Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958 (Victoria)

The Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958 (Vic) sets out four mechanical regimes: (1) criminal prohibitions and procedures for riotous assemblies and certain public processions (Part I and Part II, ss 5-12); (2) a statutory route for magistrates to appoint and regulate ad hoc special constables with police-like powers (Part III, ss 13-25); (3) a statutory process to declare and manage “riotously disturbed” districts, including a claims-and-assessment procedure for losses and enforcement costs (Part IV, ss 26-55); and (4) ancillary procedural rules about forms and prosecutions (for example s 9 and s 25).

Key operational mechanics in the text are:

Criminal rules and immediate magistrate actions: s 5 prohibits riotous, tumultuous assemblies that disturb the peace and provides that those dispersing or attempting to disperse such assemblies are “free discharged and indemnified” for any killing, maiming or hurting that occurs in that course. Sections 6 and 11 prescribe a specific oral notice that a magistrate must read aloud before persons who fail to disperse become liable to criminal sanction. The notice in s 6 is to the effect “Our Sovereign doth strictly charge and command… immediately to disperse…”, and the prescribed delay before offence accrues is fifteen minutes (s 6) for riotous meetings and one quarter of an hour (s 12) for processions (Part II).
Offence classification and penalties: some conduct is framed as an indictable offence (s 6, s 10), while other contraventions are to be dealt with summarily by the Magistrates’ Court (s 12). Imprisonment terms are specified for summary convictions under s 12 (up to one month for first conviction, up to three months for subsequent convictions). Penalty amounts for several special-constable related offences are expressed as fractions of a penalty unit (for example s 14, s 17, s 20), reflecting the statutory use of penalty units.

Version No. 029

Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

No. 6406 of 1958

Version incorporating amendments as at
6 September 2023

table of provisions

Section Page

1 Short title, commencement and division 1

2 Repeal and savings 1

Part I—Unlawful assemblies 3

5 Riotous meetings 3

6 Persons not dispersing after notice guilty of a misdemeanour 3

7 Not to extend to meetings for election of members of Parliament 4

9 Form of procedure 4

Part II—Party processions 5

10 Unlawful processions and assemblies 5

11 Magistrate to disperse such processions 5

12 Persons refusing to disperse to be apprehended and punished 6

Part III—Special constables 7

13 Magistrate may appoint special constables 7

14 Penalty for refusing to take the oath or affirmation of office 8

15 Non-residents may be appointed as special constables 9

16 Powers of special constables 9

17 Punishment for assaulting or resisting constables 10

18 Magistrates may make regulations respecting special constables and may remove them for misconduct 10

19 Power in special sessions to discontinue the services of constables 10

20 Special constables to deliver arms etc. to successors 11

21 Magistrates' Courts may order allowances to the special constables 11

24 Nothing here contained to abridge the power of justices 12

25 No formal information required 12

Part IV—Riotously disturbed districts 13

26 Definition 13

27 Magistrates' Court may summon jury 13

28 Constitution of jury 13

29 Court may summon witnesses 14

30 Jury shall by verdict define the area disturbed and fix date since when disturbed 14

31 Verdict of seven the verdict of all 14

32 Governor in Council may proclaim disturbed district as defined 14

33 Proclamation shall bring district under the operation of this Part 15

34 Losses in proclaimed districts to be levied from inhabitants thereof 15

35 Appointment of commissioner for each proclaimed district 15

36 Expense of commissioner to be levied from inhabitants of proclaimed district 16

37 Time and place of claims for compensation for losses in proclaimed district 16

38 Claimant for losses by the Crown 16

39 Requisites of claim 16

40 Notice when and where commissioner will investigate claims 17

41 Summoning of jury to try claims 17

42 Commissioner may summon witnesses 17

43 Mode of impanelling jury of assessors to try each claim 18

44 Matters to be tried by the commissioner and assessors in each claim 18

45 Conditions under which an award may be made in favour of a claimant 19

46 Unsuccessful claimant made liable for costs 19

47 Summary process to recover such costs 19

48 Expenses of enforcing Act to be levied from inhabitants of proclaimed district 20

49 Census to be taken of inhabitants of proclaimed district for apportioning amounts charged 20

50 Commissioner to publish census etc. 20

51 Commissioner to investigate objections and determine on them 21

52 Final adjustment to be published 21

53 Summary proceedings to recover assessment from defaulters 21

54 Commissioner to pay into Treasury all receipts and give certificates to claimants 22

55 Payment out of Treasury after deducting expenses 22

Schedule 23

Endnotes 24

1 General information 24

2 Table of Amendments 26

3 Explanatory details 28

Version No. 029

Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

No. 6406 of 1958

Version incorporating amendments as at
6 September 2023

An Act to consolidate the Law relating to Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Special Constables and Riotously Disturbed Districts.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):

1 Short title, commencement and division

This Act may be cited as the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958, and shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette, and is divided into Parts as follows:

Part I—Unlawful Assemblies ss 3–9

Part II—Party Processions ss 1–12

Part III—Special Constables ss 13–25

Part IV—Riotously Disturbed Districts ss 26–55.

2 Repeal and savings

(1) The Act mentioned in the Schedule to the extent thereby expressed to be repealed is hereby repealed accordingly.

(2) Except as in this Act expressly or by necessary implication provided—

(a) all persons things and circumstances appointed or created by or under the repealed Act or existing or continuing under that Act immediately before the commencement of this Act shall under and subject to this Act continue to have the same status operation and effect as they respectively would have had if that Act had not been so repealed;

(b) in particular and without affecting the generality of the foregoing paragraph such repeal shall not disturb the continuity of status operation or effect of any proclamation regulation order appointment notice award compensation certificate information subpoena summons warrant distress charge claim liability or right made effected issued granted given presented passed fixed levied accrued incurred or acquired or existing or continuing by or under that Act before the commencement of this Act.

Part I—Unlawful assemblies

S. 3
repealed by No. 4/2001 s. 30.

S. 4
amended by No. 9945 s. 3(3)(Sch. 2 item 36), repealed by No. 4/2001 s. 30.

No. 3796 s. 5.

S. 5
amended by No. 9902 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 258).

5 Riotous meetings

It shall not be lawful for any persons to assemble together riotously and tumultuously and to the disturbance of the public peace at any place in Victoria; and if persons so unlawfully riotously and tumultuously assembled or any of them happen to be killed maimed or hurt in the dispersing seizing or apprehending or endeavouring to disperse seize or apprehend them, the persons so dispersing seizing or apprehending or endeavouring to disperse seize or apprehend the offenders shall be free discharged and indemnified of for and concerning the killing maiming or hurting of any such person or persons so unlawfully assembled as aforesaid.

No. 3796 s. 6.

S. 6
amended by Nos 9576 s. 11(1), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.1), 25/2023 s. 7(Sch. 1 item 30.1).

6 Persons not dispersing after notice guilty of a misdemeanour

Any magistrate shall and may proceed with or without assistance to the place where any meeting or assembly prohibited by this Part is held or takes place; and such magistrate shall then and there read or repeat aloud to the persons then and there present a notice in the words or to the effect following:

"Our Sovereign doth strictly charge and command all manner of persons here assembled immediately to disperse themselves and peaceably depart to their own homes."

And if any one or more of the persons so met or assembled together wilfully and knowingly oppose obstruct or in any manner wilfully and knowingly let hinder or hurt any magistrate who begins to read or repeat aloud the notice hereinbefore mentioned so that the same shall not be read or repeated as aforesaid, or after the expiration of fifteen minutes after such notice has been read or repeated or has been so hindered as aforesaid from being read or repeated remain in attendance at such assembly, he or they shall be deemed and taken to be guilty of an indictable offence.

No. 3796 s. 7.

7 Not to extend to meetings for election of members of Parliament

Nothing hereinbefore contained shall by any construction whatever be deemed or taken to apply to or affect any meeting or assembly convened called together or holden for the purpose or in the course of any election of any member to serve in Parliament, or any persons attending such meeting or assembly, or any persons attending upon the business of either House of Parliament.

S. 8
repealed by No. 8247 s. 5.

No. 3796 s. 9.

9 Form of procedure

In all proceedings under this Part it shall be sufficient to state the offence in the words of the enactment.

Part II—Party processions

No. 3796 s. 10.

