Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Crimes Act 1958 - SECT 78

Removal of articles from places open to the public

78. Removal of articles from places open to the public



(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where the public have access to a
building in order to view the building or part of it, or a collection or part
of a collection housed in it, any person who without lawful authority removes
from the building or its grounds the whole or part of any article displayed or
kept for display to the public in the building or that part of it or in its
grounds shall be guilty of an offence.

For this purpose collection includes a collection got together for a temporary
purpose, but references in this section to a collection do not apply to a
collection made or exhibited for the purpose of effecting sales or other
commercial dealings.

(2) It is immaterial for purposes of subsection (1) that the public's access
to a building is limited to a particular period or particular occasion; but
where anything removed from a building or its grounds is there otherwise than
as forming part of, or being on loan for exhibition with, a collection
intended for permanent exhibition to the public, the person removing it does
not thereby commit an offence under this section unless he removes it on a day
when the public have access to the building as mentioned in subsection (1).

(3) A person does not commit an offence under this section if he believes that
he has lawful authority for the removal of the thing in question or that he
would have it if the person entitled to give it knew of the removal and the
circumstances of it.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is guilty of an
indictable offence and liable to level 6 imprisonment (5 years maximum).







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