Asked to move on in Tasmania?
What Tasmania's own Act says about a police direction to leave a public place — who can give one, how long it can keep you away, and what happens if you do not go.
Right now, being safe beats being right. If someone is asking you to move, you can move and challenge it later. That route keeps you out of trouble; arguing on the spot rarely does. Write down what happened as soon as you can — time, place, who, and what they said.
What the Act says
Read from the Police Offences Act 1935 (Tas), section by section.
s 15B(1) — In Tasmania a police officer may direct a person in a public place to leave that place and not return for a specified period of not less than 4 hours, on reasonable belief that the person has committed or is likely to commit an offence, is obstructing or likely to obstruct pedestrians or vehicles, is endangering or likely to endanger anyone else’s safety, or has committed or is likely to commit a breach of the peace.
s 15B(2) — A person must comply with a Tasmanian move-on direction. The penalty for not complying is a fine not exceeding 2 penalty units.
What this page does not tell you
Only the police power above has been read against Tasmania's legislation. Whether a council officer, a security guard or a landholder can require you to leave is a different question under different law, and this site has not read it for Tasmania — so it does not answer it. An absence here is not a finding that nobody else can ask you to go.
Other states draft this differently enough that their wording would mislead you: how the jurisdictions compare.
Wherever you are
If you have nowhere else to go tonight, that is the more urgent problem and it has its own page: the services that can arrange a bed, by state. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
Whatever a page says, the sign in front of you and the person standing there are the immediate facts. This site publishes legal information, not legal advice — it describes what the law says in general, never what you should do in your situation.
The overnight rules in Tasmania
Where this comes from
- “A police officer may direct a person in a public place to leave that place and not return for a specified period of not less than 4 hours if the police officer believes on reasonable grounds that the person” “has committed or is likely to commit an offence” “is obstructing or is likely to obstruct the movement of pedestrians or vehicles” “is endangering or likely to endanger the safety of any other person” “has committed or is likely to commit a breach of the peace” — Police Offences Act 1935 (authorised consolidation), Tasmanian Government — Department of Premier and Cabinet. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
- “A person must comply with a direction under subsection (1).” “Penalty: Fine not exceeding 2 penalty units.” — Police Offences Act 1935 (authorised consolidation), Tasmanian Government — Department of Premier and Cabinet. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.