S. 10 amended by Nos 9576 s. 11(1), 25/2023 s. 7(Sch. 1 item 30.2).

10 Unlawful processions and assemblies

Any body of persons who meet and parade together or join in procession or who assemble in any public house tavern or other place within Victoria for the purpose of celebrating or commemorating any festival anniversary or political event relating to or connected with any religious or political distinction or differences between any classes of His Majesty's subjects or of demonstrating any such religious or political distinction or difference, and who bear wear or have among them any fire-arms or other offensive weapons or have publicly exhibited any banner emblem flag or symbol the display whereof may be calculated to provoke animosity between His Majesty's subjects of different religious persuasions or who are accompanied by any music of a like nature or tendency, shall be and be deemed to be an unlawful assembly; and every person present thereat shall be and be deemed to be guilty of an indictable offence and shall upon conviction thereof be liable to be punished accordingly: Provided that nothing in this Part shall extend to any procession or assemblage held in the course of any election of any member to serve in the Parliament of Victoria.

No. 3796 s. 11.

S. 11 amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 234), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.2(a)–(c)), 25/2023 s. 7(Sch. 1 item 30.3).

11 Magistrate to disperse such processions

Any magistrate shall and may proceed with such assistance as is necessary to the place where any procession or meeting of persons declared by this Part to be unlawful is held or takes place; and such magistrate or some other person by his order shall then and there read or repeat aloud to the persons so assembled a command or notice to disperse in the words or to the effect following (that is to say):

"Our Sovereign doth command and charge all persons being here assembled immediately to disperse themselves and peaceably to depart to their own homes."

No. 3796 s. 12.

S. 12 amended by Nos 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.3(a)–(g)), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 129.1).

12 Persons refusing to disperse to be apprehended and punished

The persons so assembled together shall forthwith disperse and depart; and in case any one or more of the persons so met or assembled together as aforesaid do not disperse and depart within the space of one quarter of an hour from the time of such notice or command being given, it shall be lawful for the same magistrate who has read such command or notice or any other magistrate to cause the person or persons so refusing or neglecting to disperse or depart to be arrested by a warrant for that purpose to be signed by the magistrate; and such offender or offenders shall thereupon be proceeded against in a summary way for such offence before the Magistrates' Court before which he or they may be brought and the Magistrates' Court is hereby authorized to hear and determine the charge; and every person convicted thereof on the oath or affirmation of one or more credible witness or witnesses shall be committed to any gaol and there be imprisoned for a term of not more than one month and for a second or any subsequent conviction under the provisions of this Part for a term of not more than three months.

Part III—Special constables

No. 3796 s. 13.

S. 13 amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 236), 9576 s. 11(1), 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.1), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.4(a)–(i)), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 129.2), 33/2018 s. 106, 25/2023 s. 7(Sch. 1 item 30.4).

13 Magistrate may appoint special constables[[1]](#endnote-2)

In all cases where it is made to appear to any magistrate upon the oath or affirmation of any credible witness that any tumult riot or indictable offence has taken place or may be reasonably apprehended in any municipal district, and such magistrate is of opinion that the ordinary constables or officers appointed for preserving the peace are not sufficient for the preservation thereof and for the protection of the inhabitants and the security of the property in the said municipal district, or where without such oath or affirmation or evidence as aforesaid any magistrate is of the opinion that the constables or officers aforesaid are not sufficient for the preservation protection or security as aforesaid or for the apprehension of any offenders, it shall be lawful for such magistrate to nominate and appoint by precept in writing signed by the magistrate so many fit and competent persons not being legally exempt from serving the office of constable as the magistrate thinks fit to act as special constables for such time and in such manner as to the magistrate seems fit and necessary for the public peace and for the protection of the inhabitants and the security of the property in such municipal district; and any magistrate may administer to every person so appointed an oath or affirmation in the words or to the effect following (that is to say):

"I [insert name] [swear by Almighty God/do solemnly and sincerely affirm] that I will well and truly serve Our Sovereign in the office of special constable for the [municipal district] of [ ] without favour or affection malice or ill-will; and that I will to the best of my power cause the peace to be kept and preserved and prevent all offences against the persons and property of His Majesty's subjects; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof faithfully according to law:"

S. 13
proviso amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 235), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.4(e)).

Provided always that whenever it is deemed necessary to nominate and appoint such special constables as aforesaid, notice of such nomination and appointment and of the circumstances which have rendered such nomination and appointment necessary shall be forthwith transmitted by the magistrate making such appointment to the Minister.

No. 3796 s. 14.

S. 14 amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 237), 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.2), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.5(a)–(e)) (as amended by No. 34/1990 s. 5(Sch. 4 item 88)), 10/2004 s. 15(Sch. 1 item 32.1), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 129.4).

14 Penalty for refusing to take the oath or affirmation of office

Every person so residing within such municipal district as aforesaid who being appointed a special constable as aforesaid refuses to take the oath or affirmation lastly hereinbefore mentioned when thereunto required by the magistrate so appointing him or by any other magistrate, shall on conviction thereof in a summary way before the Magistrates' Court be liable to a penalty of not more than 0⋅1 penalty unit. And every person being appointed a special constable as aforesaid who neglects or refuses to appear at the time and place for which he is summoned for the purpose of taking the said oath or affirmation, or having been appointed a special constable as aforesaid and being called upon to serve neglects or refuses to serve as such special constable or to obey such lawful orders and directions as may be given to him for the performance of the duties of his office; shall on conviction in a summary way before the Magistrates' Court for every such neglect be liable to a penalty of not more than 0⋅1 penalty unit, unless such person proves to the satisfaction of the Magistrates' Court that he was prevented by sickness or other such unavoidable cause as in the judgment of the Magistrates' Court is a sufficient excuse.

No. 3796 s. 15.

15 Non-residents may be appointed as special constables

All persons willing to act as special constables under the provisions of this Part shall be capable of being appointed and acting and may be appointed and act as such special constables, notwithstanding they may not be resident in such city borough town or district as aforesaid or in the neighbourhood thereof; and every person appointed and acting as a special constable under the provisions of this section shall have all the same powers and be entitled to and enjoy all the same privileges and benefits and be subject to all the same duties and liabilities as the special constables appointed or to be appointed under the other provisions of this Part.

No. 3796 s. 16.

S. 16 amended by Nos 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.3), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.6).

16 Powers of special constables

Every special constable appointed under this Part shall, not only within the municipal district for which he has been appointed but also throughout Victoria, have exercise and enjoy all such powers authorities advantages and immunities and be liable to all such duties and responsibilities as any constable duly appointed now has by virtue of the common law or of any enactment in force in Victoria.

No. 3796 s. 17.

S. 17 amended by Nos 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.7), 10/2004 s. 15(Sch. 1 item 32.2), 37/2014 s. 10(Sch. item 174).

17 Punishment for assaulting or resisting constables

Every person who assaults or resists any special constable whilst in the execution of his office or promotes or encourages any other person so to do, shall be liable to a penalty for such offence of not more than 0⋅4 penalty unit, or shall be liable to such other punishment upon conviction on any charge for such offence as any persons are by law liable to for assaulting a police officer within the meaning of the Victoria Police Act 2013 in the execution of the duties of his office.

No. 3796 s. 18.

S. 18 amended by Nos 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.4), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.8) (as amended by No. 34/1990 s. 5(Sch. 4 item 89)).

18 Magistrates may make regulations respecting special constables and may remove them for misconduct

The magistrates who have appointed any special constables under this Part, or any other magistrate, shall have power to make such orders and regulations as may from time to time be necessary and expedient for rendering such special constables more efficient for the preservation of the public peace; and shall also have power to remove any such special constable from his office for any misconduct or neglect of duty therein.

No. 3796 s. 19.

S. 19 amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 235), 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.5), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.9) (as amended by No. 34/1990 s. 5(Sch. 4 item 90)).

19 Power in special sessions to discontinue the services of constables

The magistrates who have appointed any special constables under this Part, or any other magistrate shall have power to suspend or determine the services of all or any of the said special constables as to the magistrates or magistrate seems meet; and notice of such suspension or determination of the services of all or any of the said special constables shall be forthwith transmitted to the Minister.

No. 3796 s. 20.

S. 20 amended by Nos 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.6), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.10) (as amended by No. 34/1990 s. 5(Sch. 4 item 91)), 10/2004 s. 15(Sch. 1 item 32.3).

20 Special constables to deliver arms etc. to successors

Every special constable shall forthwith after the expiration of his office or after he ceases to hold and exercise the same pursuant to this Part deliver over to his successor (if any such has been appointed) or otherwise to such person and at such time and place as may be directed by any magistrate all arms staves weapons and other articles which have been provided for such special constable under this Act; and every such special constable who omits or refuses so to do shall be liable to a penalty of not more than 0⋅1 penalty unit.

No. 3796 s. 21.

