Government Domain Reserve By-laws 1977

The By‑laws affect a wide but tightly circumscribed set of people. Most obviously, they apply to any member of the public who wishes to enter or use the Reserve. Because the Reserve is not a public park in the ordinary sense, ordinary members of the public can only lawfully enter during a time specified in a notice published by the Board with the Governor’s approval (by‑law 3(2)). In practice, this means the public may have limited designated “open days” such as during special events or heritage openings. Outside those times, a person must have permission, be on legitimate government or Government House business, or be attending an authorised function at the Ballroom with a ticket or invitation. Invitees of the Governor or a member of the Governor’s household or staff are exempt from entry restrictions entirely. These exemptions mean that guests, suppliers, and service providers to the Governor or his household can enter freely, as can those acting under the direction of the Board. The By‑laws also affect commercial actors. Anyone wishing to trade, sell goods, distribute printed matter, or even place a chair for hire must obtain prior written permission (by‑law 16). Event organisers cannot hold a fete, picnic, concert, public meeting, or religious service without permission (by‑law 17). Protesters, preachers, and public speakers are effectively barred unless they obtain permission, which the Board has no obligation to grant and for which no appeal mechanism is provided. Commercial photographers, film crews, or wedding parties would also need permission to set up structures (by‑law 18) or to remain for extended periods. In effect, the By‑laws give the Board near‑absolute discretion to decide who may use the Reserve for any purpose beyond passive walking on designated roads during open hours. The compliance burden falls most heavily on those who wish to do anything commercial, expressive, or organised on the Reserve, while low‑impact individual use is possible only on published open days.

The primary duties under the By‑laws are prohibitions coupled with a requirement to obtain permission for most activities. A person must not enter or remain without a lawful basis (by‑law 3). If on the Reserve, a person must not drive, park, or ride an animal except on roads or parking areas, and driving is limited to 25 km/h (by‑laws 6, 7, 8). Parking is restricted to accredited visitors in designated areas off‑road, or on‑road only where not prohibited by the Board and within time limits. Animals are generally prohibited without permission (by‑law 9). A person must not damage vegetation, turf, structures, or road surfaces; must not deposit litter except in provided receptacles; must not remove mulch, leaf mould, or found property without permission (by‑laws 10, 11). Offensive conduct is broadly defined: a person must not use obscene language, fight, threaten, molest, be indecently dressed, or otherwise behave in a manner that may reasonably give offence (by‑law 12). Camping is outright banned (by‑law 13). Advertising signs, notices, or placards cannot be affixed without permission (by‑law 14). Fires, fireworks, firearms, missiles, and explosives are banned unless in a designated area (by‑law 15). Trading, selling, distributing printed matter, and soliciting money all require permission (by‑law 16). Organised events, fetes, picnics, concerts, public worship, public meetings, and fund‑raising are all prohibited without permission (by‑law 17). Structures of any kind, including booths, tents, chairs, enclosures, cannot be erected or maintained without permission, and a person must leave such an illegal structure if asked (by‑law 18). Improvised sanitary conveniences are banned (by‑law 19). Make an offensive noise through any device, wireless or mechanical, is banned (by‑law 20). A person must not obstruct an authorised person or refuse to give their name and address on request (by‑law 23). Rights are sparse. The By‑laws create no positive right of entry, no right to appeal a decision of the Board, and no right to a hearing before removal or seizure. The only explicit right is that the By‑laws do not override Commonwealth assistance animal laws, so a person with a legitimate assistance animal may not be excluded by the animal ban. Additionally, a person on the Reserve during published open hours or with a valid ticket may remain free from removal unless they contravene a by‑law. In practice, the rights are essentially negative freedoms: freedom from prosecution provided the person complies with the permission‑based regime.

By‑law 24 creates a single penalty: any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty of $150. This is a flat fine, indicating a strict liability offence (the By‑laws do not specify a fault element). The fine is relatively low, but enforcement is backed by significant powers. An authorised person (Board member, police officer, special constable, or appointed person) may remove from the Reserve any person who contravenes the By‑laws (by‑law 21). That removal power is not limited to a particular class of contravention; it applies to any failure to comply. Furthermore, an authorised person may remove or cause to be removed any thing, vehicle, or animal that is on the Reserve contrary to the By‑laws (by‑law 22). Vehicles and other property (not animals) are taken to the nearest police station. Animals are taken to a dog management facility, cat management facility, or public pound under the Dog Act 1976, Cat Act 2011, or Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960. There is no provision for compensation, notice to the owner, or a right to reclaim before removal. The only due‑process safeguard is the requirement for authorised persons to request a person to leave illegal structures before force (by‑law 18(2)). Obstruction of an authorised person or refusal to give name and address on request is itself an offence under by‑law 23, carrying the same $150 penalty. The By‑laws do not create any mechanism for review of the Board’s decisions to grant or withhold permission, nor any appeal against removal or seizure. The penalty of $150 has not been indexed since at least the 2014 amendments (the gazettal shows the penalty remains $150; it was likely increased from an earlier amount but the source does not show the history). For comparison, a $150 fine in 2024 dollars is modest, but the cost of non‑monetary consequences such as removal from the Reserve, seizure of property, or loss of commercial opportunity is potentially much higher. Enforcement relies on the vigilance of authorised persons; in practice, compliance probably depends mostly on the low volume of public use and the presence of security or Board staff.

