Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003 (Vic)

Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003

ts	Act No. 105/2003
n
e
m	TABLE OF PROVISIONS

u	Section	Page
c
o	PART 1—PRELIMINARY	1
D

1. Purpose 1

ry 2. Commencement 2

ta PART 2—AMENDMENT OF CRIMES ACT 1958 3

n	3.	Cyberstalking	3
e	4.	Removal of requirement as to actual effect of stalking	4
m	5.	Extra-territorial operation of offence	5
ia	6.	New section 598 inserted	5
rl	598.	Transitional provision—Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003	5

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a

P	ENDNOTES	6
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o	Victoria
D
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n	No. 105 of 2003
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rl	Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003†
a	[Assented to 9 December 2003]
P
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n	The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:
o
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la	PART 1—PRELIMINARY
is
g	1. Purpose
e
L	The purpose of this Act is to amend the Crimes Act 1958 with respect to the offence of stalking to
n	ensure that the offence—
a
ri	(a) covers cyberstalking; and
to	(b) no longer requires proof as to the actual
ic	effect on the victim of the course of conduct
V	engaged in by the offender where the offender intended to cause harm or arouse Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003

Act No. 105/2003

Part 1—Preliminary

s. 2

apprehension or fear or knew that engaging in a course of conduct of that kind would be likely to cause harm or arouse apprehension

ts	or fear; and
n
e	(c) has extra-territorial operation.
m	2. Commencement
u
c	This Act comes into operation on the day after the
o	day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
D	__________________
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Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003

Act No. 105/2003

Part 2—Amendment of Crimes Act 1958

s. 3

PART 2—AMENDMENT OF CRIMES ACT 1958

ts	3. Cyberstalking
n	See:

(1) In section 21A(2) of the Crimes Act 1958, for

e Act No.

paragraph (b) substitute— 6231/1958.

m Reprint No. 16

u	"(b) contacting the victim or any other person by	as at
1 January
c	post, telephone, fax, text message, e-mail or	2002
o	other electronic communication or by any	and
D	amending
other means whatsoever;	Act Nos
ry	45/2001,

(ba) publishing on the Internet or by an e-mail or 11/2002,

ta	other electronic communication to any	16/2002 and 35/2002.
n	person a statement or other material—	LawToday:
e	(i) relating to the victim or any other	dpc.vic. gov.au

m	person; or
ia
rl	(ii) purporting to relate to, or to originate

from, the victim or any other person;

a

P (bb) causing an unauthorised computer function

(within the meaning of Subdivision (6) of

d

n	Division 3) in a computer owned or used by
a	the victim or any other person;
n	(bc) tracing the victim's or any other person's use
o	of the Internet or of e-mail or other
ti	electronic communications;".
la	(2) After section 21A(4) of the Crimes Act 1958
is	insert—
g
e	"(4A) In a proceeding for an offence against sub-
L	section (1) it is a defence to the charge for
n	the accused to prove that the course of
a
ri	conduct was engaged in without malice—

(a) in the normal course of a lawful

to	business, trade, profession or enterprise
ic	(including that of any body or person
V	whose business, or whose principal business, is the publication, or

Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003

Act No. 105/2003

Part 2—Amendment of Crimes Act 1958

s. 4

arranging for the publication, of news

or current affairs material); or

ts	(b)	for the purpose of an industrial dispute;
n	or

e	(c) for the purpose of engaging in political
m	activities or discussion or
u	communicating with respect to public
c	affairs.".
o
D	4. Removal of requirement as to actual effect of
ry	stalking
ta	(1) In section 21A(2) of the Crimes Act 1958, omit

"and the course of conduct engaged in actually did

n

e have that result".

(2) For section 21A(3) of the Crimes Act 1958

m

substitute—

ia
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"(3) For the purposes of this section an offender

a	also has the intention to cause physical or
P	mental harm to the victim or to arouse
d	apprehension or fear in the victim for his or
n	her own safety or that of any other person
a	if—
n	(a) the offender knows that engaging in a
o
ti	course of conduct of that kind would be
la	likely to cause such harm or arouse
is	such apprehension or fear; or

(b) the offender in all the particular

g

e	circumstances ought to have understood
L	that engaging in a course of conduct of
n	that kind would be likely to cause such
a	harm or arouse such apprehension or
ri	fear and it actually did have that
to	result.".
ic
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Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003

Act No. 105/2003

Part 2—Amendment of Crimes Act 1958

s. 5

5. Extra-territorial operation of offence

In section 21A of the Crimes Act 1958, at the end

ts	of the section insert—
n	"(6) It is immaterial that some or all of the course
e	of conduct constituting an offence against
m	sub-section (1) occurred outside Victoria, so
u	long as the victim was in Victoria at the time
c	at which that conduct occurred.
o
D	(7) It is immaterial that the victim was outside Victoria at the time at which some or all of
ry	the course of conduct constituting an offence
ta	against sub-section (1) occurred, so long as
n	that conduct occurred in Victoria.".
e	6. New section 598 inserted
m
ia	At the end of Part VII of the Crimes Act 1958
rl	insert—
a	"598. Transitional provision—Crimes (Stalking)
P	Act 2003
d	(1) The amendments of section 21A of this Act
n
a	made by Part 2 of the Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003 apply to offences alleged to have been
n	committed on or after the commencement of
o
ti	that Act.
la	(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), if an
is	offence is alleged to have been committed
g	between two dates, one before and one after
e	the commencement of the Crimes (Stalking)
L	Act 2003, the offence is alleged to have been
n	committed before that commencement.
a
ri	(3) The amendments of section 21A of this Act

made by Part 2 of the Crimes (Stalking) Act

to	2003 do not affect the rights of the parties in
ic	the proceeding known as DPP v Sutcliffe
V	(No. 6562 of 2000) in the Supreme Court.".

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Crimes (Stalking) Act 2003

Act No. 105/2003

Endnotes

ENDNOTES

ts †

Minister's second reading speech—

n	Legislative Assembly: 27 March 2003
e
Legislative Council: 19 November 2003
m
u	The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to amend the Crimes Act
c	1958 with respect to the offence of stalking and for other purposes."
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