S. 21 amended by Nos 9019 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 229), 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. items 235, 238), 12/1989 s. 4(1)(Sch. 2 item 121.7), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.11
(a)–(d)) (as amended by No. 34/1990 s. 5(Sch. 4 item 92)).

21 Magistrates' Courts may order allowances to the special constables

The Magistrates' Court is empowered to order from time to time such reasonable allowances for the trouble loss of time and expenses to be paid to such special constables who have so served or are then serving as to the Court seems proper; and the Court may also order the payment of such expenses as may have been incurred in providing arms staves weapons or other necessary articles for such special constables; and the Court shall make every order for the payment of such allowances and expenses upon the Minister, who is hereby required to procure proper warrants for the payment of the same out of any part of the Consolidated Fund appropriated for the purpose: Provided that it shall be lawful for the Governor in Council to disallow any such order as he considers excessive.

No. 3796 s. 22.

S. 22
repealed by No. 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.12).

No. 3796 s. 23.

S. 23 amended by No. 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 239), repealed by No. 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.12).

No. 3796 s. 24.

24 Nothing here contained to abridge the power of justices

Nothing in this Part contained shall be construed to abridge any powers for preserving the public peace whether by appointing constables or otherwise which any justice or justices had by law before the coming into operation of this Act.

No. 3796 s. 25.

S. 25 amended by No. 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.13(a)–(d)).

25 No formal information required

In proceedings for any penalty or forfeiture under this Part it shall not be necessary to file any formal charge; and no complaint conviction or other proceeding before or by the Magistrates' Court under this Part shall be quashed, or set aside or deemed void or insufficient for want of form only, or be removed or removeable by certiorari or any other process whatsoever into the Supreme Court.

Part IV—Riotously disturbed districts

No. 3796 s. 26.

26 Definition

The word habitation and the word premises used in this Part shall include any shop store curtilage warehouse booth shed hut tent stall or other building or erection used as a human habitation.

No. 3796 s. 27.

S. 27 amended by Nos 9019 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 229), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.14(a)–(d)).

27 Magistrates' Court may summon jury

If the Magistrates' Court sitting at a venue within any district in Victoria is of opinion that such district is or has been within twenty days in a state of disturbance, the Magistrates' Court may cause so many not fewer than twenty as it thinks fit of the jurors on the special jurors' list for such district to be summoned to meet upon a day named in such summons.

No. 3796 s. 28.

S. 28 amended by Nos 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.15(a)(b)), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 129.5).

28 Constitution of jury

On such day the Magistrates' Court shall proceed to call over the names of the jurors summoned and take down the names of those who answer; and the first ten so taken down and against whom no valid objection is raised shall be the jurors to try the issue hereinafter mentioned; the jurors so chosen shall be sworn or affirmed before the Magistrates' Court; and the Court shall administer to such jurors so chosen an oath or affirmation well and truly to find whether the said district or any part thereof is or has been in a state of disturbance; and the jurors so chosen and sworn or affirmed shall thereupon proceed to hear and receive evidence on the state of such district and shall inquire into and find the affirmative or negative of such issue.

No. 3796 s. 29.

S. 29 amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch item 240), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.16(a)(b)), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 129.6).

29 Court may summon witnesses

The Magistrates' Court shall issue witness summonses for the attendance of any necessary witnesses, and in reference to such witnesses and the said jurors shall have the like and the same powers to punish any neglect to attend or refusal to be sworn or affirmed or to give evidence or any other contempt as are possessed by the County Court or a Judge of the County Court.

No. 3796 s. 30.

30 Jury shall by verdict define the area disturbed and fix date since when disturbed

If such jurors find that the said district or any part thereof is or has been in such state of disturbance, they shall also find the date as nearly as may be at which such district first was or became in such state and shall also determine and define the boundaries and limits within which such state of disturbance existed or exists: Provided that no such boundaries or limits shall include any portion of more than one police district.

No. 3796 s. 31.

S. 31 amended by No. 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.17(a)(b)).

31 Verdict of seven the verdict of all

The verdict of not less than seven of such jurors shall be considered and taken as the verdict of the whole; and if such verdict is that such district within the boundaries to be defined as aforesaid is or has been in a state of disturbance, the Magistrates' Court shall immediately certify the same to the Governor.

No. 3796 s. 32.

32 Governor in Council may proclaim disturbed district as defined

Thereupon the Governor in Council if he thinks fit may proclaim such district so defined as aforesaid to be or to have been in a state of disturbance according to the meaning of this Part.

No. 3796 s. 33.

33 Proclamation shall bring district under the operation of this Part

Such proclamation shall notify and define the limits or boundaries of such district and shall be published in the Government Gazette; and upon such publication such district so defined shall become subject to the operation of this Part.

No. 3796 s. 34.

34 Losses in proclaimed districts to be levied from inhabitants thereof

The value of any private or public property whether real or personal which is wilfully and unlawfully injured or destroyed in such proclaimed district after the date at which it has been found that such district first was or became in such state of disturbance as aforesaid shall be assessed; and such value so assessed shall be charged upon such proclaimed district and levied upon and paid for by the inhabitants thereof in the manner and with the restrictions and provisions hereinafter mentioned.

No. 3796 s. 35.

35 Appointment of commissioner for each proclaimed district

Upon publication of any such proclamation the Governor in Council shall appoint a fit and proper person to be a commissioner for the purpose from time to time of investigating and ascertaining the amount of expense which has been and may be incurred by enforcing this Part within the district proclaimed in such proclamation, and the amount of loss or damage which any person in such a district has sustained in or by any riot or disturbance which has taken place in such district, and for otherwise acting in conformity with this Part; and the Governor in Council may remove such commissioner and appoint another or other in his place as to the Governor in Council seems fit.

No. 3796 s. 36.

36 Expense of commissioner to be levied from inhabitants of proclaimed district

Any expense which is incurred for the salary or emoluments of the commissioner or his clerks or assistants or for any jurors rate collectors or assessors or for the rent of any office or other necessary buildings or in any other manner in carrying out the provisions of this Part shall be charged upon such proclaimed district, and levied upon and paid by the inhabitants thereof in manner hereinafter provided.

No. 3796 s. 37.

37 Time and place of claims for compensation for losses in proclaimed district

The commissioner appointed for any district shall as soon as conveniently may be give notice of a time and place when and where may be sent to him and will be received by him all statements of claims by persons who have sustained any loss or damage by such injury or destruction as aforesaid.

No. 3796 s. 38.

38 Claimant for losses by the Crown

If any public building or works or other property real or personal belonging to the Crown have been destroyed or have suffered damage by any disturbance within any proclaimed district, the person left or being in charge of any such buildings works or property shall for the purposes of this Part be deemed taken and allowed to be the claimant for the amount of the loss or damage sustained.

No. 3796 s. 39.

39 Requisites of claim

Every statement of claim shall be in writing, and shall distinctly state the exact nature and extent of the injury or destruction sustained, the value of the property injured or destroyed, the date and place when and where such injury or destruction took place, the names and residences of all persons whom the claimant knows or believes to have been present or active in inflicting such injury or destruction, and a detail of what measures the claimant has taken to bring the offending parties to justice and prevent such injury or destruction or recover from them the amount of the injury and destruction thus by them inflicted.

No. 3796 s. 40.

40 Notice when and where commissioner will investigate claims

Upon the receipt of any such statement of claim the commissioner shall appoint a convenient time and place, and shall give to all parties interested notice when and where such statement will be investigated as hereinafter provided.

No. 3796 s. 41.

41 Summoning of jury to try claims

So soon as the time named by the commissioner of any proclaimed district for transmission of statements of claims as aforesaid has expired, and seven days before the day named for investigating such statements, the commissioner shall cause to be summoned from the list of special jurors for such district or any part thereof not less than twenty jurors for such investigation.

No. 3796 s. 42.

S. 42 amended by Nos 9549 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 241), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.18), 6/2018 s. 68(Sch. 2 item 129.6).

42 Commissioner may summon witnesses

Such commissioner shall issue witness summonses for the attendance of any person whose evidence he may think it necessary to take; and during such investigation he shall in reference to such jurors witnesses and other persons have the like and the same powers to punish any neglect to attend or refusal to be sworn or affirmed or to give evidence or any other contempt as are possessed by the County Court or a Judge of the County Court.

No. 3796 s. 43.

43 Mode of impanelling jury of assessors to try each claim

On the day on which such jurors have been summoned to attend the said commissioner shall proceed to call over the names of the jurors thus summoned and take down the names of those who answer; and if any objection is made against any of such jurors by any house-holder or other interested party on such grounds as are allowed by such commissioner, such juror shall be rejected; and when such list of those who answer shall be completed to ten against whom no objection has been allowed, the same list shall be submitted to the claimant who may attend personally or by his agent or attorney and who may strike off from such list five names; and the remaining five persons shall be assessors with the said commissioner to assess and award the amount (if any) to which such claimant is entitled.