By‑law 2(5) provides that the By‑laws are subject to any written law and any law of the Commonwealth about assistance animals as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth) section 9(2). This means that if another written law (whether State or Commonwealth) directly conflicts with a by‑law, the other law prevails. The specific mention of Commonwealth assistance animal law ensures that a person with a guide dog, hearing dog, or other assistance animal cannot be excluded by the animal prohibition in by‑law 9; this mirrors the general anti‑discrimination principle. By‑law 7 incorporates road law under the Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008 section 4, so all driving on roads within the Reserve must comply with State traffic laws (e.g., licensing, drink driving, traffic signals) in addition to the specific 25 km/h speed limit. The speed limit is additional to any speed limit set by road law, so the lower of the two applies. By‑law 22(2) references the Dog Act 1976, Cat Act 2011, and Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960 for the impounding of animals. That means if an authorised person seizes a dog or cat under the By‑laws, the relevant management facility or pound must accept it and the owner can reclaim it under the provisions of those Acts (e.g., payment of fees, proof of ownership). The By‑laws do not create their own impoundment regime; they piggyback on existing local government and animal control infrastructure. The Interpretation Act 1984 section 60 is expressly excluded by by‑law 2(2). Section 60 of the Interpretation Act generally provides that where an Act or instrument authorises a person or body to delegate a power, the delegation must be in writing, may be subject to conditions, and does not prevent the delegator from exercising the power personally. By excluding section 60, the By‑laws seem to intend that the Board’s delegation powers under the Parks and Reserves Act 1895 are not curtailed by those default rules. In practice, this might allow the Board to authorise persons to give permission under the By‑laws without strict adherence to the standard delegation requirements. However, the By‑laws themselves already provide in by‑law 2(4)(a) that permission may be given by a Board member or any person authorised by the Board, so the exclusion of section 60 may be redundant or intended to confirm that the Board’s authorisation process is not subject to the Act’s default rules. The By‑laws are silent on interaction with local government planning laws, heritage laws, or occupational health and safety laws, so those would apply normally.

The Government Domain Reserve By‑laws 1977 were originally gazetted on 12 August 1977 and commenced on that same date. The only substantive amendment in the source is the Government Domain Reserve Amendment By‑laws 2014, gazetted on 8 January 2015, with different commencement dates: by‑laws 1 and 2 (citation and amendment provisions) commenced on 8 January 2015, while the remaining amendment provisions commenced on 27 April 2015 (see Gazette 17 April 2015 p. 1371). The 2014 amendments made several changes. By‑law 2 (interpretation) was amended to update the definition of “vehicle” by replacing a reference to the Road Traffic Act 1974 with the Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008 section 4, reflecting a consolidation of road traffic legislation. By‑law 7 (road laws) was similarly amended to refer to the updated Act. By‑law 22 (removal of vehicles, animals, etc.) was amended to update references for animal impounding: the reference to the Dog Act 1976 section 3(1) was added, and a reference to the Cat Act 2011 section 3(1) was inserted, reflecting new legislation covering cat management. The reference to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960 was also updated from the former Local Government Act 1960 (which had been renamed). The penalty in by‑law 24 appears to have been $150 since at least the 2014 amendment; the source does not show the original penalty amount, so it may have been lower before. There is also a note that the Interpretation Act 1984 section 60 was repealed, but that is a cross‑reference note, not an amendment to the By‑laws themselves. A reprint (Reprint 1) was published as at 8 October 2004, but no changes in that reprint are recorded beyond compilation. The By‑laws are therefore relatively stable, with the only substantive changes being updates to cross‑references and animal impoundment provisions. No structural changes to the permission regime have occurred.

The source material records no litigation history relating to the Government Domain Reserve By‑laws 1977. No cases are cited in the by‑law instrument, and the compilation table does not reference any court decisions. Given the nature of the By‑laws as a low‑level regulatory tool governing a specific government site, litigation is likely rare. However, potential grounds for legal challenge could include: denial of natural justice when permission is refused without reasons; breadth of the “offensive conduct” provision potentially offending implied constitutional freedom of political communication if applied to peaceful protest; strict liability offences possibly being inconsistent with common law principles; or the exclusion of the Interpretation Act 1984 section 60 affecting the validity of delegations. No such challenges are recorded in the source, so they remain hypothetical.

