{"id":"government-railways-trespass-bylaw-2023","name":"Government Railways (Trespass) By-law 2023","slug":"government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176717,"registerId":"wa-government-railways-trespass-bylaw-2023-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Government Railways (Trespass) By-law 2023","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nGovernment Railways Act 1904\n\nGovernment Railways (Trespass) By-law 2023\n\nWestern Australia\n\nGovernment Railways (Trespass) By-law 2023\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Trespass on railway offence prescribed for purposes of Act s. 53A 1\n\n4. Prescribed forms (Act s. 53A(3) and (7)) 1\n\nSchedule 1 — Forms\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 6\n\n  \n\nGovernment Railways Act 1904\n\nGovernment Railways (Trespass) By‑law 2023\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n(1) This by‑law is the *Government Railways (Trespass) By‑law 2023*.\n\n(2) The main legislative units of this by‑law are called rules, and a rule may contain 2 or more subrules (this sentence, for example, being subrule (2) of rule 1).\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis by‑law comes into operation as follows —\n\n(a) rules 1 and 2 — on the day on which this by‑law is published on the WA legislation website;\n\n(b) the rest of the by‑law — on the day after that day.\n\n##### 3. Trespass on railway offence prescribed for purposes of Act s. 53A\n\nThe offence under section 48(2) of the Act is prescribed for the purposes of section 53A of the Act.\n\nModified penalty: a fine of $500.\n\n##### 4. Prescribed forms (Act s. 53A(3) and (7))\n\n(1) Schedule 1 Form 1 is prescribed for the purposes of section 53A(3) of the Act.\n\n(2) Schedule 1 Form 2 is prescribed for the purposes of section 53A(7) of the Act.\n\nSchedule 1 — Forms\n\n[r. 4]\n\n**Form 1 — Infringement notice**\n\n- *Government Railways Act 1904***INFRINGEMENT NOTICE** Infringement\nnotice no.\n- Date of\nnotice:\n- **Alleged offender** Surname\n- Given name(s)\n- Address\n- **Alleged offence** Date\n- Time\n- Place\n- Details of offence\n- Written law contravened *Government Railways Act 1904* s. 48(2)\n- **Authorised person issuing notice** Name or service number\n- Signature\n- **Modified penalty** $500\n- **TAKE NOTICE** It is alleged that you have committed the above offence.**If you do not want to be prosecuted in court for the offence**, pay the modified penalty to *[insert details of authorised person appointed for purposes of s. 53A(3)]* within 28 days after the date of this notice using one of the payment methods set out below. **If you do not pay** the modified penalty within 28 days, you may be prosecuted or enforcement action may be taken under the *Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994*. Under that Act, some or all of the following action may be taken — your driver’s licence may be suspended, your vehicle licence may be suspended or cancelled, you may be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence or vehicle licence, your vehicle may be immobilised or have its number plates removed, your details may be published on a website, your earnings or bank accounts may be garnished, and your property may be seized and sold.**If you need more time** to pay the modified penalty, you should contact *[insert details of authorised person appointed for purposes of s. 53A(5)]*.Paying the modified penalty will not be regarded as an admission for the purposes of any civil or criminal court case.**If you want this matter to be dealt with by prosecution in court**, sign and date here:\n\n__________________________________ / / and post this notice to *[insert address]* within 28 days after the date of this notice.\n- **How to pay**Payments made by phone, online or by electronic funds transfer must be made **before 9 pm** Western Australian Standard Time **on the due date**. By post *[Insert details for paying by post]*\n- In person *[Insert details for paying in person]*\n- By phone *[Insert details for paying by phone]*(credit card payments only)\n- Online *[Insert details for paying online]* (credit card payments only)\n- By electronic funds transfer *[Insert details for paying by electronic funds transfer]*\n\n\n**Form 2 — Withdrawal of infringement notice**\n\n- *Government Railways Act 1904***WITHDRAWAL OF INFRINGEMENT NOTICE** Withdrawal no.\n- Date of\nwithdrawal\n- **Alleged offender** Surname\n- Given name(s)\n- Address\n- **Details of infringement notice** Infringement notice no.\n- Date of issue of infringement notice\n- **Alleged offence** Date\n- Time\n- Place\n- Details of offence\n- Written law contravened *Government Railways Act 1904* s. 48(2)\n- **Authorised person withdrawing notice** Name or service number\n- Signature\n- **Withdrawal of infringement notice***[*Delete whichever is not applicable]* The above infringement notice issued against you for the above alleged offence has been withdrawn.If you have already paid the modified penalty for the alleged offence, you are entitled to a refund.* Your refund is enclosed*or** If you have paid the modified penalty but a refund is not enclosed, you may claim your refund by signing and dating this notice and posting it to: *[Insert details of authorised person appointed for purposes of s. 53A(3)]* *[Insert address]*\n- **Your signature** **Date**\n\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Government Railways (Trespass) By-law 2023*. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Published** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Government Railways (Trespass) By‑law 2023* | SL 2023/119 26 Jul 2023 | r. 1 and 2: 26 Jul 2023 (see r. 2(a));   By-law other than r. 1 and 2: 27 Jul 2023 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\n© State of Western Australia 2023.\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.\n\nAttribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2023.\n\nBy Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of establishing an infringement notice scheme for railway trespass. It does not expand beyond the administrative machinery needed to implement section 53A of the parent Act."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (6 pages including forms and administrative tables)","Only 4 substantive rules, with minimal conditional logic","No defined terms section - relies on definitions in the parent Act","Simple structure: citation, commencement, offence prescription, forms","Forms are templates with blank fields rather than complex legal provisions","Single cross-reference to parent Act (Government Railways Act 1904) without complex layering"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian by-law creates a system for issuing **on-the-spot fines** (called \"infringement notices\") to people who trespass on government railway property.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Prescribes a specific offence**: It formally identifies trespassing on railways (already illegal under section 48(2) of the Government Railways Act 1904) as an offence that can be dealt with by infringement notice rather than going to court.\n- **Sets the penalty**: A fine of **$500**.\n- **Provides the paperwork**: It includes two standard forms:\n  - **Form 1**: The actual infringement notice that authorised officers give to trespassers, explaining they can pay $500 to avoid court, or choose to be prosecuted instead. It also warns about enforcement actions (licence suspension, garnishing wages, etc.) if they don't pay.\n  - **Form 2**: A withdrawal notice for when the infringement was issued in error, including refund instructions.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- People who trespass on WA government railway land (walking on tracks, entering restricted areas, etc.)\n- Authorised railway officers who issue fines\n- The Fines Enforcement Registry (which handles unpaid penalties)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nInstead of every railway trespass case going through the courts (expensive and time-consuming), this allows quick resolution through a fine. It acts as a deterrent against dangerous behaviour around trains while reducing the burden on the justice system."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The by‑law does not change the legal elements of the trespass offence in s.48(2); it prescribes that offence for summary disposal under s.53A, fixes the modified penalty at $500 and supplies the infringement and withdrawal forms (see rule 3 and rule 4 and Schedule 1). It therefore changes procedure and penalty recovery method, not the substantive scope of the offence."},"complexity_factors":["Direct cross‑references to Government Railways Act 1904 s.48(2) and s.53A (rule 3 and rule 4)","Prescribes a single, fixed modified penalty amount ($500) (rule 3)","Prescribed schedule of two standard forms with required fields and blanks for authorised‑person details (Schedule 1, Form 1 and Form 2)","Links to external enforcement machinery and consequences under the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994 (Form 1 text)","Administrative discretion confined to authorised persons who issue or withdraw notices (Form 1 and Form 2)","Simple commencement staging (rules 1–2 on publication day; remainder the following day) (rule 2)","Operational details affecting compliance: 28‑day payment/prosecution window and specified payment timing (Schedule 1, Form 1)"],"plain_english_summary":"This by‑law enables trespass on railway land (the existing offence in the Government Railways Act 1904 s.48(2)) to be dealt with by an on‑the‑spot infringement notice: it prescribes a $500 modified penalty and supplies standard infringement and withdrawal forms. Authorised officers issue or withdraw notices; paying the $500 avoids court prosecution while non‑payment can trigger enforcement under the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available. No comparison between original intent and final form is possible from the content provided."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was available for analysis — only an error page was retrieved","Cannot assess definitional complexity, penalty structures, enforcement mechanisms, or interaction with parent legislation without access to the actual text","Score of 1 reflects inability to assess complexity, not simplicity of the law itself"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian by-law appears to regulate unauthorised entry onto government-owned railway land and infrastructure. It likely defines what counts as trespass, sets penalties or fines, and may grant removal or enforcement powers to railway staff or police. The rule would primarily affect members of the public who access rail corridors or stations without permission. For the actual text, consult the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office site."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023","history":"/api/acts/government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/government-railways-trespass-by-law-2023/documents"}}