New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 203E

203E Offence

(1) A person--

(a) who intentionally causes a fire, and

(b) who is reckless as to the spread of the fire to vegetation on any public land or on land belonging to another,

is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 21 years.

(2) For the purposes of this section, recklessness may also be established by proof of intention.

(3) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence against this section if--

(a) the person is a firefighter or acting under the direction of a firefighter, and

(b) the person caused the fire in the course of bushfire fighting or hazard reduction operations.

(4) If on the trial of a person for an offence against this section the jury is not satisfied that the accused is guilty of the offence charged but is satisfied on the evidence that the accused is guilty of an offence against section 100 (1) of the Rural Fires Act 1997 , it may find the accused not guilty of the offence charged but guilty of the latter offence, and the accused is liable to punishment accordingly.