ARSON

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Arson is the act of intentionally and maliciously destroying or damaging property through the use of fire. Within this definition there are four core elements:

the lighting of fire - fire is the fundamental element of arson; if there is no fire lit, there is no arson (some legal definitions also include lighting explosives);
intention or wilfulness - excludes fires started by natural causes or accidents;
malice - excludes fires started intentionally with positive or legitimate intent; and
property - there must be some kind of property or object that is burned.

The element of intent is critical to a definition of arson. People deliberately light fires for many reasons, including for some legitimate and legal purposes. For example, people may light fires at home in a fireplace, or at a camp site in an approved place when there are no fire bans in force, or prescribed burning conducted in a controlled manner for fuel and land management purposes. In all these cases the fire is deliberately lit but does not constitute arson as there was no intention to cause damage or harm and no breach of the law.

In any of these cases the fire may spread to fuels surrounding the fire site, creating a large fire and causing property and environmental damage and even injury or loss of life. Assuming there was no negligence or reckless indifference involved, and the person or persons responsible for controlling the fire did all they reasonably could to keep the fire under control, there is no arson and no breach of the law because there was never an intention to cause damage or harm.

Statute	Section	Offence	Max. penalty
Commonwealth
Crimes Act 1914	29 Destroying or damaging Commonwealth property	Intentionally destroying or damaging any Commonwealth property	10 years
Australian Capital Territory
Criminal Code	404(1)	Causes damage to a building or vehicle by fire or explosive and intends to cause or is reckless about causing damage to that or any other building or vehicle	15 years or 1,500 penalty units or both
Criminal Code 2002	404(2)	Threatens to damage a building or vehicle by fire or explosive and intends to cause, or is reckless about causing, fear to the person receiving the threat	7 years or 700 penalty units or both
Criminal Code 2002	405 Causing bushfires	Intentionally or recklessly causes a fire and is reckless about the spread of the fire to vegetation or property belonging to someone else	15 years or 1,500 penalty units or both
Crimes Act 1900	117(1) Arson	Destroys or damages any property by fire or explosive	15 years
Crimes Act 1900	117(2)	Dishonestly, with view to gain, destroys or damages, by fire or explosive, any property	20 years
New South Wales
Crimes Act 1900	195	Maliciously destroying or damaging property by fire or explosive	10 years
Crimes Act 1900	196	Maliciously destroying or damaging property by fire or explosive	14 years
Crimes Act 1900	197	Dishonestly destroying or damaging property by fire	14 years
Crimes Act 1900	198	Maliciously destroying or damaging property with the intention of endangering life	25 years
Crimes Act 1900	203E	Intentionally causes a fire and is reckless as to the spread to vegetation	14 years
Rural Fires Act 1997	100(1)	Sets fire to land and permits fire to escape so as to cause or be likely to cause damage	5 years or 1,000 penalty units
Young Offenders Regulations 1997	19A	Outcome plans for bushfire/arson juvenile offenders	Provides for youth conferencing and specific reparative outcomes
Northern Territory
Criminal Code Act	239 Arson	Unlawfully setting fire to building, ship, vegetable produce, mine or aircraft	Life
Criminal Code Act	240 Attempt to commit arson	Attempting to unlawfully set a fire in accordance with section 239	14 years
Criminal Code Act	241 Setting fire to crops and growing plants	Unlawfully setting fire to crops, trees or pasture (in each case whether indigenous or cultivated)	14 years
Queensland
Criminal Code Act 1899	461 Arson	Wilfully and unlawfully setting fire to building or structure, vessel, fuel, cultivated vegetable produce, mine, aircraft or motor vehicle	Life
Criminal Code Act 1899	462 Attempt to commit arson	Attempting to set a fire contrary to section 461	14 years
