New farm trespassing laws

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Consultation has concluded

Consultation Process

Now Closed

This online engagement was hosted on YourSAy from 3 September 2019 to 4 October 2019. Below is a record of the engagement.

Have your say on the proposed changes to the trespassing laws aimed at protecting our state's farmers and food producers.

What’s being decided?

We have reviewed our state's trespassing laws to ensure they adequately protect farmers and food producers from protestors and animal rights activists who cause damage to farming businesses.

While our state has encountered low levels of organised protest activity compared with other states, strengthening the laws and creating stronger deterrents is

Consultation Process

Now Closed

This online engagement was hosted on YourSAy from 3 September 2019 to 4 October 2019. Below is a record of the engagement.

Have your say on the proposed changes to the trespassing laws aimed at protecting our state's farmers and food producers.

What’s being decided?

We have reviewed our state's trespassing laws to ensure they adequately protect farmers and food producers from protestors and animal rights activists who cause damage to farming businesses.

While our state has encountered low levels of organised protest activity compared with other states, strengthening the laws and creating stronger deterrents is crucial to protecting our farming community.

We are now proposing reform contained in a draft Summary Offences Amendment Bill focussed on:

  • creating a new offence specifically for farm trespassing
  • increasing penalties for existing farm-related offences.

South Australia has a rich and dynamic agricultural and food production industry, and these measures aim to better protect farmers and other food processing businesses.

The proposed changes are aimed at ensuring farmers have adequate legal protections as well as bringing us in line with other states around Australia.

Get involved

To have your say, review the proposed changes and read through the draft Bill and:

  • join the online discussion

How can your input influence the decision?

We want to hear your feedback on the proposed changes to trespassing laws to ensure they strike the right balance in the community between people’s right to protest and free speech and the need to ensure adequate legal protections for this important part of our economy.

Your feedback will ultimately inform the Bill to be introduced into Parliament.

What are the next steps?

Your feedback will be reviewed and considered for the final draft of the Bill. The Bill will then be introduced to Parliament for consideration later this year.

A copy of the final Bill will be published on this site once it has been introduced to Parliament.

Closing date: 5pm, Friday 4 October 2019




Background

Now Closed

This online engagement was hosted on YourSAy from 3 September 2019 to 4 October 2019. Below is a record of the engagement.

Why do we need these laws?

Recently in other states, animal rights activitsts have escalated their protest activities by trespassing on farming properties - attempting to highlight potential animal cruelty, and in some cases, removing animals from properties and causing additional damage.

While South Australia has encountered low levels of organised protest activity compared with other states, strengthening the laws and creating stronger deterrents is crucial to protect the farming community.

Our agricultural and food production industry is one of the largest contributors to South Australia's economy and it's important there are adequate legal protections for these businesses.

Currently, South Australia's trespassing provisions relate to any premises and don't adequately cover additional biosecurity and food contamination risks likely to occur on farms.

Amending our legislation will also bring us in line with other states around the country. In June, Attorneys-General from across Australia met in Adelaide and agreed to address this in their own jurisdictions.

Consultation has concluded
  • What are the changes?

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    Now Closed

    This online engagement was hosted on YourSAy from 3 September 2019 to 4 October 2019. Below is a record of the engagement.

    New aggravated farm trespass

    The government is proposing to create a new offence, specifically for farm trespassing. The offence would penalise a person who trespasses on production land and:

    • interferes with the conduct of the farming activities, or
    • does anything that gives rise to a serious risk to the safety of the person or any other person on the land, or
    • introduces or increases a risk of biosecurity or food contamination.

    The new offence would have a focus on actual or potential biosecurity and food contamination risks, and damage to the farming enterprise or wider markets and supply chains.

    The maximum penalty for the aggravated farm trespass offence would be $10,000 or 12 months imprisonment, along with compensation to the farmer.

    Increasing penalties for existing provisions

    A number of provisions for trespassing already exist under the Summary Offences Act 1953 and the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935.

    Under the Summary Offences Act, the fine for trespassing is $2500. To further deter trespassing on primary production land, the penalty is proposed to be increased to $5,000 where trespassing occurs on a farm.

    Other farm-related offences are also proposed to be changed. The penalties for interfering with farm gates and disturbing farm animals would increase.

    • Interfering with a farm gate from $750 to $1500
    • Disturbing farm animals from $750 to $2500 or a prison term of 6 months.