South Australian Current Acts

CRIMINAL LAW CONSOLIDATION ACT 1935 - SECT 15A

15A—Defence of property etc

        (1)         It is a defence to a charge of an offence if—

            (a)         the defendant genuinely believed the conduct to which the charge relates to be necessary and reasonable—

                  (i)         to protect property from unlawful appropriation, destruction, damage or interference; or

                  (ii)         to prevent criminal trespass to land or premises, or to remove from land or premises a person who is committing a criminal trespass; or

                  (iii)         to make or assist in the lawful arrest of an offender or alleged offender or a person who is unlawfully at large; and

            (b)         if the conduct resulted in death—the defendant did not intend to cause death nor did the defendant act recklessly realising that the conduct could result in death; and

            (c)         the conduct was, in the circumstances as the defendant genuinely believed them to be, reasonably proportionate to the threat that the defendant genuinely believed to exist ¹ .

        (2)         It is a partial defence to a charge of murder (reducing the offence to manslaughter) if—

            (a)         the defendant genuinely believed the conduct to which the charge relates to be necessary and reasonable—

                  (i)         to protect property from unlawful appropriation, destruction, damage or interference; or

                  (ii)         to prevent criminal trespass to land or premises, or to remove from land or premises a person who is committing a criminal trespass; or

                  (iii)         to make or assist in the lawful arrest of an offender or alleged offender or a person who is unlawfully at large; and

            (b)         the defendant did not intend to cause death; but

            (c)         the conduct was not, in the circumstances as the defendant genuinely believed them to be, reasonably proportionate to the threat that the defendant genuinely believed to exist. ²

        (3)         For the purposes of this section, a person commits a criminal trespass if the person trespasses on land or premises—

            (a)         with the intention of committing an offence against a person or property (or both); or

            (b)         in circumstances where the trespass itself constitutes an offence or is an element of the offence.

        (4)         If a defendant raises a defence under this section, the defence is taken to have been established unless the prosecution disproves the defence beyond reasonable doubt.

Notes—

1         See, however, section 15C. If the defendant establishes that he or she is entitled to the benefit of that section, this paragraph will be inapplicable.

2         See, however, section 15C. If the defendant establishes that he or she is entitled to the benefit of that section, the defendant will be entitled to a complete defence.