Criminal Code Act 1899	463 Setting fire to crops and growing plants	Wilfully and unlawfully setting fire to crops, indigenous or cultivated hay or grass, indigenous or cultivated trees, saplings or shrubs, or heath, gorse, furze or fern	14 years
South Australia
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935	85 Damaging property	Intending to damage property by fire or being recklessly indifferent as to damage by fire or explosives	If completed: Where damage exceeds $30,000, life; damage over $2,500 to $30,000, 5 years; damage $2,500 or less, 2 years For an attempt: Where damage would have exceeded $30,000, 12 years; where damage would have been over $2,500 to $30,000, 3 years; where damage would have not exceeded $2,500, 18 months
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935	85A Recklessly endangering property	Doing an act knowing that the act creates a substantial risk of serious damage to the property of another, with lawful authority	6 years
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935	85B Special provision for causing a bushfire	Intending to cause or recklessly indifferent as to causing a bushfire	20 years
Tasmania
Criminal Code Act 1924	268 Arson	Unlawfully setting fire to any structure, vegetable produce, timber, fuel, mine, ship or other vessel, etc.	21 years or discretionary fine or both
Criminal Code Act 1924	268A Unlawfully setting fire to crops, forest, moorland, peat, etc.	Unlawfully setting fire to any vegetation, living or dead (including forests, trees, saplings, shrubs, grass, litter, bark, logs, etc.)	21 years or discretionary fine or both
Criminal Code Act 1924	269 Unlawfully setting fire to property	Unlawfully setting fire to any property not covered by sections 268 or 268A	21 years or discretionary fine or both
Criminal Code Act 1924	269A Causing a fire with intent to injure person or property	Unlawfully placing flammable or combustible material or doing any other act for the purpose of causing a fire with the intent to injure any person or property	21 years or discretionary fine or both
Victoria
Crimes Act 1958	197 Destroying or damaging property	Intentionally and without lawful excuse destroying or damaging property by fire (‘arson’), whether or not intending to endanger the life another, and whether or not with a view to dishonestly gaining	15 years
Crimes Act 1958	197A Arson causing death	Committing arson as defined in section 197 and thereby causing the death of another person	25 years
Crimes Act 1958	198 Threats to destroy or damage property	Without lawful excuse making, for the purpose of causing fear, a threat to destroy or damage property belonging to another, or his or her own property in a way which the offender knows or believes will endanger the life of the victim or a third person	5 years
Crimes Act 1958	201A Intentionally or recklessly causing a bushfire	Intentionally or recklessly causing a fire, and being reckless as to the spread of the fire to vegetation on property belong to another	15 years
Country Fire Authority Act 1958	39C Causing fire in a country area with intent to cause damage etc. an indictable offence	On any land in country Victoria, doing any act causing a fire or for the purpose of causing a fire with intent to destroy any vegetation, produce, stock, crop, fodder or property belonging to another	12 months to 20 years
Western Australia
Criminal Code	444 Criminal damage	Wilfully and unlawfully destroying or damaging any property by fire	14 years
Criminal Code	554 Attempts and incitement	Attempting to commit an offence or inciting another to commit an offence (in this case under s 444)	7 years
Bush Fires Act 1954	32 Offences of lighting or attempting to light a fire likely to injure	Wilfully lighting or causing to be lit or attempting to light a fire; or placing a match or other inflammable or combustible substance etc. in a position that may cause a fire, with the intent of causing a fire - under circumstances likely to injure or damage a person or property (whether or not the fire was actually caused)	14 years or $250,000 or both
Table: Summary of arson legislation - indictable offences Source: Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII); http://www.aic.gov.au/topics/arson/legislation/indictable.html

