{"id":"armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979","name":"Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979","slug":"armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29995,"registerId":"wa-armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nArmorial Bearings Protection Act 1979\n\nWestern Australia\n\nArmorial Bearings Protection Act 1979\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Improper use of Royal or other Arms an offence 1\n\n4. Penalties in case of bodies corporate 2\n\n5. Consent of Attorney General to proceedings 3\n\n6. Other proceedings not affected 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nArmorial Bearings Protection Act 1979\n\nAn Act to prohibit the unauthorised use of the Royal, State or other Arms and for other incidental purposes.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation 1.\n\n##### 3. Improper use of Royal or other Arms an offence\n\n(1) Every person who, directly or indirectly, without the previous written authority of Her Majesty, or of any member of the Royal Family, or of any Government Department in the United Kingdom, or of the Governor‑General or Governor or other person administering the Government of any part of Her Majesty’s Dominions (exclusive of the United Kingdom), or of any Government Department in any such part of Her Majesty’s Dominions, or without the authority of any Act or Ordinance in force in any part of Her Majesty’s Dominions (including the United Kingdom) —\n\n(a) prints, publishes, manufactures or uses or causes to be printed, published, manufactured or used; or\n\n(b) sends, distributes or delivers to, or serves on, or causes to be sent, distributed or delivered to, or served on, any person,\n\nany document, material or object in or upon which the Royal Arms or the Arms of any part of Her Majesty’s Dominions, or Arms or any token insignia or emblem so nearly resembling the Royal Arms or the Arms of any part of Her Majesty’s Dominions as to be likely to deceive or be capable of being mistaken for the same, appear —\n\n(c) for any commercial purpose; or\n\n(d) in such a manner as to suggest that the document, material or object has official significance,\n\nshall be guilty of an offence and is liable to a penalty of $500 but this subsection shall not apply to or in relation to the promotion, sale or use of any document, material or object printed, published or manufactured with the authority referred to in this subsection.\n\n(2) In any proceedings in respect of an offence under this section the onus of proving that authority has been duly given shall lie upon the person charged.\n\n(3) In any charge of an offence under this section it shall be sufficient to set forth that the act was done without due authority instead of setting forth in the words of subsection (1) that the act was done without the authority referred to in that subsection.\n\n(4) In any proceedings under this section, if any person is named on any paper, writing or object mentioned in this section in such manner as to imply that he is the printer, publisher, manufacturer, seller or sender of the same, that person shall *prima facie* be deemed to be the person who printed, published, manufactured, sold or sent that paper, writing or object.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 84 of 2004 s. 80.]\n\n##### 4. Penalties in case of bodies corporate\n\nWithout affecting any other liability of any person under this Act or otherwise, a company or other body corporate shall be liable to the penalty for an offence under this Act as if it were a private person; and every person who, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that company or other body corporate, aided, abetted, counselled or procured the commission of that offence shall also be liable to the penalty for that offence.\n\n##### 5. Consent of Attorney General to proceedings\n\nNo proceedings for an offence against this Act shall be taken by any person without the consent in writing of the Attorney General.\n\n##### 6. Other proceedings not affected\n\nNothing in this Act shall be held to affect any other proceeding, civil or criminal, which might have been taken against any person if this Act had not been passed, but a person shall not be punished for the same offence under any such proceeding and under this Act.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979* | 108 of 1979 | 17 Dec 1979 | 1 Feb 1980 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 1 Feb 1980 p. 283) |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979* as at 7 Nov 2003** | | | |\n| *Criminal Procedure and Appeals (Consequential and Other Provisions) Act 2004* s. 80 | 84 of 2004 | 16 Dec 2004 | 2 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7129 (correction in *Gazette* 7 Jan 2005 p. 53)) |\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: preventing unauthorised commercial or deceptive use of royal and state armorial bearings. The 2004 amendment was purely procedural (updating court procedure references), not substantive. The Act has not expanded beyond its narrow remit of protecting official heraldic symbols."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 short sections total","Single offence provision with straightforward elements (authority, commercial purpose/official appearance, prohibited acts)","Minimal defined terms (no interpretation section)","Simple penalty structure ($500 fine, corporate liability in one section)","Only one procedural requirement (Attorney General consent)","Single amendment in 2004 (minor procedural change to section 3)","No cross-references to other Acts except general savings clause in section 6"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law makes it illegal to use royal coats of arms (crests), state emblems, or anything that looks confusingly similar to them without written permission from the relevant authority.