Victorian Current Acts

HERITAGE ACT 2017 - SECT 123

    (1)     A person commits an offence if—

        (a)     the person knowingly or negligently—

              (i)     defaces, damages or otherwise interferes with an archaeological site; or

              (ii)     carries out an act that is likely to endanger an archaeological site; and

        (b)     the person is not—

              (i)     permitted to do so by a determination under section 123A; or

              (ii)     authorised to do so by a consent issued under this Part; and

        (c)     the archaeological site—

              (i)     is recorded in the Heritage Inventory; or

              (ii)     is not recorded in the Heritage Inventory and is not—

    (A)     a site which is determined by the Executive Director to have low archaeological value; or

    (B)     a site which has been removed from the Heritage Inventory under section 119; and

        (d)     the archaeological site is not a registered archaeological place or a registered archaeological artefact.

    (2)     A person commits an offence if—

        (a)     the person knowingly—

              (i)     uncovers or exposes land for the purpose of uncovering or discovering an archaeological site; or

              (ii)     disturbs or excavates land for the purpose of uncovering or discovering an archaeological site; and

        (b)     the person is not—

              (i)     permitted to do so by a determination under section 123A; or

              (ii)     authorised to do so by a consent issued under this Part; and

        (c)     the archaeological site—

              (i)     is recorded in the Heritage Inventory; or

              (ii)     is not recorded in the Heritage Inventory and is not—

    (A)     a site which is determined by the Executive Director to have low archaeological value; or

    (B)     a site which has been removed from the Heritage Inventory under section 119; and

        (d)     the site is not a registered archaeological place or a registered archaeological artefact.

    (3)     A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) or (2) is liable to—

        (a)     in the case of a natural person, 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both;

        (b)     in the case of a body corporate, 1200 penalty units.

Note

Offences apply in relation to registered archaeological places and registered archaeological artefacts under sections 87, 88 and 89.

S. 123A inserted by No. 5/2023 s. 88.