South Australia introduces “toughest Graffiti Regime” says SA Attorney

The Graffiti Control (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2013 which received assent on 14 February 2013 is claimed to be the toughest law on graffiti control in the State's history.

By way of a media release the South Australian Attorney General (the AG) has stated that with these amendments “. . . the Government introduced the toughest regime South Australia has seen on graffiti,” also lamenting that it had taken a year to get the legislation passed.

New regime to crackdown on costly graffiti

Commenting further, the AG stated: “Graffiti causes tremendous cost and grief to Councils, small businesses and home owners, so I am pleased that we will now have a new regime to crack down on this idiotic behaviour.”

Controversial Licence Penalty Provisions

A major “stumbling block’ that had held up the passing of the legislation according to the AG’s media release were the provisions to be inserted in the legislation (see new ss 10A–10C) creating powers to cancel or suspend the driver’s licence of an offender. This issue being resolved by way of a “deadlock conference” wherein the opposition agreed to the Government’s driver’s licence penalty. 

Other Changes

Other changes to the Graffiti Control Act 2001 as a result of the new regime include:

• Higher penalties of $7500 or 18 months’ imprisonment for marking graffiti on memorials, cemeteries or places of worship or religious significance.

• Introducing a new offence of supplying certain graffiti implements to a minor, complementing a ban on the sale of graffiti implements to minors.

• Introducing a new offence of advertising a graffiti implement in a manner that is likely to incite or promote unlawful graffiti.

The new laws whilst enacted, are not yet operational and will come into effect on a date or dates to be proclaimed.

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