No. 3796 s. 44.

44 Matters to be tried by the commissioner and assessors in each claim

Such commissioner and assessors shall proceed to ascertain (firstly) whether the injury or destruction for which such compensation is claimed was wilfully and unlawfully committed, whether such injury or destruction might not have been prevented by reasonable diligence or caution on the part of the person claiming, whether such person so claiming has used reasonable diligence to bring the guilty parties to justice, and whether by reasonable diligence he might not have recovered from the offending persons the amount of such injury or destruction; and (secondly) what amount of damage for the injury or destruction so sustained should be awarded to such claimant.

No. 3796 s. 45.

45 Conditions under which an award may be made in favour of a claimant

If the said commissioner and assessors are of opinion that such injury or destruction was wilfully or unlawfully committed, and that such claimant could not by reasonable diligence or exertion have prevented such injury or destruction, that such claimant has used reasonable diligence to bring the guilty person to justice, and that such claimant could not by any reasonable diligence have recovered from the offending persons the amount of such injury or destruction, such commissioner and assessors shall ascertain and award to such claimant such amount of damage or compensation as to such commissioner and assessors seems right and proper.

No. 3796 s. 46.

46 Unsuccessful claimant made liable for costs

If such commissioner and assessors find that such claimant has not under this Part any right to any compensation or amount for any damages injury or destruction alleged to have been sustained by him, such claimant shall at the discretion of such commissioner be liable to any expenses incurred in consequence of such claim whether for the payment or jurors the expenses of witnesses or otherwise.

No. 3796 s. 47.

S. 47 amended by Nos 9019 s. 2(1)(Sch. item 230), 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.19).

47 Summary process to recover such costs

Such expenses shall be assessed by such commissioner and assessors, and may be recovered by proceedings in a summary way before the Magistrates' Court.

No. 3796 s. 48.

48 Expenses of enforcing Act to be levied from inhabitants of proclaimed district

The commissioner after having ascertained the total amount to be awarded to all the claimants as aforesaid shall proceed to ascertain the amount of expenses incurred in the carrying into effect the provisions of this Part to which shall be added the probable expense of making collecting and enforcing the rate of assessment hereinafter provided; and for the purpose of so ascertaining the amount expended such commissioner shall be furnished with all necessary accounts documents and vouchers and shall certify the amount thereof in writing; and the amount so certified together with the total amount awarded for loss or damage sustained as aforesaid shall be levied upon the inhabitants of the district so proclaimed by way of assessment in manner hereinafter provided.

No. 3796 s. 49.

49 Census to be taken of inhabitants of proclaimed district for apportioning amounts charged

The commissioner shall cause an account to be taken of the number of habitations in such district and of the number of adult persons usually resident in each habitation, and shall then apportion to each habitation an amount to be assessed thereon according to the number of adult persons usually resident therein in proportion to the amount required to be paid by such district, so that each adult inhabitant may be assessed in equal portion as nearly as may be of the total amount to be paid by the district.

No. 3796 s. 50.

50 Commissioner to publish census etc.

The commissioner shall by notice in the Government Gazette and in some one newspaper published in or nearest to such proclaimed district give public notice of the number so taken of the habitations and residents in such district and of the assessments thereon so made, and that he will at a day and place to be fixed in such notice not earlier than seven days from the day of such publication hear and determine upon all such objections to such assessment.

No. 3796 s. 51.

51 Commissioner to investigate objections and determine on them

Such commissioner shall attend on such day and at such place and shall investigate all such objections and may from time to time adjourn such investigation and summon any necessary witnesses to give evidence in regard thereto; and such commissioner shall decide upon such objection and his decision shall be final and conclusive.

No. 3796 s. 52.

52 Final adjustment to be published

Upon the final adjustment of such assessment the said commissioner shall cause notice thereof and of the office or place at which the same must be paid to be published in the Government Gazette and some one newspaper published in or nearest to such district.

No. 3796 s. 53.

S. 53 amended by No. 57/1989 s. 3(Sch. item 206.20(a)(b)).

53 Summary proceedings to recover assessment from defaulters

If after seven days from such publication any person liable to the payment of such assessment neglects or omits to pay the same into the office or place named in such notice, such commissioner may issue a warrant to seize property in respect of the goods and chattels of the owner or occupier of the habitation so assessed; and if sufficient goods and chattels cannot be found upon such premises, such assessment shall remain a charge upon such premises and may at any future time be recovered on or from goods found thereon.

No. 3796 s. 54.

54 Commissioner to pay into Treasury all receipts and give certificates to claimants

On receipt by such commissioner of any part of the sums so assessed he shall pay the same into the Treasury, and shall from time to time give to each person entitled to any such compensation a certificate for the amount unpaid and to which, proportionately to the sums so received as aforesaid and after deduction of the expenses hereinafter mentioned, such person may be then entitled.

No. 3796 s. 55.

55 Payment out of Treasury after deducting expenses

On production of such certificate the Treasurer of Victoria shall, after deducting from the amount so certified by the commissioner the expenses incurred in carrying into execution this Part and ascertained as aforesaid, pay to the party entitled thereto the amount named in such certificate or if the same is for loss or injury on the part of the Crown shall deduct and retain the same.

S. 2.

Schedule

Number of Act	Title of Act	Extent of Repeal
3796	Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1928	The whole

Endnotes

1 General information

See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.

The Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958, No. 6406 was assented to on 30 September 1958 and came into operation on 1 April 1959: Government Gazette 18 March 1959, page 893.

INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)

Style changes

Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.

References to ILA s. 39B

Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided section or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subsections or subclauses, the original section or clause becomes subsection or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original section or clause.

Interpretation

As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:

• Headings

All headings included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any heading inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; sections; clauses; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms. See section 36(1A)(2A).

• Examples, diagrams or notes

All examples, diagrams or notes included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Act. See section 36(3A).

• Punctuation

All punctuation included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 forms part of that Act. Any punctuation inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. See section 36(3B).

• Provision numbers

All provision numbers included in an Act form part of that Act, whether inserted in the Act before, on or after 1 January 2001. Provision numbers include section numbers, subsection numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).

• Location of "legislative items"

A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of an Act is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.

• Other material

Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of an Act.
See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).

2 Table of Amendments

This publication incorporates amendments made to the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958 by Acts and subordinate instruments.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Crimes (Powers of Arrest) Act 1972, No. 8247

Assent Date:	6.4.72
Commencement Date:	1.7.72: Government Gazette 28.6.72 p. 2360
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Statute Law Revision Act 1977, No. 9019

Assent Date:	17.5.77
Commencement Date:	17.5.77 except as otherwise provided in s. 2(2)
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Statute Law Revision Act 1981, No. 9549

Assent Date:	19.5.81
Commencement Date:	19.5.81 except as otherwise provided in s. 2(2)
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Crimes (Classification of Offences) Act 1981, No. 9576

Assent Date:	26.5.81
Commencement Date:	1.9.81: Government Gazette 26.8.81 p. 2799
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Statute Law Revision Act 1983, No. 9902

Assent Date:	15.6.83
Commencement Date:	15.6.83 except as otherwise provided in s. 2(2)
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Penalties and Sentences (Amendment) Act 1983, No. 9945

Assent Date:	20.9.83
Commencement Date:	S. 2 on 1.9.81: s. 1(4); rest of Act on 20.12.83: Government Gazette 14.12.83 p. 4035
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Local Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1989, No. 12/1989

Assent Date:	9.5.89
Commencement Date:	S. 4(1)(Sch. 2 items 121.1–127.7) on 1.11.89: Government Gazette 1.11.89 p. 2798
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Magistrates' Court (Consequential Amendments) Act 1989, No. 57/1989 (as amended by No. 34/1990)

Assent Date:	14.6.89
Commencement Date:	S. 4(1)(a)–(e)(2) on 1.9.89: Government Gazette 30.8.89 p. 2210; rest of Act on 1.9.90: Government Gazette 25.7.90 p. 2217
Current State:	All of Act in operation

Parliamentary Precincts Act 2001, No. 4/2001

Assent Date:	10.4.01
Commencement Date:	S. 30 on 11.4.01: s. 2
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Monetary Units Act 2004, No. 10/2004

Assent Date:	11.5.04
Commencement Date:	S. 15(Sch. 1 item 32) on 1.7.04: s. 2(2)
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Victoria Police Amendment (Consequential and Other Matters) Act 2014, No. 37/2014