\n\n**What it covers:**\n- The Royal Arms (the official coat of arms of the British monarch)\n- Arms of any part of the Commonwealth (including Australian states and territories)\n- Anything that looks so similar it could trick people or be mistaken for the real thing\n\n**What you can't do without permission:**\n- Print, publish, manufacture, or use these arms or lookalikes\n- Send or distribute them to anyone\n- **If** you're doing it for **commercial purposes** (to make money), **or**\n- **If** you're making it look like an official government document\n\n**Penalties:**\n- Fines up to $500 (set in 1979, so worth more today due to inflation adjustments)\n- Companies can be fined, and so can individual directors or managers who helped break the law\n\n**Important protections:**\n- The Attorney General must give written permission before anyone can be prosecuted\n- If you're charged, you have to prove you had permission (the 'onus of proof' is on you)\n- This law doesn't stop other legal actions (like civil lawsuits) from happening at the same time\n\n**Why it exists:**\nTo stop businesses and individuals from falsely claiming royal or government endorsement, and to protect the dignity and integrity of official symbols from being exploited for profit or deception."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was unavailable. No comparison between original intent and current provisions is possible from the retrieved content."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — analysis is based on title and general knowledge only","The subject matter (protection of heraldic symbols) is a relatively narrow and specialised area of law","Acts of this type typically have straightforward prohibition and penalty structures","Limited interaction with other legislative frameworks expected"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content could be retrieved.**\n\nThe link provided leads to a broken or unavailable page on the Western Australian legislation website. The actual text of the **Armorial Bearings Protection Act 1979 (WA)** was not accessible — only a system error message was returned.\n\n**What we do know from general knowledge:** This Act protects official symbols, coats of arms, and heraldic devices (decorative emblems used to represent government bodies and institutions) from unauthorised use. It prevents individuals or businesses from using official Western Australian government symbols without permission, which could mislead people into thinking they have government backing or approval.\n\n**Who it likely affects:** Businesses, individuals, or organisations who might want to use government-style symbols or emblems in their branding or materials.\n\n*A full analysis cannot be provided without access to the actual legislative text.*"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The compilation table records an amendment to section 3 by the Criminal Procedure and Appeals (Consequential and Other Provisions) Act 2004 (No. 84 of 2004, s. 80). The text supplied is the current consolidated version; the compilation indicates the Act’s operative provisions were altered by that 2004 amendment, but the supplied material does not state the pre‑amendment wording or the precise substantive effect on scope."},"complexity_factors":["Broad descriptive scope of prohibited material — covers 'Royal Arms', 'Arms of any part of Her Majesty’s Dominions' and 'token insignia or emblem so nearly resembling' them, creating borderline cases.","Two alternative culpable uses (commercial purpose; implying official significance) increase factual inquiries into intent and effect (s3(1)(c)–(d)).","Onus of proof rests on the accused to show valid authority (s3(2)), shifting evidential burden and complicating defence strategy.","Prima facie presumption that a named printer/publisher/manufacturer/sender is the responsible party (s3(4)), simplifying prosecution but raising evidentiary risks for defendants.","Fixed, relatively low monetary penalty ($500) may be outdated and affects sentencing discretion (s3(1)).","Corporate and officer liability extends penalties to companies and responsible officers, requiring corporate-compliance assessment (s4).","Attorney General’s written consent required before proceedings, centralising prosecutorial control and potentially restricting private enforcement (s5).","Non-exclusivity with other civil or criminal remedies means multiple legal pathways may overlap, creating coordination issues (s6).","Use of imperial-era territorial language ('Her Majesty’s Dominions', exclusive of the United Kingdom) introduces interpretive ambiguity about geographic and constitutional scope."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes it a criminal offence to print, publish, manufacture, use or distribute documents or objects bearing the Royal, State or other arms (or tokens so similar as to deceive) for commercial purposes or in a way that implies official significance without prior written authority. A person or company that does so faces a monetary penalty; prosecutions require the Attorney General’s written consent."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979","history":"/api/acts/armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979/history","analysis":"/api/acts/armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/armorial-bearings-protection-act-1979/documents"}}