Graffiti Artists To Be Jailed For Up To Seven Years In Queensland Graffiti vandals could be jailed for up to seven years under proposed new Queensland legislation. Graffiti vandals will be jailed for up to seven years under new laws set to be passed in Queensland. The legislation, likely to pass thanks to a recommendation from the parliamentary group charged with reviewing it, will see the maximum penalty for vandals increased from the current five-year maximum sentence and effectively make the state's punishment the toughest in Australia. The maximum penalty for the same offence in New South Wales is five years, while in Victoria and Western Australia vandalism carries a maximum jail sentence of two years. In South Australia offenders face up to six months' jail-time, while in Tasmania perpetrators may face a fine or a community service order. However the proposed legislation is not without its critics Legal Aid Queensland and Protect All Children Today were among the organisations which filed submissions against the changes. The Youth Advocacy Centre also voiced concern, writing "it is inconceivable that any court would punish anyone by imprisonment for seven years for an offence which does not present any serious risk to life or significant threat to any person. "The offence of "assault occasioning bodily harm" has a maximum penalty of seven years - the same as proposed in this situation. It sends an odd message to the community - that putting (some) paint on a wall is considered as serious as actually inflicting injury on another person. In response, the department said the legislation delivered on a pre-election commitment to strengthen anti-graffiti laws. "Graffiti crime demonstrates a complete disregard for property by the offender and costs the community significant resources annually for it to be cleaned up," it wrote. The amendments reinforce that graffiti is an act of vandalism and that such conduct is against the law. The new Queensland legislation will also remove the distinction between basic graffiti offences and offences that involve obscene or indecent representations. In its final ruling, the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee noted courts would still retain the ability to consider cases on individual merit when sentencing offenders. But the committee's ultimate support echoed the words of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General. "The message which is being sent to the community by the amendments in this Bill is that graffiti will not be tolerated and the Committee endorses the amendments," it wrote. The new legislation will also include: The insertion of a new graffiti forfeiture provision regarding property used to record, store or transmit images of graffiti, applying to prescribed adult graffiti offenders The insertion of a new mandatory community based order called a Graffiti Removal Order, to apply to any child aged 12 to 16 years convicted of a graffiti offence The insertion of new diversionary mechanisms, which will allow children aged 12 years and over to be made subject to graffiti removal service without court intervention The insertion of a new graffiti forfeiture provision regarding property used to record, store or transmit images of graffiti