Criminal Code Amendment Act 2024 00-00-00 Xml

Western Australia

Criminal Code Amendment Act 2024

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

1.Short title2

2.Commencement2

Part 2 — The Criminal Code amended

3.Act amended3

4.Section 318B inserted3

318B.Assault on retail workers3

5.Section 426 amended4

6.Section 426A inserted5

426A.When summary conviction penalty under s. 426(4) does not apply5

Part 3 — Other Acts amended

7.Bail Act 1982 amended7

8.Sentencing Act 1995 amended7

9.Young Offenders Act 1994 amended7

Western Australia

Criminal Code Amendment Act 2024

No. 16 of 2024

An Act to amend The Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

[Assented to 14 May 2024]

The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:

Part 1 — Preliminary

1.Short title

This is the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2024.

2.Commencement

This Act comes into operation as follows —

(a)Part 1 — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;

(b)the rest of the Act — on a day fixed by proclamation, and different days may be fixed for different provisions.

Part 2 — The Criminal Code amended

3.Act amended

This Part amends The Criminal Code.

4.Section 318B inserted

At the end of Part V Chapter XXX insert:

318B.Assault on retail workers

(1)In this section —

contractor, of a business, includes —

(a)an employee of a contractor of the business; and

(b)a subcontractor, and an employee of a subcontractor, of a contractor of the business; and

(c)a person, and an employee of a person, with whom a subcontractor specified in paragraph (b) contracts;

retail worker means a person who is a worker for a business that —

(a)operates a shop; or

(b)occupies part of a shop (for example, part of a department store);

shop means the whole or any part of a building, place, stall, structure, tent, vehicle or yard in which goods are sold by retail, including by auction;

worker, for a business, means a person who performs duties for the business, other than as a contractor of the business who is not subject to the control and direction of the operator of the business in the performance of their duties.

(2)A person commits a crime if the person assaults a retail worker —

(a)while the worker is performing their duties, as a retail worker, in an area of a shop open to the public; or

(b)in consequence of, or in response to, anything done by the worker while performing their duties, as a retail worker, in an area of a shop open to the public.

Penalty for this subsection:

(a)if immediately before, during or immediately after the commission of the offence —

(i)the offender is armed with a dangerous or offensive weapon or instrument, imprisonment for 10 years; or

(ii)the offender is in company with 1 or more other persons, imprisonment for 10 years;

(b)in any other case, imprisonment for 7 years.

Summary conviction penalty for this subsection in a case to which the Penalty paragraph (b) applies: imprisonment for 3 years and a fine of $36 000.

5.Section 426 amended

After section 426(4) insert:

(5)Subsection (4) is subject to section 426A.

6.Section 426A inserted

After section 426 insert:

426A.When summary conviction penalty under s. 426(4) does not apply

(1)In this section —

conviction —

(a)includes a finding or admission of guilt despite a conviction not being recorded under the Young Offenders Act 1994 section 55; but

(b)does not include a conviction that has been set aside or quashed;

stealing offence means —

(a)an offence under section 378; or

(b)an offence of attempting to commit, or inciting another person to commit, an offence under section 378.

(2)This section applies if a person —

(a)is convicted of a stealing offence (the current stealing offence); and

(b)has committed, and been convicted of, at least 2 offences that are also stealing offences (each a previous stealing offence) within the period of 1 year before the person’s conviction for the current stealing offence.

(3)The summary conviction penalty in section 426(4) does not apply in relation to the conviction of the person for the current stealing offence.

(4)For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) —

(a)convictions for 2 or more previous stealing offences committed on the same day are to be treated as a single conviction; and

(b)each previous stealing offence is to be counted regardless of whether —

(i)the conviction for the offence was recorded before or after the date on which the current stealing offence, or any other previous stealing offence, was committed; or

(ii)the conviction for the offence has been counted under this section in relation to a different stealing offence.

Part 3 — Other Acts amended

7.Bail Act 1982 amended

(1)This section amends the Bail Act 1982.

(2)In Schedule 2 item 1 after the row relating to s. 318 insert:

	s. 318B	Assault on retail workers

8.Sentencing Act 1995 amended

(1)This section amends the Sentencing Act 1995.

(2)In Schedule 1A Part 1 item 1 after the row relating to s. 318 insert:

	s. 318B	Assault on retail workers

9.Young Offenders Act 1994 amended

(1)This section amends the Young Offenders Act 1994.

(2)In Schedule 2 item 1 after the row relating to s. 318 insert:

	s. 318B	Assault on retail workers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.

By Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer