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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute
Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Clause Page
1 Purpose 1
2 Commencement 2
3 Principal Act 2
4 Heading to Division 4C of Part I amended 2
5 Statement for this Division 2
6 Definitions 2
7 Section 41K amended 3
8 Section 41L amended 6
9 Issue of search warrant by magistrate 7
10 New section 67 inserted 7
11 Repeal of this Act 8
═════════════
Endnotes 9
1 General information 9
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi
Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
[Assented to ]
The Parliament of Victoria enacts:
1 Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to amend the Summary
Offences Act 1966--
(a) to make the public display or performance of
Nazi gestures an offence; and
(b) to extend the application of the offence of
public display of Nazi symbols.
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
2 Commencement
This Act comes into operation on the day after the
day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
3 Principal Act
In this Act, the Summary Offences Act 1966 is
called the Principal Act.
4 Heading to Division 4C of Part I amended
In the heading to Division 4C of Part I of the
Principal Act, for "of Nazi symbols" substitute
"or performance of Nazi symbols or gestures".
5 Statement for this Division
(1) In section 41I of the Principal Act, for
"Nazi party" substitute "Nazi Party".
(2) At the end of section 41I of the Principal Act
insert the following--
"While the Hakenkreuz is perhaps the most
recognised symbol of the Third Reich,
gestures and other symbols associated with
the regime, including the Nazi salute, also
incite antisemitism and hatred. As with the
Hakenkreuz, the Nazi salute and these other
symbols and gestures used by the Nazi Party
have no place in Victoria and cause harm to
many Victorian communities.".
6 Definitions
(1) In section 41J of the Principal Act insert the
following definitions--
"Nazi gesture means--
(a) a Nazi salute; or
(b) any other gesture used by the Nazi
Party; or
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
(c) a gesture that so nearly resembles a
gesture referred to in paragraph (a)
or (b) that it is likely to be confused
with or mistaken for that gesture;
Nazi Party means the National Socialist German
Workers' Party (NSDAP) and includes, but is
not limited to, the following paramilitary
arms--
(a) the SA (Sturmabteilung);
(b) the SS (Schutzstaffel);
(c) the NSKK (National Socialist Motor
Corps);
(d) the NSFK (National Socialist Flyers
Corps);".
(2) In section 41J of the Principal Act, in the
definition of Nazi symbol--
(a) after paragraph (a) insert--
"(ab) any other symbol used by the Nazi
Party; or";
(b) in paragraph (b), for "the symbol referred to
in paragraph (a)" substitute "a symbol
referred to in paragraph (a) or (ab)".
7 Section 41K amended
(1) In the heading to section 41K of the Principal Act,
for "of Nazi symbols" substitute
"or performance of Nazi symbols or gestures".
(2) In section 41K(1) of the Principal Act--
(a) after "Nazi symbol" insert "or Nazi gesture";
(b) in paragraph (a), for "is associated with Nazi
ideology" substitute "or gesture is a Nazi
symbol or Nazi gesture".
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
(3) For section 41K(2) of the Principal Act
substitute--
"(1A) A person must not intentionally perform a
Nazi gesture if--
(a) the person knows, or ought reasonably
to know, that the gesture is a Nazi
gesture; and
(b) the performance--
(i) occurs in a public place, a
non-Government school or a
post-secondary education
institution; or
(ii) occurs in sight of a person who is
in a public place, a
non-Government school or a
post-secondary education
institution.
Penalty: 120 penalty units or imprisonment
for 12 months or both.
(2) A person does not contravene subsection (1)
or (1A) if the display or performance was
engaged in reasonably and in good faith--
(a) for a genuine academic, artistic,
educational or scientific purpose; or
Examples
1 A person performs the Nazi salute during
a theatre performance.
2 A bookshop displays for sale an
educational textbook on World War II,
which has a Hakenkreuz on the cover.
3 A teacher shows a film as part of a history
class in which the SS symbol can be seen.
