Trading with a Pirate is Illegal: 13 Lesser-Known Australian Laws
‘It would not be a laughing matter if you were charged with any of these offences and it went to court,’ a spokesperson for Slater and Gordon lawyers said.
Did you know that doing any business or trade with pirates in the state of Victoria can land you in jail for up to 10 years?
How about this one?
Obstructing or disturbing a wedding, funeral, or religious service in South Australia is an offence that carries a maximum fine of $10,000 (US$6,397.54) or two years imprisonment.
Or this one … in Western Australia, challenging another person to a duel is punishable by a maximum fine of $6,000 (US$3,837.57) or two years imprisonment.
These are just some of the most obscure and peculiar laws that many citizens may not have heard of. Yet, as comical as it may be, they are punishable by law for a reason.
To understand why Australia has these laws, we must look back at why they were enacted in the first place—and subsequently forgotten and unrepealed.
Related Stories
An example is the potato law in Western Australia, which limits the possession of potatoes to 50 kilograms. This law was introduced in 1946, when post-war food security and the Great Depression were pressing political issues.
Another example is the sale of fridges in South Australia, where it is illegal to sell a fridge with a capacity of 42.5 litres or more—unless all of the doors can be easily opened from the inside.
“There must have been enough people, or even children, being trapped in fridges when the SA laws were enacted in 1953 (before modern fridge seals were common) for the state government to regulate these offences,” a spokesperson for Slater and Gordon Lawyers told The Epoch Times.
“As to why they’re still on the books, you can easily imagine how reviewing offences about flying kites and selling fridges is not really a priority for incoming governments.”
While it is likely that some of these offences have not been used for many years, prosecution for these offences is a real possibility.
“It would not be a laughing matter if you were charged with any of these offences and it went to court, because a judge would be bound to apply the law as it is written,” the spokesperson said.
The Complete List:
- It is illegal to fly a kite to “the annoyance of any person” in a public place in Victoria. Under Section 4 of the Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic), it is also illegal for a person “who plays at a game to the annoyance of any person.” The offence carries with it five penalty points ($961.55).
- Drivers in New South Wales can be fined up to $2,200 for not taking enough care to avoid splashing mud on public bus passengers. While this law was repealed in 2020, it required drivers to take due care when driving within the vicinity of a bus that carried passengers.
…
The contents do not constitute legal advice, are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.
