Summary Offences Act 1966

• 1 Short title, commencement and division

Part I - Provisions applicable throughout Victoria

Division 1 - Public order

Division 1A - Move-on powers

• 6 Direction to move on

Division 1B - Councils to consult with Victoria Police

• 6A Consultation with Victoria Police before issuing permit to facilitate public protest

Division 1C - Public protests

Subdivision (1) - Preliminary

• 6B Definition of public protest

Subdivision (2) - Face coverings at public protests

• 6C Objectives of Subdivision
• 6D Direction to remove face covering worn at public protest

Subdivision (3) - Locking or securing persons, surfaces and other things at public protests

• 6E Objectives of Subdivision
• 6F Locking or securing one person to another person or a thing at public protest
• 6G Seizure of container or other thing
• 6H Issue of search warrant by magistrate

Division 2 - General Offences tending to Personal Injury, or Damage to Property, &c.

• 7 Offences tending to personal injury or damage to property

Offences relating to Horse-drawn Vehicles, Public

• 8 Offences relating to horse-drawn vehicles, public vehicles, animals etc.

Destroying, Damaging or Injuring Property—Trespass

• 9 Wilful destruction, damage etc. of property

Bill Posting, &c.

• 10 Posting bills etc. and defacing property

Fire

• 11 Lighting of fires in the open air

Obscene, Threatening, Insulting, Abusive, &c. Words and

• 17 Obscene, indecent, threatening language and behaviour etc. in public
• 17AA Threatening, indecent, offensive or insulting conduct towards an applicable customer-facing worker
• 17A Disorderly conduct
• 19 Sexual exposure

Conduct of Refreshment Houses

• 20 Improperly conducting refreshment house

Interfering with religious assembly

• 21 Disturbing religious assembly
• 21A Assaulting person attending religious assembly
• 21B Engaging in conduct to intimidate, menace or harass persons attending religious assembly
• 21C Engaging in conduct to hinder or obstruct persons attending religious assembly

Entry of Police into Houses, Buildings, &c.

• 22 Entry of police

Assaults

• 23 Common assault
• 24 Aggravated assault
• 25 Conviction or dismissal a bar to criminal proceedings

Property Suspected to be Stolen, &c.

• 26 Unexplained possession of personal property reasonably suspected to be stolen
• 27 Search warrant for skins of cattle, goods from wreck etc.
• 28 Recovery of possession of stolen cattle
• 29 Recovery of price paid for stolen cattle
• 30 Possession of skin or carcass of stolen cattle
• 31 Possession of property from wrecks
• 32 Offering property from wrecks for sale
• 33 Examination of persons through whose hands property has passed
• 34 Retaining or disposing of property as workmen etc.

Passing Valueless Cheques

• 37 Obtaining goods etc. by valueless cheque

Division 3 - Illegal taking or using of vehicles

• 38 Taking or using vehicle without consent of owner etc.

Division 3A - Commercial sexual services

• 38A Definitions
• 38B Commercial sexual services at or near certain places
• 38C Offence to allow child on premises used for commercial sexual services
• 38D Power to require person to state age

Division 4 - Advertising of commercial sexual services

• 38E Definition
• 38F Advertising controls for commercial sexual services
• 39 Advertising regulations

Division 4A - Observation of genital or anal region

• 40 Definitions
• 41 Location immaterial
• 41A Observation of genital or anal region
• 41D Exceptions to offence against section 41A
• 41E Search warrant
• 41F Seizure of things not mentioned in the warrant
• 41G Announcement before entry

Division 4B - Food or drink spiking

• 41H Food or drink spiking

Division 4C - Public display or performance of Nazi symbols or gestures

• 41I Statement for this Division
• 41J Definitions
• 41K Public display or performance of Nazi symbols or gestures
• 41L Direction to remove Nazi symbol or Nazi gesture from public display
• 41M Issue of search warrant by magistrate

Division 4D - Public display of symbol of terrorist organisation

• 41N Objectives of Division
• 41O Definitions and interpretation
• 41P Symbol of an organisation
• 41Q Public display of terrorist organisation symbol
• 41R Direction to remove terrorist organisation symbol from public display
• 41S Seizure of thing bearing a terrorist organisation symbol
• 41T Issue of search warrant by magistrate

Division 5 - Tattooing of juveniles

• 42 Tattooing of juveniles

Division 6 - Body piercing

• 43 Definitions
• 43A Application
• 44 Intimate body piercing of persons under 18
• 44A Non-intimate body piercing of persons under 16

Division 7 - Homing pigeons

• 45 Definition
• 46 Destruction of homing pigeons
• 47 Compensation
• 48 Entering in pursuit of homing pigeons
• 49 Existing remedies preserved

Division 8 - Other offences

• 49A Begging or gathering alms
• 49B Loitering with intent to commit an indictable offence
• 49C Being disguised with unlawful intent
• 49D Possessing housebreaking implements
• 49E Escaping from lawful custody
• 49F Contravening certain conduct conditions of bail undertakings

Part II - Provisions applicable to special localities Matches

• 50 Prohibition of use of certain kinds of matches in specified localities in certain months

Trespass for certain Purposes

• 50A Trespass—land used for primary production

Part III - Supplementary

Division 1 - Assaulting emergency workers, custodial workers, local authority staff and health practitioners

• 51 Assaulting, etc. emergency workers, custodial officers, youth justice custodial workers or local authority staff on duty
• 51A Assaulting registered health practitioners

Division 2 - Assaulting applicable customer-facing workers

• 51B Definitions
• 51C Meaning of applicable customer-facing worker
• 51D Assaulting applicable customer-facing workers
• 51E Review of certain amendments

Division 3 - Miscellaneous offences

• 52 Besetting premises
• 52A Offence to harass witnesses etc.
• 53 Making false reports to police etc.

Division 4 - Liability of directors and masters

• 54 Offence by body corporate
• 55 Liability of masters

Division 5 - Procedure

• 56 Who may file charge-sheet
• 57 Neglect to prosecute
• 59 Procedure
• 60 Offences of more serious nature not to be dealt with under this Act

Division 6 - Infringements

• 60AA Power to serve infringement notice
• 60AB Infringement penalty

Division 7 - Forfeiture

• 60A Forfeiture of weapons or instruments
• 60B When certain seized things become eligible to be collected, and by whom
• 60C Collection of seized thing from police station
• 60D Forfeiture of seized thing that is not collected
• 60E Forfeiture of seized thing in other circumstances
• 61 Proceeds of sale of forfeited property to be paid to Consolidated Fund

Division 8 - Regulations

• 61A Regulations

Division 9 - Transitional provisions

• 62 Transitional provisions
• 63 Savings and validation provision—Summary Offences and Control of Weapons Acts Amendment Act 2009—lodgeable infringement offences
• 64 Transitional provision—Children and Justice Legislation Amendment (Youth Justice Reform) Act 2017
• 65 Transitional provision—Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022
• 66 Transitional provision—Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022
• 67 Transitional provision—Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
• Schedule 1 - Scheduled public places