New South Wales Consolidated Acts

SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT 1988 - SECT 11A

11A Violent disorder

(1) If 3 or more persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violence and the conduct of them (taken together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his or her personal safety, each of the persons using or threatening unlawful violence is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--10 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months.

(2) It is immaterial whether or not the 3 or more persons use or threaten unlawful violence simultaneously.

(3) No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene.

(4) An offence under subsection (1) may be committed in private as well as in public places.

(5) A person is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) only if he or she intends to use or threaten violence or is aware that his or her conduct may be violent or threaten violence.

(6) Subsection (5) does not affect the determination for the purposes of subsection (1) of the number of persons who use or threaten violence.

(7) In this section--

"violence" means any violent conduct, so that--

(a) it includes violent conduct towards property as well as violent conduct towards persons, and

(b) it is not restricted to conduct causing or intended to cause injury or damage but includes any other violent conduct (for example, throwing at or towards a person a missile of a kind capable of causing injury which does not hit or falls short).