Trespass and your business

Under the Trespass Act 2023, an occupier or other authorised person can remove and exclude a person from a premises.

They can either give a:

• direction to leave.
• warning to stay off.

Failure to comply with a direction or warning is an offence.

Read the guide PDF (381.5 KB).

Who can give a direction or warning

The following people can give a warning or direction:

• business owner
• shop owner
• tenant
• employee or security guard - if authorised to do so.

You can also ask police to give a direction on your behalf.

Direction to leave

A direction to leave removes a person from a premises and ban them for up to 7 days.

You don't need a reason to give a direction, but it can't be for discriminatory reasons.

For example, because of a person or group's race, sex or age.

How to give a direction

You can give a direction verbally or in writing by:

• giving clear instructions that state:
  • you are an occupier or are authorised by the occupier
  • they must stay off the premises, or must leave immediately and are banned from re-entering
  • a ban period applies (up to 7 days):
    • if you don't state a ban period, the person is banned for 72 hours
  • the premises the ban period applies to
  • that entering the premises during the ban period is a criminal offence
• keeping a written record - for example, an incident log that includes:
  • that a direction to leave was given
  • the date, time and the premises or location
  • the authorised person who gave the notice
  • whether the notice was verbal or in writing, or both
  • the name and address of the banned person - if known
  • the length of the ban (up to 7 days) - if a period of time was specified
  • what information was given to, or stated to, the banned person.

The written record may be needed for evidence if a person breaches the direction to leave.

Warning to stay off

A warning to stay off bans a person for up to 12 months who:

• is trespassing or
• has trespassed on your property.

You can also have reasonable grounds to suspect the person will trespass on your premises.

Reasonable grounds includes a person who has been directed to leave a place and is seen approaching but has not yet entered the place.

If a person who has been banned and warned to stay off enters the place during the ban period, this is a trespass.

How to give a warning

You can give a direction verbally or in writing by:

• giving clear instructions that state:
  • you are an occupier or are authorised by the occupier
  • they are warned to stay off the premises and are banned from re-entering
  • a ban period applies
    • if you don't state a ban period, the person is banned for 3 months
  • the premises the ban period applies to
  • that not leaving immediately is a criminal offence, as is entering the premises during the ban period
• keeping a written record - for example, an incident log that includes:
  • that a warning to stay off was given
  • the date, time and the premises or location
  • the authorised person who gave the warning
  • whether the the notice was verbal or in writing, or both
  • the name and address of the banned person - if known
  • the length of the ban (up to 12 months) - if a period of time was specified
  • what information was given to, or stated to, the banned person.

The written record may be needed for evidence if a person breaches the warning to stay off.

If your direction is breached or ignored

If a person breaches a direction to leave or a warning to stay off, you should contact the police.

You can't use force to detain a person under the law.

Penalties

A trespass offence can result in a fine of up to $3,240.

More information

Get an A3 printable summary of the differences between a direction and warning.

Differences between a direction and warning PDF (108.4 KB)
Differences between a direction and warning DOCX (53.6 KB)