Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Crimes Act 1958 - SECT 201A

Intentionally or recklessly causing a bushfire

201A. Intentionally or recklessly causing a bushfire



(1) A person who-

   (a)  intentionally or recklessly causes a fire; and

   (b)  is reckless as to the spread of the fire to vegetation on property
        belonging to another-

is guilty of an offence and liable to level 4 imprisonment (15 years maximum).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), circumstances in which a person is
not to be taken to be reckless as to the spread of a fire include the
following-

   (a)  the person caused the fire in the course of carrying out a fire
        prevention, fire suppression or other land management activity; and

   (b)  at the time the activity was carried out-

   (i)  there was in force a provision made by or under an Act or by a Code of
        Practice approved under an Act, that regulated or otherwise applied to
        the carrying out of the activity and the person in carrying out that
        activity acted in accordance with the provision; and

   (ii) the person believed that his or her conduct in carrying out the
        activity was justified having regard to all of the circumstances.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b)(ii) it is sufficient that a person
honestly believed that the conduct was justified.





(4) In this section-

   (a)  a reference to causing a fire includes-

   (i)  lighting a fire;

   (ii) maintaining a fire;

   (iii) failing to contain a fire, except where the fire was lit by another
        person or the fire is beyond the control of the person who lit the
        fire;

   (b)  spread of the fire means spread of the fire beyond the capacity of the
        person who caused the fire to extinguish it.