Assent Date:	3.6.14
Commencement Date:	S. 10(Sch. item 174) on 1.7.14: Special Gazette (No. 200) 24.6.14 p. 2
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018, No. 6/2018

Assent Date:	27.2.18
Commencement Date:	S. 68(Sch. 2 item 129) on 1.3.19: s. 2(2)
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence Protection and Other Matters) Act 2018, No. 33/2018

Assent Date:	14.8.18
Commencement Date:	S. 106 on 31.7.19: Special Gazette (No. 306) 30.7.19 p. 1
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Act 2023, No. 25/2023

Assent Date:	5.9.23
Commencement Date:	S. 7(Sch. 1 item 30) on 6.9.23: s. 2
Current State:	This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

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3 Explanatory details

S. 13: See s. 10 of the Public Safety Preservation Act 1958, No. 6348/1958. ↑

1 Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Version No. 029

Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

No. 6406 of 1958

Version incorporating amendments as at
6 September 2023

table of provisions

Section Page

1 Short title, commencement and division 1

2 Repeal and savings 1

Part I—Unlawful assemblies 3

5 Riotous meetings 3

6 Persons not dispersing after notice guilty of a misdemeanour 3

7 Not to extend to meetings for election of members of Parliament 4

9 Form of procedure 4

Part II—Party processions 5

10 Unlawful processions and assemblies 5

11 Magistrate to disperse such processions 5

12 Persons refusing to disperse to be apprehended and punished 6

Part III—Special constables 7

13 Magistrate may appoint special constables 7

14 Penalty for refusing to take the oath or affirmation of office 8

15 Non-residents may be appointed as special constables 9

16 Powers of special constables 9

17 Punishment for assaulting or resisting constables 10

18 Magistrates may make regulations respecting special constables and may remove them for misconduct 10

19 Power in special sessions to discontinue the services of constables 10

20 Special constables to deliver arms etc. to successors 11

21 Magistrates' Courts may order allowances to the special constables 11

24 Nothing here contained to abridge the power of justices 12

25 No formal information required 12

Part IV—Riotously disturbed districts 13

26 Definition 13

27 Magistrates' Court may summon jury 13

28 Constitution of jury 13

29 Court may summon witnesses 14

30 Jury shall by verdict define the area disturbed and fix date since when disturbed 14

31 Verdict of seven the verdict of all 14

32 Governor in Council may proclaim disturbed district as defined 14

33 Proclamation shall bring district under the operation of this Part 15

34 Losses in proclaimed districts to be levied from inhabitants thereof 15

The Act organises around a small number of distinct statutory concepts. For each, the text contains detailed mechanics.

Riotous and tumultuous assemblies (s 5). The Act defines the prohibited misconduct functionally rather than by an elaborate element-by-element statutory definition: persons who “assemble together riotously and tumultuously and to the disturbance of the public peace” are prohibited. The statute also provides a legal indemnity for those dispersing or attempting to disperse such assemblies, by stating they “shall be free discharged and indemnified” for killing, maiming or hurting any such person (s 5). That indemnity is a substantive legal protection for dispersal actions by peace-preserving actors.
Statutory notice requirement (ss 6, 11). The magistrate’s role is operationalised through a prescribed oral formula. In Part I the magistrate “shall and may proceed” to the meeting and read a specific command; failure to disperse after 15 minutes becomes an indictable offence (s 6). Part II uses similar mechanics for certain processions and assemblies related to festivals, political events or religious or political differences (s 10), with a 15-minute (one quarter of an hour) dispersal window after the magistrate’s command (s 12).
Unlawful processions and assemblies (s 10). The Act specifies a subset of parades and processions that are unlawful where they celebrate or demonstrate festivals, anniversaries or political events connected to religious or political distinctions, and where they bear weapons, publicly exhibit banners/emblems/flags likely to provoke animosity, or are accompanied by “music of a like nature or tendency.” The provision treats every person present at such an assembly as guilty of an indictable offence (s 10), subject to the statutory exception for election processions (s 10 proviso).
Special constables (ss 13-21). A magistrate who is satisfied, on oath or otherwise, that ordinary constables are insufficient may appoint special constables for a municipal district. The appointment requires a prescribed oath and must be notified to the Minister (s 13). Special constables have the same powers and duties as regular constables and operate throughout Victoria (s 16). The statute provides summary penalties for refusal to take the oath or to serve (s 14), for assault or resistance (s 17) and for failure to deliver arms at the end of service (s 20). Magistrates can regulate and remove special constables (s 18-19), and the Magistrates’ Court may order allowances to be paid, with the Minister required to procure warrants for payment from Consolidated Fund (s 21).
Riotously disturbed district regime (ss 26-55). The Act establishes a jury-driven factfinding process (ss 27-31) that informs a discretionary proclamation by the Governor in Council (s 32). Once proclaimed, private and Crown losses wilfully and unlawfully inflicted after the date found by the jury are assessed and may be paid to claimants via a commissioner (ss 34-45). The total of awards and enforcement expenses is then certified and levied on inhabitants of the proclaimed district by apportionment based on adult residents per habitation (ss 48-55). The Act sets out summary enforcement measures for non-payment, including seizure and charges upon premises (s 53).
Procedural finality and limitations (s 25, s 51). The Act excludes certain procedural remedies by specifying that no formal information is required and that proceedings before the Magistrates’ Court under Part III shall not be quashed or removed into the Supreme Court by certiorari “or any other process whatsoever” (s 25). In the disturbed-district regime the commissioner’s decisions on objections are “final and conclusive” (s 51). These mechanics allocate final decision authority within the administrative framework.

These concepts interact: the magistrate’s on-the-spot authority under ss 6 and 11 ties into the appointment of special constables (s 13) and the longer-run district-proclamation and cost-recovery regime (Part IV). Behaviourally, the regime affects the choices of those organising public demonstrations (content and conduct), of magistrates and police in exercising on-the-spot powers, of private persons who sustain losses in disturbed districts (claiming and documenting losses per s 39), and of inhabitants of proclaimed districts subject to assessment.

The Act allocates burdens and decision points across identifiable groups. The text names the actors and prescribes effects on them.

Participants in assemblies and processions. Any person assembling “riotously and tumultuously” or participating in processions defined in s 10 is directly affected. Section 10 treats every person present at the specified processions as “deemed to be guilty of an indictable offence.” The immediate behavioural implication for organisers and attendees is risk of criminal liability and, for processions, the risk a magistrate will read the dispersal command in s 11 and invoke s 12 if participants fail to disperse.
Magistrates. The Act places active duties and powers on magistrates. Magistrates may proceed to meetings to read prescribed notices (ss 6, 11), appoint special constables where ordinary constables are insufficient (s 13), summon and empanel juries to determine if a district has been disturbed (ss 27-31), and supervise aspects of the special constable regime including making orders and removing appointees (ss 18-19). Magistrates also certify jury findings to the Governor (s 31). Thus magistrates are primary decision-makers in on-the-ground enforcement and in triggering the Part IV regime.
Special constables and ordinary constables. Persons appointed as special constables acquire all powers, immunities and liabilities of regular constables and can act “throughout Victoria” (s 16). Appointees must take an oath or affirmation (s 13) and are subject to summary penalties for refusal or neglect (s 14), and must deliver issued arms and equipment when ceasing office (s 20). Ordinary constables are referenced as the baseline; magistrates may appoint special constables when they deem ordinary constables insufficient (s 13).
Minister and Governor in Council. Appointments and suspensions of special constables must be notified to the Minister (ss 13, 19). The Governor in Council has the discretionary power to proclaim a jury-defined disturbed district (s 32) and to appoint or remove the commissioner for a proclaimed district (s 35). The Minister is also the addressee for Magistrates’ Court orders for allowances to be funded from the Consolidated Fund (s 21).
Inhabitants and owners in proclaimed districts. Where a district is proclaimed disturbed, the inhabitants of that district bear the economic consequences. Losses wilfully and unlawfully inflicted are to be assessed and charged on the proclaimed district and levied on the inhabitants (s 34). The commissioner conducts a census of habitations and adult residents and apportions assessments so each adult is assessed an equal portion as near as may be (s 49). Inhabitants who fail to pay assessments are subject to seizure of goods or to the assessment remaining a charge on premises (s 53).
Claimants for losses and the Crown. Owners of private property damaged during disturbances may file claims specifying details required by s 39. Persons in charge of Crown buildings are deemed claimants for Crown losses (s 38). Claimants must demonstrate that injuries were wilful and unlawful and that they used reasonable diligence to bring offenders to justice and could not recover from offenders (ss 44-45). Unsuccessful claimants may be ordered to pay the expenses incurred in consequence of their claim (s 46).
Courts and jurors. Magistrates’ Courts hear summary proceedings under Part II and Part III, certify findings to the Governor, summon jurors for factfinding on disturbed districts (ss 27-31), and may order and supervise allowances payable to special constables (s 21). Jurors decide whether a district has been disturbed, fix the date since disturbance began, define boundaries (subject to the police-district limitation in s 30), and a verdict of seven jurors suffices (s 31).

