Victorian Current Acts

WATER ACT 1989 - SECT 75A

    (1)     A person must not knowingly carry out any regulated activity without being authorised to do so by or under this or any other Act, being an activity that results in—

        (a)     land, works or water being seriously damaged; or

        (b)     another person suffering substantial economic loss.

Penalty:     For an individual, 10 years imprisonment or 1200 penalty units or both;

For a body corporate, 6000 penalty units.

Note to s. 75A(1) inserted by No. 48/2021 s. 80(1).

Note

Section 297 applies to an offence against this subsection.

    (2)     A person must not recklessly carry out any regulated activity without being authorised to do so by or under this or any other Act, being an activity that results in—

        (a)     land, works or water being seriously damaged; or

        (b)     another person suffering substantial economic loss.

Penalty:     For an individual, 5 years imprisonment or 600 penalty units or both;

For a body corporate, 3000 penalty units.

Note to s. 75A(2) inserted by No. 48/2021 s. 80(2).

Note

Section 297 applies to an offence against this subsection.

    (3)     A person must not carry out any regulated activity without being authorised to do so by or under this or any other Act.

Penalty:     For an individual, 240 penalty units;

For a body corporate, 1200 penalty units.

Note to s. 75A(3) inserted by No. 48/2021 s. 80(3).

Note

Section 297 applies to an offence against this subsection.

    (4)     A person does not commit an offence under subsection (1), (2) or (3) if the person—

        (a)     performs work on a bore that is necessary—

              (i)     to prevent the immediate waste, misuse or pollution of groundwater; or

              (ii)     for the purpose of obtaining water for domestic and stock use; and

        (b)     gives notice to the Minister of the work within 7 days after starting it.

    (5)     In this section—

"regulated activity" means any of the following—

        (a)     the obstruction of, or interference with, a waterway;

        (b)     the construction, alteration, operation, removal or decommissioning of any works on a waterway;

        (c)     the obstruction of, or interference with, any works on a waterway;

        (d)     the erosion or damaging of the surrounds of a waterway;

        (e)     the construction, alteration, operation, removal or decommissioning of a private dam within the meaning of section 67(1A);

        (f)     the construction, deepening, enlarging or alteration of a bore;

        (g)     the interfering with or the damaging or destroying of a bore or ancillary works.

Division 3—Underground disposal