Asked to move on in Western Australia?

What the legislation that applies in Western Australia 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 Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (WA) and the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), section by section.

s 27(1) — In Western Australia a police officer may give a move on order to a person in a public place, or in a vehicle used for public transport, on reasonable suspicion of violence or threatened violence, any other breach of the peace, hindering or obstructing a lawful activity, an intention to commit an offence, or having just committed or committing one.

s 27(6) — A Western Australian move on order must be given in an approved form, so there is a document rather than only spoken words.

s 27(2)(c) — A Western Australian move on order can require a person to stay away from the place, or a specified part of it, for a specified reasonable period of not more than 24 hours.

s 27(3) — Before giving the order the officer must take into account its likely effect on the person — including their access to where they ordinarily reside, shop and work, their access to transport, health, education or other essential services, and their safety and wellbeing.

s 27(7) — A person is not in breach of the order while they are taking reasonable steps to comply with it.

s 153(1) — Not complying with an order given by an officer under the Act, without reasonable excuse, is an offence carrying a fine of up to $12 000 and up to 12 months' imprisonment (maximums). This is the Act’s general offence provision rather than one written only for move on orders.

s 9(2), with the definition in s 4(1) — In Western Australia a fine set as the penalty for an offence is the maximum a court may impose, and unless it is mandatory or includes a minimum, a lesser fine may be imposed.

What this page does not tell you

Only the police powers above have been read against Western Australia's legislation. Whether anyone other than police — a council or government 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 Western Australia — 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 help you find 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.

Sleeping in your car in Western Australia

Where this comes from

“A police officer may give a move on order to a person if the officer reasonably suspects that the person, while in a public place or in a vehicle used for public transport” “is committing any other breach of the peace” “is hindering, obstructing or preventing any lawful activity that is being, or is about to be, carried out by another person” “has just committed or is committing an offence” — Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (official version), Western Australian Government — Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
“A move on order must be given to a person in an approved form.” — Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (official version), Western Australian Government — Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
“to stay away from the relevant place or vehicle, or a specified part of the relevant place or vehicle, for a specified reasonable period of not more than 24 hours” — Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (official version), Western Australian Government — Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
“the police officer must take into account the likely effect of the order on the person” “the effect on the person’s access to the places where the person ordinarily resides, shops and works” “the effect on the person’s access to transport, health, education or other essential services” “the effect on the person’s safety and wellbeing” — Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (official version), Western Australian Government — Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
“A person is not in breach of the move on order if the person is taking reasonable steps to comply with the order.” — Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (official version), Western Australian Government — Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
“A person who, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with an order given by an officer under this Act commits an offence.” “Penalty: a fine of $12 000 and imprisonment for 12 months.” — Criminal Investigation Act 2006 (official version), Western Australian Government — Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
“statutory penalty, in relation to an offence, means the penalty specified by a written law for the offence;” “If the statutory penalty for an offence is a fine of a particular amount or a particular term of imprisonment, then that penalty is the maximum penalty that may be imposed for that offence and, unless the statutory penalty — (a) is a mandatory penalty; or (b) includes a minimum penalty, a lesser penalty of the same kind may be imposed.” — Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), compilation 10-ag0-00, as at 31 December 2025 (official version), Western Australian Parliamentary Counsel's Office. Retrieved 12 Oct 2026.