New Penalties for Damaging or Desecrating Police Memorials
Summary Offences Amendment (Police Memorial Offences) Bill 2025
Independent BillLegislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Introduced by: The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP); Roy Butler MP (IND)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Roy Butler IND
“I wish I had more time to reflect on the comments of the members who made contributions. Between 2009 and 2019, I worked as the manager of Western Region police. Back then, my region covered 64 per cent of the State; now it covers 72 per cent of the State.”
News articles and press releases
Summary Offences Amendment (Police Memorial Offences) Bill 2025
Mr ROY BUTLER, Member for Barwon — 2025-11-20
In practical terms, the bill defines what a police memorial is within the Summary Offences Act and, like similar legislation for war memorials, makes it an offence for a person to wilfully damage or deface these protected places. It also makes it an offence for a person to commit a nuisance or an offensive act in, on or in connection with a police memorial. As it stands, people can be prosecuted for damaging any public property, but this bill will make police memorials protected places on par with war memorials. This will allow a judge to rule that a person’s damage or disrespect to the memorial is driven by motives beyond just mindless destruction of public property and could, or should, attract a higher penalty.