the attention of, the stalked person;

        (f)     telephones, sends electronic messages to or otherwise contacts the stalked person;

        (g)     sends electronic messages about the stalked person to anybody else;

        (h)     makes electronic messages about the stalked person available to anybody else;

              (i)     acts covertly in a way that could reasonably be expected to arouse apprehension or fear in the stalked person;

        (j)     engages in conduct amounting to intimidation, harassment or molestation of the stalked person.

    (3)     However, this section does not apply to reasonable conduct engaged in by a person as part of the person's employment if it is a function of the person's employment to engage in the conduct and the conduct is not otherwise unlawful.

    (4)     Without limiting subsection (1), a person is also taken to have the intent mentioned in the subsection if the person knows that, or is reckless about whether, stalking the other person would be likely—

        (a)     to cause apprehension or fear of harm in the person stalked or someone else; or

        (b)     to harass the person stalked.

    (5)     In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1), it is not necessary to prove that the person stalked or someone else apprehended or feared harm or that the person stalked was harassed.

    (6)     For 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 physical contact that might reasonably be objected to in the circumstances, whether or not there was an awareness of the contact at the time.