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CLAUSE NOTES
Criminal Code Amendment (Bullying) Bill 2019
Part 1 - Preliminary
Clause 1 Short title
Specifies the name of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 Commencement
Provides that the Act commences on Royal Assent.
Part 2 - Criminal Code Act 1924 Amended
Clause 3 Principal Act
Provides that the Principal Act that is being amended in this part is the Criminal
Code Act 1924.
Clause 4 Schedule 1 amended (Criminal Code)
Inserts ‘and Bullying’ in the heading of Chapter XX of Part V to reflect the
changes to s192 to extend the crime of stalking to address bullying behaviours.
Amends the offence of stalking in s192 of the Criminal Code in the following
manner:
Expands the fault element relating to the state of mind of the accused
in s192(1) to include the intention to cause another person:
o extreme humiliation; or
o to engage in self-harm. Self-harm can include aspects of both
physical or mental harm.
Inserts new paragraphs (ea) and (eb) in s192(1) to expand the list of
actions capable of constituting a ‘course of conduct’. These new actions
include behaviours that are often referred to as bullying.
Expands the conduct in paragraph (j) in s192(1) to include acting in
another way that could reasonably be expected to cause the other
person physical or mental harm, including self-harm, or extreme
humiliation.
Changes the charge at s192(1) to ‘stalking and bullying’.
Expands the state of mind of the accused in s192(3) to include ‘extreme
humiliation’ and ‘self-harm’. The Bill provides that in s192(3) where
physical or mental harm, including self-harm, or extreme humiliation is
actually caused, a person is taken to have the intention required if that
person knows, or ought to have known that engaging in the relevant
conduct (pursuing a course of conduct of a kind referred to in s192(1))
would or would be likely to cause the other person physical or mental
harm, including self-harm, or extreme humiliation.
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Inserts a new subsection (5) to provide that a reference to mental harm
in s192 includes a reference to suicidal thoughts.
Inserts a new subsection (6) to provide that the consent of the Director
of Public Prosecutions is required to commence a prosecution for the
offence of ‘stalking and bullying’ against s192.
Inserts a new s462 to provide that the amendments made to s192 by s7 of the
Criminal Code Amendment (Bullying) Act 2019 apply only to offences alleged to
have been committed on or after the commencement of s7 of that Act. The
offence of ‘stalking and bullying’ involves a person pursuing a course of conduct
and the conduct may occur over a number of days. If an offence is alleged to
have been committed between two dates, one before and one after the
commencement of the Criminal Code Amendment (Bullying) Act 2019, the
offence is alleged to have been committed before that commencement.
Amends the list of ‘Crimes for which Offender may be Arrested without
Warrant’ in Appendix A by replacing ‘stalking’ with ‘stalking and bullying’ to
reflect the changes to the offence in s192(1).
Part 3 - Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 Amended
Clause 5 Principal Act
Provides that the Principal Act that is being amended in this part is the
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005.
Clause 6 Schedule 2 amended (Class 2 offences)
Replaces ‘stalking’ with ‘stalking and bullying’ to reflect the change to the charge
at s192(1) in the Criminal Code.
Clause 7 Schedule 3 amended (Class 3 offences)
Replaces ‘stalking’ with ‘stalking and bullying’ to reflect the change to the charge
at s192(1) in the Criminal Code.
Part 4 – Family Violence Act 2004 Amended
Clause 8 Principal Act
Provides that the Principal Act that is being amended is the Family Violence Act
2004.
Clause 9 Section 7 amended (Family violence)
Amends the reference to ‘stalking’ in s7(a)(iv) of the Principal Act to reflect the
change to s192 in the Criminal Code to extend the crime of stalking to address
bullying behaviours.
Part 5 – Justices Act 1959 Amended
Clause 10 Principal Act
Provides that the Principal Act that is being amended is the Justices Act 1959.
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Clause 11 Schedule 3 amended
Removes s192 from the list of offences which can be dealt with summarily in
the Magistrates Court rather than in the Supreme Court if the defendant so
elects under s72(1) of the Justices Act 1959.
Part 6 – Repeal of Act
Clause 12 Repeal of Act
This automatically repeals the amending legislation after the Act commences.
The provisions that the amending legislation inserts into the Principal Acts still
remain in force after the repeal of the Amending Act.
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