SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT 2005 - SECT 26A Interference with graves etc.

SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT 2005 - SECT 26A

26A Interference with graves etc.

(1) A person must not interfere with—

(a) a grave, vault, niche or memorial in a cemetery or at a crematorium; or

(b) a war memorial; or

(c) a thing fixed at a place of religious worship.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—1 year’s imprisonment.

(2) It is a defence for the person to prove that the person was acting—

(a) with lawful authority or in the reasonable belief that the person was acting with lawful authority; or

(b) with any other reasonable excuse.

(3) In this section—


"crematorium" includes the land or water where the crematorium is situated.


"interfere" , with a thing, includes—

(a) destroy, damage, move or mark it; and

(b) otherwise deal with it in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable person.

"lawful authority" means authority under an Act or given lawfully by either of the following—

(a) the owner of the thing interfered with;

(b) if the thing interfered with is in a cemetery or at a crematorium and there is an entity responsible for managing and administering the cemetery or crematorium—the entity.

"memorial" , in a cemetery or at a crematorium, includes the following—

(a) a headstone;

(b) an inscribed plaque or commemorative plate;

(c) a monumental, ornamental or other structure;

(d) another thing erected or placed—

(i) to mark the site where human remains have been buried or placed; or

(ii) to commemorate a deceased person.