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
(b) in making or publishing a fair and
accurate report of any event or matter
of public interest.
(2A) A person does not contravene subsection (1)
if the display of the Nazi symbol was
engaged in reasonably and in good faith for a
genuine cultural or religious purpose.
Examples
1 A person of Hindu faith displays a swastika in
the front window of the person's shop as a
symbol of good luck.
2 A person of Jain faith draws a swastika on the
person's new vehicle before using it as a symbol
of good fortune.
3 A person of Buddhist faith displays a sculpture
of Buddha with a swastika on the chest, as a
symbol of auspiciousness, at a Buddhist temple.
4 The floor of a shop is patterned with swastikas in
the hope of bringing prosperity.
5 A member of the Hindu community wears a
T-shirt in public with a swastika on the front as a
symbol of peace.
(2B) A person does not contravene subsection (1)
if the display of the Nazi symbol or the Nazi
gesture was engaged in reasonably and in
good faith in opposition to fascism, Nazism,
neo-Nazism or other related ideologies.
Examples
1 A person who displays a flag of Nazi Germany
with a marking through it to signal the person's
opposition to Nazism.
2 A person participating in a protest who displays
a Nazi symbol on a placard which also contains
words stating opposition to fascism.
3 A person who displays the pink triangle used by
LGBTIQ+ communities.".
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
(4) In section 41K(3) of the Principal Act, after
"Nazi symbol" insert "or Nazi gesture".
(5) In section 41K(4) of the Principal Act, for "if the
display" substitute "or (1A) if the display or
performance".
(6) In section 41K(5) of the Principal Act--
(a) for "if the display" substitute "or (1A) if the
display or performance";
(b) after "offences" insert "or the giving of
evidence in a proceeding in a court or
tribunal".
(7) In section 41K(6) of the Principal Act, after
"subsection (1)" insert "or (1A)".
8 Section 41L amended
(1) In the heading to section 41L of the Principal Act,
after "Nazi symbol" insert "or Nazi gesture".
(2) For section 41L(1) and (2) of the Principal Act
substitute--
"(1) A police officer may give a direction to a
person to remove from display a Nazi
symbol or Nazi gesture if the police officer
reasonably believes the person is committing
an offence against section 41K(1) by
displaying the Nazi symbol or Nazi gesture.
(2) A police officer may give a direction to a
person to remove from display a Nazi
symbol or Nazi gesture if--
(a) the person is the owner or occupier of a
property on which the Nazi symbol or
Nazi gesture is being displayed; and
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
(b) the police officer reasonably believes
an offence is being committed against
section 41K(1) by the display of that
Nazi symbol or Nazi gesture.".
(3) In section 41L(4)(a) of the Principal Act, after
"Nazi symbol" insert "or Nazi gesture".
9 Issue of search warrant by magistrate
In section 41M of the Principal Act, for
"section 41K" substitute "section 41K(1)".
10 New section 67 inserted
At the end of Part III of the Principal Act insert--
"67 Transitional provision--Summary
Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute
Prohibition) Act 2023
(1) Division 4C of Part I as amended by the
Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi
Salute Prohibition) Act 2023 applies only
to offences alleged to have been committed
on or after the commencement of that Act.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), if an
offence is alleged to have been committed
between 2 dates, one before and one after the
commencement of the Summary Offences
Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition)
Act 2023, the offence is alleged to have been
committed before that commencement.".
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
11 Repeal of this Act
This Act is repealed on the first anniversary of
the day after the day on which it receives the
Royal Assent.
Note
The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of
the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
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Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Act 2023
No. of 2023
Endnotes
Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current
authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
Minister's second reading speech--
Legislative Assembly:
Legislative Council:
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the
Summary Offences Act 1966 to make the public display or performance
of Nazi gestures an offence, to extend the application of the offence of
public display of Nazi symbols and for other purposes."
By Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria.
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