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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Criminal Law Consolidation (Assaults on Prescribed
Emergency Workers) Amendment Bill 2019
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the
Criminal
Law Consolidation Act 1935
, and to make related amendments to the
Criminal
Law (Forensic Procedures) Act 2007
and the
Summary
Offences Act 1953
.
Contents
Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law
Consolidation Act 1935
4Amendment of section 5AA—Aggravated
offences
5Amendment of section 19—Unlawful
threats
6Amendment of section
20—Assault
7Insertion of sections 20AA and
20AB
20AAOffences involving use of human
biological material against emergency workers
8Amendment of section 24—Unlawful
threats
9Amendment of section 29—Acts endangering
life or creating risk of serious harm
Part 1—Amendment of Criminal Law
(Forensic Procedures) Act 2007
1Amendment of section
20A—Interpretation
Part 2—Related amendments of
Sentencing Act 2017
2Amendment of section 4—Secondary
sentencing purposes
Part 3—Amendment of Summary
Offences Act 1953
3Amendment of section 6—Hindering
police
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Criminal Law Consolidation (Assaults on
Prescribed Emergency Workers) Amendment Act 2019.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Criminal Law Consolidation
Act 1935
4—Amendment
of section 5AA—Aggravated offences
(1) Section 5AA(1)(c)—after "prison officer" insert:
employee in a training centre (within the meaning of the
Youth
Justice Administration Act 2016
)
(2) Section 5AA(1)(k)(ii)—delete subparagraph (ii)
(3) Section 5AA(1)—after paragraph (k) insert:
(ka) in the case of an offence against the person—the victim was, at
the time of the offence, engaged in a prescribed occupation or employment
(whether on a paid or volunteer basis) and the offender committed the offence
knowing the victim to be acting in the course of the victim's official
duties;
5—Amendment
of section 19—Unlawful threats
Section 19(2), penalty provision—delete the penalty provision and
substitute:
Maximum penalty:
(a) for a basic offence—imprisonment for 5 years;
(b) for an aggravated offence (except one to which
paragraph (c)
applies)—imprisonment for 7 years;
(c) for an offence
aggravated by the circumstances referred to in section 5AA(1)(c) or
(ka)—imprisonment for 8 years.
6—Amendment
of section 20—Assault
(1) Section 20(3), penalty provision, (b)—after "paragraph (c)"
insert:
or (d)
(2) Section 20(3), penalty provision—after paragraph (c)
insert:
(d) for an offence aggravated by the circumstances referred to in
section 5AA(1)(c) or (ka)—imprisonment for 4 years.
(3) Section 20(4), penalty provision, (b)—after "paragraph (c)"
insert:
or (d)
(4) Section 20(4), penalty provision—after paragraph (c)
insert:
(d) for an offence aggravated by the circumstances referred to in section
5AA(1)(c) or (ka)—imprisonment for 5 years.
7—Insertion
of sections 20AA and 20AB
After section 20 insert:
20AA—Offences involving use of human biological
material against emergency workers
(1) A person who
commits a prohibited act involving human biological material against a
prescribed emergency worker acting in the course of their duties is guilty of an
offence.
Maximum penalty:
(a) if harm is caused to the prescribed emergency
worker—imprisonment for 5 years;
(b) in any other case—imprisonment for 4 years.
(2) For the purposes of
subsection (1)
, a person commits a prohibited act involving human biological
material against another person (the victim)
if—
(a) the person intentionally causes human biological material to come into
contact with the victim; or
(b) the person threatens (by words or conduct) to cause human biological
material to come into contact with the victim.
(3) In proceedings for an offence against
subsection (1)
, it is a defence for the defendant to prove that the defendant did not
know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the victim was a
prescribed emergency worker.
(4) For the purposes of this section, a person causes human biological
material to come into contact with a victim if the person performs any act
(including, without limiting the generality of this subsection, by spitting or
throwing human biological material at the victim, or deliberately applying human
biological material to their person knowing that the victim is likely to come
into physical contact with the person in the course of their duties) intended or
likely to cause human biological material to come into contact with the
victim.
(5) In this section—
harm means physical or mental harm (whether temporary or
permanent);
human biological material means blood, saliva, semen, faeces
or urine;
prescribed emergency worker means—
(a) a police officer; or
(b) a prison officer; or
(c) an employee in a training centre (within the meaning of the
Youth
Justice Administration Act 2016
); or
(d) a member of the SA Ambulance Service Inc; or
(e) a member of SAMFS, SACFS or SASES; or
(f) a law enforcement officer; or
(g) any other person engaged in an occupation or employment prescribed by
the regulations for the purposes of section 5AA(1)(ka); or
(h) any other person prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of
this paragraph,
whether acting in a paid or voluntary capacity, but does not include a
person, or person of a class, declared by the regulations to be excluded from
the ambit of this definition.
20AB—Alternative verdicts
If—
(a) a jury is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a charge of an
offence against
section 20AA
has been established; but
(b) the Judge has instructed the jury that it is open to the jury on the
evidence to find the defendant guilty of a specified offence against
section 20; and
(c) the jury is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the specified
offence against section 20 has been established,
the jury may return a verdict that the defendant is not guilty of the
offence charged but is guilty of the specified offence against
section 20.
8—Amendment
of section 24—Unlawful threats
Section 24(2), penalty provision—delete the penalty provision and
substitute:
Maximum penalty:
(a) for a basic offence—imprisonment for 5 years;
(b) for an aggravated offence (except one to which
paragraph (c)
applies)—imprisonment for 7 years;
(c) for an offence
aggravated by the circumstances referred to in section 5AA(1)(c) or
(ka)—imprisonment for 8 years.
9—Amendment
of section 29—Acts endangering life or creating risk of serious
harm
Section 29(3), penalty provision—delete the penalty provision and
substitute:
Maximum penalty:
(a) for a basic offence—imprisonment for 5 years;
(b) for an aggravated offence (except one to which
paragraph (c)
applies)—imprisonment for 7 years;
(c) for an offence
aggravated by the circumstances referred to in section 5AA(1)(c) or
(ka)—imprisonment for 8 years.
Part 1—Amendment of Criminal Law (Forensic
Procedures) Act 2007
1—Amendment
of section 20A—Interpretation
Section 20A, definition of prescribed serious
offence—after paragraph (a) insert:
(ab) an offence against section 20AA of the
Criminal
Law Consolidation Act 1935
;
Part 2—Related amendments of Sentencing
Act 2017
2—Amendment
of section 4—Secondary sentencing purposes
Section 4(1)—after paragraph (d) insert:
(da) to deter the defendant and others in the community from harming or
assaulting police and other law enforcement officers, emergency services
workers, and health workers providing or supporting emergency care, (including
prescribed emergency workers within the meaning of section 20AA of the
Criminal
Law Consolidation Act 1935
) who are acting in the course of their official duties;
Part 3—Amendment of Summary Offences
Act 1953
3—Amendment
of section 6—Hindering police
Section 6(1)—delete subsection (1)