Graffiti offences are prevalent in our community. As a result, Parliament has created specific legislation for any graffiti related offences. This is known as the Graffiti Control Act 2008.

The purpose of this Act is to balance the needs of the community with rehabilitating offenders. As a result, the Act sets out a number of different options in relation to sentencing.

These include the following.

Compensation orders

A compensation order can be made for the cost of repairing the damage caused by graffiti, such as the costs associated with removing the marking. However, the amount cannot exceed $2,200 for each offence.

No imprisonment for first time offenders

First time offenders are unable to be sentenced to imprisonment. A court can only sentence a repeat offender to jail if they have previously been convicted on so many occasions that they are a serious and persistent offender.

Graffiti clean up

A clean up order can be made, which allows offenders to pay off court fines by completing graffiti clean up work with Community Corrections. Each hour of work will count for payment of $30 of a fine. However, this relates to payment of fines only, and does not apply to compensation orders or court fees.

Drivers licence orders

For Learner and P1 licence holders, a court can extend the time period under which a person is subject to the provisional licence for up to 6 months.

For full licence holders, a court can alter the demerit points for 6 months, meaning the person cannot exceed the threshold amount of 4 demerit points during this period. If they do, they will lose their licence.

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