Appendix C: ‘Course of conduct’ element for stalking offence under s 21A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)

(2) ​A person (the offender) stalks another person (the victim) if the offender engages in a course of conduct which includes any of the following—

(a) ​following the victim or any other person;

(b) ​contacting the victim or any other person by post, telephone, fax, text message, e-mail or other electronic communication or by any other means whatsoever;

(ba) publishing on the Internet or by an e-mail or other electronic communication to any person a statement or other material—

(i) ​relating to the victim or any other person; or

(ii) ​purporting to relate to, or to originate from, the victim or any other person;

(bb) causing an unauthorised computer function (within the meaning of Subdivision (6) of Division 3) in a computer owned or used by the victim or any other person;

(bc) tracing the victim’s or any other person’s use of the Internet or of e-mail or other electronic communications;

(c) ​entering or loitering outside or near the victim’s or any other person’s place of residence or of business or any other place frequented by the victim or the other person;

(d) ​interfering with property in the victim’s or any other person’s possession (whether or not the offender has an interest in the property);

(da) making threats to the victim;

(db) using abusive or offensive words to or in the presence of the victim;

(dc) performing abusive or offensive acts in the presence of the victim;

(dd) directing abusive or offensive acts towards the victim;

(e) ​giving offensive material to the victim or any other person or leaving it where it will be found by, given to or brought to the attention of, the victim or the other person;

(f) ​keeping the victim or any other person under surveillance;

(g) ​acting in any other way that could reasonably be expected—

(i) ​to cause physical or mental harm to the victim, including self-harm; or

(ii) ​to arouse apprehension or fear in the victim for his or her own safety or that of any other person—

​with the intention of causing physical or mental harm to the victim, including self-harm, or of arousing apprehension or fear in the victim for his or her own safety or that of any other person.

(3) ​For the purposes of this section an offender also has the intention to cause physical or mental harm to the victim, including self-harm, or to arouse apprehension or fear in the victim for his or her own safety or that of any other person if—

(a) ​the offender knows that engaging in a course of conduct of that kind would be likely to cause such harm or arouse such apprehension or fear; or

(b) ​the offender in all the particular circumstances ought to have understood that engaging in a course of conduct of that kind would be likely to cause such harm or arouse such apprehension or fear and it actually did have that result.

Note that under s 21A(4A), it is a defence to a stalking charge where the accused engaged in a course of conduct ‘without malice’. For example, engaging in the normal course of lawful business, trade, profession or enterprise; or engaging in political activities or discussion. The accused bears the burden of proof in establishing this defence.