Who pays, who decides, what behaviour changes: the Act places initial enforcement discretion with magistrates, operational policing power with special constables and ordinary constables, adjudicative factfinding with juries for district disturbance, fiscal burden for compensation and enforcement costs on inhabitants of proclaimed districts, and administrative payment responsibility with the Treasurer and Minister for allowances and certificates (ss 21, 54-55). The practical behaviour change is that organisers must avoid the specified conduct; magistrates and police must be prepared to exercise the prescribed notice-and-wait procedure; property owners must document losses carefully under s 39 if they want compensation; and inhabitants of a proclaimed area must expect a census and possible levies.

The Act prescribes specific duties to officials and rights or protections to particular actors. These appear in operative language and are enforceable under the Act.

Magistrate duties and powers. Magistrates must or may proceed to meetings or processions they deem unlawful (ss 6, 11). They are required to read a prescribed dispersal notice (ss 6, 11). Where a magistrate reads that notice and persons remain after the prescribed delay, the magistrate may have them arrested by warrant and proceed summarily (s 12). Magistrates also have the duty or power to appoint special constables (s 13), to make regulations respecting such constables and remove them for misconduct (s 18), to suspend services in special sessions (s 19), and to certify jury findings to the Governor (s 31). The Magistrates’ Court may order allowances and expenses to be paid to special constables and to cover costs in providing arms and equipment; the Minister must procure warrants from the Consolidated Fund for payment (s 21).
Special constable duties and rights. Appointees must take an oath or affirmation in terms set out in s 13, and while holding office must discharge duties faithfully “according to law.” They have the same powers, immunities, advantages, and liabilities as regular constables, “not only within the municipal district for which he has been appointed but also throughout Victoria” (s 16). They are subject to removal and regulation by magistrates (ss 18-19) and must deliver arms and equipment when ceasing office (s 20). Summary penalties attach to refusal to take the oath, neglect to appear, refusal to serve, and refusal to deliver arms (ss 14, 20).
Rights of those dispersing assemblies. Section 5 expressly provides that persons dispersing, seizing or apprehending riotously assembled persons, or attempting so to disperse, seize or apprehend them, "shall be free discharged and indemnified of for and concerning the killing maiming or hurting" of any such unlawfully assembled person. That provision is framed as a substantive indemnity for those engaged in authorised dispersal.
Rights and duties of claimants in proclaimed districts. Claimants must file a written statement of claim containing particulars required by s 39: the nature and extent of injury, the value, the date and place, names of persons present or believed present, and the measures taken to bring offenders to justice and recover amounts. The commissioner must give notice of time/place to investigate (s 40). The commissioner and assessors must consider whether injury was wilful and unlawful, whether the claimant could have prevented it by reasonable diligence, and whether the claimant used reasonable diligence to bring offenders to justice and recover amounts before awarding compensation (s 44). If the commissioner and assessors are satisfied on these matters, they may award compensation (s 45).
Rights of inhabitants of proclaimed districts and assessment mechanics. The commissioner conducts a census of habitations and adult residents in the district and apportions assessment amounts among habitations so each adult is assessed as equally as possible (s 49). The commissioner must publish the census and proposed assessments and hear objections; his determinations on objections are final and conclusive (ss 50-51). The commissioner publishes final adjustments and may issue warrants to seize goods of defaulters (ss 52-53). Receipts are to be paid into the Treasury; the commissioner issues certificates to claimants for amounts unpaid which entitle them to payment from the Treasurer after deduction of certified expenses (ss 54-55).
Procedural rule on formal pleadings. Section 9 provides that in proceedings under Part I it is sufficient to state the offence in the words of the enactment. Section 25 specifies that no formal information is required and that proceedings under Part III shall not be quashed, set aside or removed into the Supreme Court by certiorari or any other process, limiting procedural technicalities and certain avenues of judicial review for Part III matters.

These duties and rights allocate operational responsibilities to magistrates, empower special constables, protect dispersal actors with indemnity in s 5, and create a detailed administrative pathway for losses and levies in proclaimed districts. The Act thus binds multiple public actors to administrative steps and creates entitlements for private persons who satisfy the factual and diligence conditions for compensation.

The Act mixes summary and indictable regimes, monetary penalties expressed as penalty units, imprisonment for summary convictions, and administrative enforcement by seizure and rates.

Criminal enforcement and arrest. For riotous assemblies a magistrate is empowered to proceed to the place, read the prescribed notice and, after the specified delay, have non-dispersing persons arrested on a magistrate-signed warrant and tried summarily before the Magistrates’ Court (s 12). Section 6 frames remaining after the 15-minute notice as an indictable offence in the context of riotous meetings, while s 10 treats presence at the specified processions as an indictable offence. For s 12 offences the Magistrates’ Court may commit a convicted person to gaol for up to one month for a first offence and up to three months for subsequent offences.
Monetary penalties. Several offences relating to special constables carry monetary penalties stated in penalty units. Section 14 prescribes a penalty of not more than 0.1 penalty unit for refusing to take the oath or for neglecting to appear or serve without reasonable excuse. Section 17 prescribes a penalty of not more than 0.4 penalty unit for assaulting or resisting a special constable while in execution of office, or alternatively the offender may be subject to the same punishment as for assaulting a police officer under the Victoria Police Act 2013. Section 20 sets a penalty of not more than 0.1 penalty unit for failing to deliver arms and equipment to successors. Penalty-unit amounts in the Act link to the current statutory monetary conversion scheme, as reflected in the Table of Amendments (Monetary Units Act 2004).
Summary recovery and seizure. For unpaid assessments in proclaimed districts the commissioner may issue a warrant to seize goods and chattels of the owner or occupier of the habitation so assessed (s 53). If sufficient goods cannot be found, the assessment remains a charge upon the premises and may be recovered from goods found thereon later. Section 47 provides summary process to recover costs when a claimant is ordered to pay expenses for an unsuccessful claim, and section 53 similarly establishes summary proceedings for non-payment of district assessments.
Administrative financial flow. The commissioner pays receipts into the Treasury and issues certificates to claimants for unpaid amounts, entitling them to payment by the Treasurer after deduction of the commissioner-certified expenses (ss 54-55). The Magistrates’ Court orders allowances to special constables and these are to be paid from Consolidated Fund on warrants procured by the Minister (s 21). The Governor in Council may disallow an order the Governor considers excessive (s 21 proviso).
Powers to punish contempts and enforce attendance. In the district-regime inquiries the Magistrates’ Court and the commissioner have the powers to issue witness summonses and to punish neglect to attend, refusal to be sworn, or other contempts “as are possessed by the County Court or a Judge of the County Court” (ss 29, 42). This provides broad compulsion to secure evidence for jury and commissioner inquiries.
Procedural bars on remedy. Section 25 states that in proceedings under Part III no formal information is required and that proceedings “shall not be quashed, or set aside or deemed void or insufficient for want of form only, or be removed or removeable by certiorari or any other process whatsoever into the Supreme Court.” This provision limits avenues for quashing or certiorari applications in relation to Part III matters, concentrating remedial avenues within the summary Magistrates’ Court processes prescribed.

In short, enforcement under the Act combines criminal arrest and summary trial, monetary fines in penalty units, imprisonment for summary convictions under s 12, seizure and charge-on-property remedies for unpaid assessments, and administrative compulsion through summons and contempt powers for commissioner and jury inquiries. The Act centralises initial enforcement decisions with magistrates and establishes financial recovery mechanisms that shift costs to declared inhabitants of disturbed districts.

The Act contains explicit cross-references and its endnotes and Table of Amendments list statutes that have amended or interact with the Act. The text therefore sits in a web of statutory relationships that affect interpretation, penalty quantum and institutional overlap.

