News & Views

Unlawful Assembly

Policing of the anti-lockdown protests

Our analysis and concerns arising from the policing of protest events in Melbourne between Saturday 18 and Sunday 26 September 2021

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Unlawful Assembly

Unlawful assembly is one of a number of offences related to protesting and activism that protesters can be charged with. It can be difficult to clearly define what offences may apply to protesters, with protesters often charged with multiple offences at once. There also seems to be significant overlap between what makes up the offences, with the charges tending to rely heavily on police discretion. The broadness and lack of clarity surrounding the offence allows it to be utilised by police to limit political protest.

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