Terrorism Suppression Act 2002

5 Terrorist act defined

• (1) An act is a terrorist act for the purposes of this Act if—

  • (a) the act falls within subsection (2); or

  • (b) the act is an act against a specified terrorism convention (as defined in section 4(1)); or

  • (c) the act is a terrorist act in armed conflict (as defined in section 4(1)).

  (2) An act falls within this subsection if it is intended to cause, in any 1 or more countries, 1 or more of the outcomes specified in subsection (3), and is carried out for the purpose of advancing an ideological, political, or religious cause, and with the following intention:

  • (a) to induce terror in a civilian population; or

  • (b) to unduly compel or to force a government or an international organisation to do or abstain from doing any act.

  (3) The outcomes referred to in subsection (2) are—

  • (a) the death of, or other serious bodily injury to, 1 or more persons (other than a person carrying out the act):

  • (b) a serious risk to the health or safety of a population:

  • (c) destruction of, or serious damage to, property of great value or importance, or major economic loss, or major environmental damage, if likely to result in 1 or more outcomes specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (d):

  • (d) serious interference with, or serious disruption to, an infrastructure facility, if likely to endanger human life:

  • (e) introduction or release of a disease-bearing organism, if likely to devastate the national economy of a country.

  (4) However, an act does not fall within subsection (2) if it occurs in a situation of armed conflict and is, at the time and in the place that it occurs, in accordance with rules of international law applicable to the conflict.

  (5) To avoid doubt, the fact that a person engages in any protest, advocacy, or dissent, or engages in any strike, lockout, or other industrial action, is not, by itself, a sufficient basis for inferring that the person—

  • (a) is carrying out an act for a purpose, or with an intention, specified in subsection (2); or

  • (b) intends to cause an outcome specified in subsection (3).

  Compare: 1969 No 24 s 2(1); 1987 No 74 s 2(1); 1987 No 179 s 2(1); Terrorism Act 2000 s 1 (UK); Criminal Code s 83.01(1) (Canada)