Direct textual cross-reference. Section 17 cross-references the Victoria Police Act 2013 by providing that a person who assaults or resists a special constable may be liable to “such other punishment upon conviction on any charge for such offence as any persons are by law liable to for assaulting a police officer within the meaning of the Victoria Police Act 2013 in the execution of the duties of his office.” That cross-reference synchronises the sanctioning regime for assaults on special constables with the penalties applicable for assaults on police officers under the Victoria Police Act 2013.
Penalty units and monetary references. The Act uses penalty units in ss 14, 17, 20. The Table of Amendments records the Monetary Units Act 2004 as an amending measure (No. 10/2004). The practical effect is that monetary penalties in the Act track the penalty-unit scheme set elsewhere; any change to the value of a penalty unit under applicable monetary-units legislation will alter the real-dollar penalty in the Act without needing amendment of the Act’s text.
Procedural and jurisdictional interaction. Section 25 removes certain procedural formalities and bars removal to the Supreme Court by certiorari “or any other process whatsoever” in proceedings under Part III. This provision narrows routes of judicial review in relation to special-constable proceedings. It may interact with general judicial review principles and other procedural statutes, but the Act itself states the exclusion.
Administrative and executive interplay. The Governor in Council has a statutory role in proclaiming disturbed districts (s 32) and appointing commissioners (s 35). The Minister must be notified of special-constable appointments and suspensions (ss 13, 19) and must arrange warrants for payment of Magistrates’ Court-ordered allowances from the Consolidated Fund (s 21). The Treasurer is the payment point for certificates issued by the commissioner (s 55). These provisions interface with standard public finance and executive appointment mechanisms.
Historical amendments and related statutes. The Table of Amendments lists numerous amending statutes that have modified the Act’s text or context: Crimes (Powers of Arrest) Act 1972, Statute Law Revision Acts, Crimes (Classification of Offences) Act 1981, Penalties and Sentences (Amendment) Act 1983, Local Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1989, Magistrates’ Court (Consequential Amendments) Act 1989, Parliamentary Precincts Act 2001 (which repealed certain sections), Victoria Police Amendment Act 2014, Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018, and Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Act 2023. These entries indicate where terminology, penalty classification, or cross-references have been updated. The endnotes also reference the Public Safety Preservation Act 1958 in relation to s 13.
Exemptions and electoral law interface. Section 7 and the provisos in ss 10 and 11 provide explicit non-application to meetings or processions held in the course of parliamentary elections, thereby creating a statutory carve-out where electoral meetings are concerned. This places the Act into direct interaction with electoral processes and the law governing elections.
Limits on geographic inclusion. Section 30 contains a proviso that any boundaries determined by a jury “shall not include any portion of more than one police district.” This creates an explicit interaction between the Act’s district-definition mechanics and police-district geography, which in practice engages police administrative boundaries and operations.

Practitioners should note that these interactions are driven by the Act’s text and the Table of Amendments; changes to external statutes (for example Victoria Police Act or penalty-unit legislation) will change the operational effects of the Act without textual amendment of the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act itself.

The printed Act incorporates and documents several decades of amendments. The legislative history in the endnotes and Table of Amendments allows tracing of which provisions were modified and by what instrument. Below are the substantive amendment points recorded in the Act's document.

Early consolidation and commencement. The Act was assented to on 30 September 1958 and came into operation on 1 April 1959 by Government Gazette notice (Endnote 1). It consolidated law relating to unlawful assemblies, processions, special constables and riotously disturbed districts, repealing the Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1928 (Schedule).
Changes to Parts I and II. Several statutory amendments between 1972 and 2023 affected wording and classification of offences. The Crimes (Powers of Arrest) Act 1972 (No. 8247) and the Crimes (Classification of Offences) Act 1981 (No. 9576) made consequential changes to the classification and arrest powers referenced in the Act. The Statute Law Revision Acts (1977, 1981, 1983, 1990s) enacted textual and style changes across multiple sections. Specific section repeals are recorded: s 3 and s 4 are repealed by the Parliamentary Precincts Act 2001 (No. 4/2001), as recorded in the schedule and the running text of the Act.
Special constable regime updates. The Local Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1989, the Magistrates' Court (Consequential Amendments) Act 1989, the Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018, and the Victoria Police Amendment (Consequential and Other Matters) Act 2014 are recorded as having amended ss 13-21 in various respects. For example, s 13’s proviso and s 14’s penalty wording show amending entries (Nos 9549, 12/1989, 57/1989, 6/2018). The Table of Amendments lists precise items and commencement dates for each statutory change.
Penalty-unit transition. The Monetary Units Act 2004 (No. 10/2004) is recorded in the Table of Amendments as affecting how monetary penalties are expressed, reflected in the Act’s use of penalty-unit values (for example 0.1 and 0.4 penalty units in ss 14, 17, 20).
Modern references to the Sovereign and statutory style. The Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Act 2023 (No. 25/2023) is recorded as affecting references to the Sovereign in the Act, with commencement on 6 September 2023. Style changes authorised under the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 are noted in endnotes.
Repeals and removals. The Parliamentary Precincts Act 2001 repealed sections 3 and 4 of this Act (Endnote: see Table with s30 reference). Some other numbered sections in the early Part I are indicated as repealed in the text’s editorial notes.
Timing of amendments. The Table of Amendments records precise assent and commencement dates for each amending Act, for example Crimes (Classification of Offences) Act 1981 commenced 1 September 1981 for relevant provisions; Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018 (s 68) commenced on 1 March 2019; the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence Protection and Other Matters) Act 2018 (No. 33/2018) commenced s 106 on 31 July 2019.

The Act’s text embeds these amendment references; practitioners must consult the consolidated version (this document is “Version No. 029” incorporating amendments as at 6 September 2023) for the operative wording. The Table of Amendments in the endnotes is the statutory record of which external Acts altered which parts of this statute and when those amendments began operation.

The text of the Act and its endnotes do not cite judicial authorities or provide a register of cases interpreting the Act. The provided legislative document contains no named cases, citations to reported decisions, or summaries of judicial rulings. Accordingly, there is no litigation history contained within this printed version.

That absence in the text has practical implications for research and litigation strategy:

No precedent contained in the statute. The Act itself does not record how courts have construed key provisions such as the scope of “riotous and tumultuous” in s 5, the scope of the indemnity in s 5, the meaning of a carnival or procession “calculated to provoke animosity” in s 10, or the limits of the exclusion from certiorari in s 25. Users must therefore consult case law databases, court reports, and legal practice materials to find judicial interpretation and application.
Procedural constraints that affect judicial review. Section 25’s language that proceedings under Part III “shall not be quashed, or set aside or deemed void or insufficient for want of form only, or be removed or removeable by certiorari or any other process whatsoever into the Supreme Court” raises questions about the availability of supervisory writs and procedural relief in the Supreme Court. Absent case law in the text, practitioners must investigate whether courts have read that clause as ousting supervisory jurisdiction entirely, or whether other constitutional or statutory review avenues remain. The Act’s text therefore flags a likely contested intersection between statutory finality and judicial review doctrines.
Jury findings and executive discretion. The Act gives juries a factfinding role for disturbed-district determinations (ss 27-31) with a certificate to the Governor (s 31) and a discretionary proclamation by the Governor in Council (s 32). Litigation history would be relevant to learn how courts have treated the sufficiency of jury processes, challenges to proclamations, or disputes over the commissioner’s awards and certification. The Act’s finality wording for commissioner determinations on objections (s 51) further suggests areas where litigation may have been attempted or resisted.
Compelled evidence and contempt powers. The commissioner and Magistrates' Court are given contempt and compulsion powers “as are possessed by the County Court or a Judge of the County Court” (ss 29, 42). Litigation over the exercise of those powers, admissibility of evidence taken under the Act, and related procedural protections would be expected in practice, but again the Act’s text contains no case references.

Research note for practitioners: because the statute itself contains no litigation history, counsel, compliance officers and researchers should not rely on this printed text alone to assess interpretive risk. One must search Victorian appellate court decisions, Supreme Court judicial review records, and Magistrates’ Court reported decisions for cases engaging ss 5-12 (assemblies/processions), ss 13-21 (special constables and related penalties), and Part IV disputes (jury findings, proclamations, commissioner awards and levies).

The Act contains several technical and substantive features that produce practical risks if overlooked. These are concrete, textually grounded traps for organisers, magistrates, claimants and local communities.

