Western Australian Numbered Acts

TERRORISM (PREVENTATIVE DETENTION) ACT 2006 (NO. 42 OF 2006) - SECT 6

6 .         Meaning of “terrorist act”

        (1)         For the purposes of this Act, an action or threat of action is a "terrorist act "if —

            (a)         the action falls within subsection (2) and does not fall within subsection (3);

            (b)         the action is done or the threat is made with the intention of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause; and

            (c)         the action is done or the threat is made with the intention of —

                  (i)         coercing, or influencing by intimidation, the government of the Commonwealth or a State, Territory or foreign country, or of part of a State, Territory or foreign country; or

                  (ii)         intimidating the public, or a section of the public.

        (2)         Action falls within this subsection if it —

            (a)         causes a person’s death;

            (b)         causes serious physical harm to a person;

            (c)         endangers a person’s life, other than the life of the person doing the act;

            (d)         creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public;

            (e)         causes serious damage to property; or

            (f)         seriously interferes with, seriously disrupts, or destroys, an electronic system including, but not limited to —

                  (i)         an information system;

                  (ii)         a telecommunications system;

                  (iii)         a financial system;

                  (iv)         a system used for the delivery of essential government services;

                  (v)         a system used for, or by, an essential public utility;

                  (vi)         a system used for, or by, a transport system.

        (3)         Action falls within this subsection if it —

            (a)         is advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial action; and

            (b)         is not intended —

                  (i)         to cause a person’s death;

                  (ii)         to cause serious physical harm to a person;

                  (iii)         to endanger a person’s life, other than the life of the person doing the act;

                  (iv)         to create a serious risk to the health or safety of the public.

        (4)         In this section —

            (a)         a reference to any person or property is a reference to any person or property wherever situated, within or outside the State (including within or outside Australia); and

            (b)         a reference to the public includes a reference to the public of another State or Territory or of a country other than Australia.

        Note.         This section is consistent with the definition of “terrorist act” used in Part 5.3 of the Criminal Code of the Commonwealth.