Statute	Section	Offence	Max. penalty
Australian Capital Territory
Emergencies Act 2004	116	Lighting, maintaining or using a fire in the open air in an area where a total fire ban is in place	50 penalty units
Emergencies Act 2004	125	Intentionally lighting, maintaining or using a fire in the open air or burning flammable material on any land, or engages in conduct reckless about whether it would cause a fire	12 months or 100 penalty units or both if during the bushfire season (otherwise 6 months or 50 penalty units or both)
Emergencies Act 2004	126	Lighting, maintaining or using a fire in the open air on any land, and leaving the fire without extinguishing it or leaving it under the control of a responsible adult	100 penalty units if during the bushfire season (otherwise 50 penalty units)
New South Wales
Forestry Regulation 1999	22	Leaving or depositing a lighted cigarette or other tobacco product, or a lighted match, in a forestry area	20 penalty units
National Parks and Wildlife Regulation 2002	14	Lighting a fire in a national park other than in a fireplace, when a total fire ban is in place; leaving a fire unattended; failing to report or extinguish a fire; handle any flammable substance in a way likely to cause a fire	30 penalty units
Rural Fires Act 1997	88	Lighting a fire on land within a fire district or rural fire district in circumstances in which doing so would be likely to be dangerous to any building	12 months or 50 penalty units
Rural Fires Act 1997	100(1)	Sets fire to land and permits fire to escape so as to cause or be likely to cause damage	5 years or 1,000 penalty units
Rural Fires Act 1997	100(2)	Leaves fire before extinguished	12 months or 50 penalty units
Northern Territory
Fire and Emergency Act	35 General offences	Dropping or discarding any burning material causing a fire, or in circumstances likely to cause a fire (as well as other acts relating to fire services and equipment)	2 years or $10,000
Fire and Emergency Act	36 Fires to be extinguished	Leaving a fire unattended without extinguishing it	2 years or $10,000
Queensland
Fire and Rescue Act 1990	62 Offence to light unauthorised fire	Lighting a fire not authorised by the act or by notification, notice or permit	6 months or 50 penalty units (if during a state of fire emergency - 12 months or 250 penalty units)
Fire and Rescue Act 1990	72 Offences re lighting fires	Leaving fires unattended; discarding burning article or substance so causing a fire endangering or likely to endanger a person, property or the environment, or in circumstances where this is likely	6 months or 50 penalty units (if during a state of fire emergency - 12 months or 250 penalty units)
South Australia
Country Fires Act 1989	36 Fires during fire danger season	Lighting or maintaining a fire in the open air during the fire danger seasons (other than in prescribed circumstances and for prescribed purposes)	12 months or fine ($300-$4,000) for first offence; 2 years or $8,000 for subsequent offences
Victoria
Country Fire Authority Act 1958	37 General prohibition against lighting open air fires	Lighting a fire in the open air in the country area of Victoria during a fire danger period unless authorised or directed	12 months or 50 penalty units or both
Country Fire Authority Act 1958	39 Prohibited actions near fires	During a fire danger period: leaving a burning fire without leaving another in charge or extinguishing it; being in the open air and throwing down or dropping a lighted cigarette, match or other burning material; undertaking certain other fire hazardous acts; failing to report a burning fire	12 months or 50 penalty units or both
Country Fire Authority Act 1958	39A Causing fire in country area in extreme conditions of weather, etc. an offence	On any land in country Victoria, lighting any fire in circumstances of location, atmospheric temperature, wind velocity and flammable vegetation or other combustible substance that causes or is likely to cause a danger to life or property of others	3 months to 2 years
Forests Act 1958	63 Restrictions as to lighting etc. fires in certain areas	Lighting - intentionally or negligently and where authority should have been obtained - or maintaining a fire in the open air in a state forest or national park; failing to prevent the spread of a fire; leaving a fire without taking reasonable precautions to prevent it spreading or causing injury	2 years or 100 penalty units
Table: Summary of arson legislation - summary offences (bushfires) Source: Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII); http://www.aic.gov.au/topics/arson/legislation/summary.html

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LINKS

Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre

Arson Prevention Bureau (UK)

Fire Research Information Services (FRIS)

The fire starters (ABC TV, Four Corners)

SOS Fires : Youth firesetting intervention programs (US)

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