Prescribed oral wording and timing. The statute prescribes the specific words to be read by the magistrate for both riotous meetings (s 6) and processions (s 11). A person who intentionally obstructs the magistrate from reading the notice is criminalised under s 6. The prescribed wait times differ in the text: s 6 provides that the offence attaches if persons remain after fifteen minutes following the notice being read or “hindered” while reading; s 12 prescribes “one quarter of an hour” after the command for processions. Practitioners should not assume flexible wording is permitted; the Act uses specific forms and times.
Broad definition of unlawful processions. Section 10 is content-sensitive: it targets processions celebrating or commemorating festivals, anniversaries or political events linked to religious or political differences, combined with provocative symbols, weapons, or “music of a like nature or tendency.” Presence at such a procession is an indictable offence. The combination of content plus conduct means organisers whose events include flags, emblems or “music of a like nature” risk the Act’s application even if no violence occurs. The Act also explicitly exempts election processions (s 10 proviso), so organisers must know whether the event is within the electoral carve-out in s 7 and s 10.
Indemnity clause scope. Section 5 grants indemnity to those dispersing, seizing or apprehending riotous assemblies if persons are killed, maimed or hurt in that course. The indemnity language may be construed narrowly or broadly in litigation; absence of judicial guidance in the text means practitioners should treat the indemnity as a statutory defence exposure that requires factual mapping against any use of force. The indemnity applies when the assembly is “so unlawfully riotously and tumultuously assembled as aforesaid,” a factual threshold.
Wide powers and breadth of special constable authority. Special constables “throughout Victoria” have the same powers, advantages and immunities as ordinary constables (s 16). A magistrate may appoint non-residents as special constables (s 15). Practically, appointment confers statewide authority on often ad hoc appointees; entities receiving or interacting with special constables should check appointment records and oaths (s 13). Refusal to obey lawful directions from special constables carries penalty exposure (s 14), and assaulting or resisting a special constable carries a monetary penalty or alternative punishment tied to the Victoria Police Act 2013 (s 17).
Finality and limited review in commissioner processes. The commissioner’s decisions on objections are “final and conclusive” (s 51). The commissioner’s adjustment and apportionment processes culminate in published final adjustments (s 52) and summary enforcement (s 53). This creates tight timelines and limited internal avenues of appeal, so claimants and inhabitants must engage fully at the objection and hearing stages.
Fiscal burden on inhabitants, not necessarily on organisers or offenders. Section 34 charges the value of private or public property wilfully and unlawfully injured within a proclaimed district on the inhabitants of the district. The levy system (ss 48-55) can therefore displace the costs of unrest onto local communities through census-based apportionment (s 49). This creates potential political and administrative friction, and a risk that the party that suffers loss or that caused damage is not the same as the one paying the levy.
Claims formalities and cost risk. Section 39 requires detailed written claims including names of persons known or believed to have been present and steps taken to bring guilty parties to justice. Section 46 makes unsuccessful claimants liable at the commissioner’s discretion for expenses of the claim. A claimant who fails to meet the s 39 requisites or to show reasonable diligence risks both losing compensation and being ordered to pay costs.
Geographic constraint on jury boundaries. Section 30’s proviso bars definition of a disturbed area that includes more than one police district. That limits the scale of proclamations and may produce edge effects where disturbances span police-district boundaries. Practitioners should map police-district boundaries before invoking Part IV.
Procedural removal bar in Part III. Section 25 prohibits removal of proceedings under Part III into the Supreme Court by certiorari or any other process. This raises potential constitutional and procedural complexity, as parties may find traditional supervisory remedies unavailable for certain magistrate actions concerning special constables.

These “gotchas” are concrete statutory mechanics, and they work together: for example, the combination of a mandated magistrate notice, potential appointment of special constables, indemnity for dispersal actors, and the risk of a later proclamation that levies costs on inhabitants produces an operational chain with discrete decision points at which actors must act carefully.

Compliance under the Act requires attention at three levels: (A) organisers and participants in public assemblies; (B) magistrates and law enforcement actors; and (C) claimants and inhabitants in the riotously disturbed district regime. Below are practical, text-grounded steps and checklists.

A. For event organisers, participants and venue owners

Avoid triggering s 10. Do not plan processions or assemblies that celebrate or commemorate events connected to religious or political distinctions, or, if they do, avoid the display of firearms or offensive weapons, avoid public exhibition of banners, emblems, flags or symbols that might reasonably be calculated to provoke animosity, and avoid music described in s 10 as “of a like nature or tendency.” If the event is an electoral meeting or procession it falls outside Part II’s application (s 10 proviso, s 7), but organisers should confirm the event’s status.
Prepare for magistrate intervention. If a magistrate proceeds to the place and reads the prescribed command (ss 6, 11), comply and disperse immediately. Failure to disperse after the statutory wait (fifteen minutes under s 6; one quarter of an hour under s 12) exposes persons to arrest and summary proceedings. Organisers should have dispersal plans and legal advisors ready to document compliance if the magistrate reads the notice.
Document event security and diligence. Given that, under Part IV, claimants must show reasonable diligence to bring perpetrators to justice (s 44) and list efforts taken in a written claim (s 39), organisers should document security arrangements, communications with police, incident reports, and any efforts to identify wrongdoers.

B. For magistrates, police and persons involved in public order response

Use prescribed wording precisely. When reading dispersal notices, use the statutory wording or words “to the effect following” as in ss 6 and 11 and observe the statutory delay periods. If a magistrate is obstructed while reading the notice, s 6 criminalises obstruction.
Follow appointment, notification and removal mechanics for special constables. When appointing special constables under s 13, ensure: (i) the statutory threshold is satisfied (oath or other evidence that tumult, riot or indictable offence has occurred or may be reasonably apprehended, or a magistrate otherwise considers ordinary constables insufficient); (ii) the prescribed oath or affirmation is administered and recorded; and (iii) notice of the nomination and appointment with the circumstances is transmitted promptly to the Minister (s 13 proviso). When suspending or removing appointees, notify the Minister (s 19). Ensure systems exist for receiving and accounting for arms and equipment on conclusion of service (s 20).
Ensure law-enforcement records can support indemnity claims. Section 5 indemnifies actors dispersing riotous assemblies from liability for killing or maiming in that process. Where force is used, officers and decision-makers should prepare contemporaneous records that establish the assembly’s character, the sequence of events, and the necessity of dispersal to support potential indemnity claims.

C. For claimants, property owners and inhabitants of proclaimed districts

Prepare claims to statutory form and evidential standard. To claim compensation under Part IV, file a written statement that satisfies s 39: specify nature, extent and value of damage, date and place, names and residences of persons known or believed to have been present or active in causing the damage, and detail measures taken to bring offenders to justice. Collect contemporaneous photographs, valuations, witness statements, police reports and evidence of prosecutions or attempts to prosecute.
Engage proactively in the commissioner’s process. Respond to notice of times and places for investigation (s 40). When the commissioner summons jurors and witnesses (s 41-42), attend with counsel or agent. Be prepared to rebut any suggestion that the injury could have been prevented with reasonable diligence, because s 44 requires the commissioner and assessors to consider that question.
Budget for potential levies and enforcement costs. If a district is proclaimed disturbed, inhabitants must expect an apportionment process (s 49) and possible assessments levied to pay awards and enforcement expenses (ss 48-55). Where local government, businesses or commercial landlords operate in a district, plan cashflow for potential assessments and understand objection mechanisms: the commissioner must publish census and assessment notices and hear objections, but his decisions on objections are final (ss 50-51).
Beware of costs for unsuccessful claims. If the commissioner and assessors find no right to compensation, the claimant may be ordered to pay expenses incurred as to jurors and witnesses (s 46), recoverable by summary proceedings (s 47). Seek early legal advice on merit before lodging claims likely to fail on the s 44 criteria.

D. For local councils and property owners

Map police-district boundaries. Section 30 prevents a proclamation from including any portion of more than one police district. Ensure local geographic planning accounts for that constraint when considering aggregated liability or seeking redress.
Document habitual residence and adult-count data. The commissioner will apportion assessments according to adult residents per habitation (s 49). Maintain up-to-date records that will support objections to proposed apportionments.

E. For lawyers and compliance advisers

Check penalty-unit values and cross-references. Penalty amounts are given in penalty units; verify current penalty-unit values under monetary-units legislation. Where s 17 refers to penalties in the Victoria Police Act 2013, verify current cross-referenced penalties and offence definitions.
Anticipate limited judicial review in Parts III and IV. Section 25 restricts removal of Part III matters by certiorari and s 51 gives finality to commissioner determinations on objections. Prepare factual and procedural compliance at the primary stage because later judicial remedies may be constrained.

These compliance steps are grounded in the statutory text and should be operationalised in checklists, event-runbooks, and evidence-capture processes for anyone operating in the spaces the Act governs.

Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Plain English Summary

Deep Dive

What it does

Current sections

Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Source text: opening excerpt

1 Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958

Main concepts

Who it affects

Key duties and rights

Penalties and enforcement

How it interacts with other laws

Amendment history

Litigation history

Gotchas

How to comply