Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places

In NSW it is an offence to damage or desecrate certain protected places. The offence prohibits people from vandalising, damaging or defiling any shrine, monument or statue that is located in a public place. Examples of protected places include war memorials, such as the Anzac Memorial Hyde Park and its surrounding sculptures and structures and the statue of Queen Victoria on George Street Town Hall outside the Queen Victoria building.

A person can be charged with this offence if they break, vandalise, damage, urinate on or in some other way defile a public shrine, statue or monument.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 40 penalty units. 

What is Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places?

The offence of Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places is contained in section 8 (2) of the Summary Offences Act and states:

A person must not wilfully damage or deface any protected place.

Maximum penalty: 40 penalty units.

The following acts constitute Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places:

• • Urinating on the Anzac War Memorial in Hyde Park;
  • Using spray paint to write something offensive on Sydney’s Parliament House;
  • Pouring blood and red paint over a shrine outside a church; or
  • Carving your initials on the outside of the Sydney Opera House. 

What Must Be Proven?

For a person to be found guilty of Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places the prosecution must prove each of the following matters beyond a reasonable doubt:

• That you did an act;
• That act damages or defaces a place; and
• The place was a ‘protected place’, that is a shrine, monument or statue located in a public place.

If the prosecution does not prove every single one of the above elements, you will be found not guilty. 

Which Court Will Hear the Matter?

This offence is a summary offence, which means it will be resolved in the Local Court. 

Defences to Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places

The following defences may be available for a Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places charge:

• To argue that what you did does not amount to damaging or desecrating the place;
• To argue that the place is not a shrine, monument or statue;
• To argue that the shrine, monument or statue is not in a public place; or
• Duress.

Common Questions about Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places

Will I receive a criminal conviction?

In NSW, a court can impose any of the following penalties for a Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places charge.

• Conditional Release Order with conviction (CRO)
• Fine
• Conditional Release Order without conviction (CRO)
• S10A
• Section 10

The consequences of a conviction can be serious depending upon what you do for a living. Some jobs require you to have no criminal convictions and a conviction for an offence might jeopardise your job or make it difficult to obtain visas for overseas travel. Moreover a conviction for some offences completely rules out certain career paths such as teaching and a range of government employment options. 

Will I go to Gaol for a Damaging or Desecrating Protected Places charge?

No. You cannot be sentenced to imprisonment for this offence. 

If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Armstrong Legal.