Police have previously raised concerns about the offence of robbery of a motor vehicle under section 234 of the Crimes Act 1961. Currently, when a vehicle is targeted, it is very hard to make out the offence of theft because of the need to prove intent to permanently deprive.

If a vehicle is taken by force the offender may commit other offences which are relatively minor. There needs to be a stronger remedy for when a car is taken by force but no harm or injuries occur.

The aim of this bill is to remove the situation where an offender can push you up against the wall and take your wallet with $20 in it and be charged with robbery (which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment) but if they drag you out of your $30,000 car and take off with it they cannot be. Both are robbery but because it’s a car, it’s hard to prove the intent to deprive permanently.

The bill adds the words “or unlawful taking” to section 234 to allow the above carjacking-type scenarios to fall under the offence of robbery.