Several provisions contain traps for the unwary. The most significant is the requirement in by‑law 2(4) that permission must be obtained in writing before the act is done. Oral permission from a Board member or even a senior official is not sufficient; a written document must exist before the person enters, parks, trades, or holds an event. This creates a risk for event organisers or vendors who rely on verbal arrangements. The penalty for any contravention is a flat $150, but the real cost may be removal from the Reserve and seizure of property (by‑law 22). An authorised person may remove a vehicle even if the owner is not present and there is no prior warning. The owner must then reclaim it from a police station or animal pound, incurring storage fees and inconvenience. There is no right to a hearing before removal. The application of by‑law 12 (offensive conduct) is very broad. It prohibits not only traditional obscenity but also behaviour that “may reasonably give offence to other persons lawfully on the Reserve”. This is subjective and low threshold. A political demonstration, a religious sermon, or even loud conversation could be deemed offensive. By‑law 12(e) also punishes mere “annoying” other persons, which is exceptionally vague and could be used to remove almost anyone a Board member or police officer considers bothersome. The noise prohibition in by‑law 20 bans “offensive noise”, again subjective. By‑law 18(2) requires a person to leave a booth, tent, or other structure that has been erected without permission, but only after being requested to leave by an authorised person. Failure to leave after request is a separate offence. However, the initial erection itself is already an offence under by‑law 18(1), so the request simply triggers a second offence for persistence. The Board is not required to give reasons for withholding permission, and there is no appeal mechanism. By‑law 3(2) says the Board may publish a notice opening the Reserve to the public “with the approval of the Governor”. If no such notice is published, the public has no right of entry except for specific authorised functions or government business. A person who enters during an unadvertised or expired open period may be trespassing. By‑law 11(b) prohibits removing “any article or property which is lying or left within the Reserve” unless the person is the owner or legally entitled to possession. This could catch a person who picks up a found wallet or phone and attempts to take it to lost property outside the Reserve. By‑law 23 requires a person to give their name and address to an authorised person upon request. Refusal is an offence without the need for reasonable suspicion. This overlaps with police powers under other laws, but the by‑law delegates this coercive power to non‑police authorised persons. By‑law 2(3) exempts members of the Governor’s household and staff, as well as persons acting under Board direction, from the By‑laws. This creates a two‑tier system where certain individuals are above the rules, which may raise equality concerns but is within the power of the reservation.

Compliance begins with determining whether the activity is one of the few that does not require permission: entering during a published public open period, attending a ticketed authorised function at the Ballroom, or transacting legitimate business of the Government or Government House. For everything else, the first step is to apply in writing to the Board for permission. By‑law 2(4) requires that permission be obtained in writing before the act occurs. The application should specify the by‑law being engaged (e.g., permission to park off‑road, permission to hold a fete, permission to erect a tent). The Board may delegate permission‑giving authority to a Board member or another person, but the applicant should verify the delegate’s authority. The Board is not obliged to grant permission and may impose conditions (though not specified in the By‑laws). After receiving written permission, the person must keep that document on their person or at the site to produce to an authorised person on request (otherwise removal powers under by‑law 22 may be exercised). While on the Reserve, all persons must comply with the speed limit of 25 km/h (by‑law 7(2)), must not create offensive noise, and must not behave in a manner likely to offend other lawful users (by‑law 12). Litter must be placed only in receptacles provided by the Board (by‑law 10(2)). Drivers must obey all road laws under the Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008. Persons with animals must ensure they have specific permission (unless the animal is a Commonwealth‑defined assistance animal). Parking requires either accredited visitor status and designated off‑road areas, or compliance with any on‑road prohibition and time limits set by the Board (by‑law 8). Traders, event organisers, and those seeking to distribute printed material must have written permission, and that permission likely will be limited in duration and scope. Anyone who receives a request from an authorised person to leave a structure or the Reserve must comply promptly, even if they believe the request is unreasonable, because refusal to leave or obstruction is a separate offence. If a person’s property is seized, the person should contact the relevant police station or animal facility to arrange reclaim, paying any applicable fees under the animal legislation. The flat $150 fine can be paid without a court appearance, but a conviction may still result. For organisations or individuals frequently using the Reserve (e.g., caterers for Government House functions, repair contractors), it is prudent to obtain a general written permission from the Board covering their regular activities, valid for a specified period, and to carry a copy at all times. Regular communication with the Board’s office is essential to avoid inadvertent breaches when the Board has changed terms of public access or parking arrangements.