Before we dive in, here’s the thing you need to understand: these laws are being sold to the public as a way to “reduce organised crime.” On paper, they call clubs OMCGs (Outlaw Motorcycle Criminal Gangs). That’s the last time you’ll hear me use that ridiculous label here. They’ve written legislation so broad it can touch not only patched members, but prospects, supporters, and even family.

Stay with us, and we’ll break down what the new rules mean for you and your club, the impact on the culture, and the community. Let’s dive in.

These are essentially organized crime laws, and the Australian government carries out the entire initiative to reduce or remove organized crime. It categorizes clubs as OMCGs (Outlaw Motorcycle Criminal Gangs), and that’s the last time you’ll see that nonsense on this platform! 

These are highly controvestrial laws now in effect in Western Australia, there’s no evidence that association are effective in reducing organized crime in effect it6s the opposite – while it’s true most states have them, the evidence suggests that they cast a net too wide and associates and extended family members end up being the ones affected not the people partaking in serious crime itself. A point that opponents have raised about the laws during the process. 

People have described the two laws as overreaching, and there is great concern about the infringement of citizens’ human rights under these laws; furthermore, the authorities do not have to prove a crime to issue a notice under the new acts, which makes things easier for them. Dubbed by some in the outlaw motorcycle community as the ‘no colours law’, but it goes so much further than that.

Prohibited Insignia Laws

Unlawful Consorting and Prohibited Insignia Act 2021 (WA)

The first law, Unlawful Consorting and Prohibited Insignia Act 2021 (WA), prohibits the following:

1. Display an insignia of an identified organization, such as in a public place:

Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs such as Bandidos, Club Deroes, Coffin Cheaters, Comanchero, Finks, Gods Garbage, Gypsy Joker, Hells Angels, Lone Wolf, Outlaws, & Rebels.

The following are classed as insignia of an identified organization: 

The name of the organisation, the logo or patch of the organisation, another image, symbol, abbreviation, etc that indicates membership of, or association with, the organisation, the symbol 1%; & The symbol 1%er.

The definition of displaying in a public place is:

1. To wear, carry, or otherwise possess or control a prohibited thing in a manner that insignia of an identified organisation would be visible to another person in a public place; or

2. To have a tattoo or other body marking that comprises or includes insignia of an identified organisation and is left uncovered in a manner that another person in a public place would see the insignia of an identified organisation.

Among other things, this includes your bike, your body, your clothing, jewelry, flags, and banners.

They classify Public Place as:

Public place includes a place to which the public, or a section of the public, is entitled to have lawful access, whether on payment of money, through membership of a club or other body, or otherwise; but does not include a place to which only members of an identified organisation, or their associates, are entitled to have lawful access. ‘Place’ includes a vehicle. But be careful with this, in a high-profile case, they deemed a ‘private hotel pool’ a public place to serve a notice at a private party.

Legal Defences You Can Use.

It is a defence to an insignia charge to prove the display was for a genuine artistic or educational purpose; law enforcement; the performance of a legal practitioner’s functions or the receipt of legal advice; and, in the circumstances, reasonable for that purpose.

It is a defence to prove the display was for the purposes of distributing the news.

It is also a defence to prove the accused did not know they were displaying insignia of an identified organisation, or that the display was to indicate membership of an organisation other than an identified organisation.

The maximum penalty is 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of $12,000. If a company breaches the law, the penalty is a fine of $60,000.

Consorting & Dispersal Notices

As if all that wasn’t bad enough, this is an association law, meaning one of the key aims was to stop certain groups/individuals gathering and talking in what they deem public spaces. This means, the main thing affecting clubs and bikers is dispersal notices The Act also allows a police officer to issue a dispersal notice to a person who is a member of an identified organisation or club, and who has consorted in a public place with another person who is a member of an identified organisation or club, and a dispersal notice has not already been issued regarding the person for the suspected consorting. The notice remains in effect for 7 days unless it is revoked sooner.

It is an offence to breach a dispersal notice, carrying a maximum penalty of 12 months or a fine of $12,000.

But also below the consorting part of the act, and remember, under Australian law, a bar brawl is deemed a serious crime.

Under section 9 of the Act, a police officer of the rank of Commander or above may issue an ‘unlawful consorting notice’ to a ‘restricted person’, being a person who is over 18, who is a ‘relevant offender’ who has consorted (or is going to consort) with another relevant offender, and if the officer considers it is appropriate to issue the notice to ‘disrupt or restrict the capacity of relevant offenders to engage in conduct constituting an indictable offence’.

A ‘relevant offender’ is a person with a conviction for 1 or more of an indictable offence against WA or Commonwealth law, or a child sex offence under WA or Commonwealth law, or an offence against a law of another State or Territory or another country that, if committed in this State, would constitute an indictable offence or child sex offence, or an offence of displaying insignia in public or consorting contrary to a dispersal notice.

The consorting notice must contain various details, including the name of the person(s) with whom the restricted person is not to consort. The notice remains in effect for 3 years from the day it is served unless revoked sooner.

If a person consorts with a named offender on two or more occasions during the period of the consorting notice, they commit a crime with a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

It is a defence to prove that the consorting occurred between persons who are family members, and was reasonable in the circumstances. There are other defences in section 18(2) of the Act,  including that consorting occurred in the course of a lawful occupation.

The police are also given broad powers to stop and request the details of a person on whom an unlawful consorting notice must be served.

That’s what the act says. Here’s the thing: no crime actually has to be proved to issue a notice, and it’s used against bikers, so you can’t gather with your brothers in public without this being a risk. 

Even though it’s been argued by the opposition that there aren’t enough safeguards in place to avoid abuse of the system, and that these laws haven’t worked in other states with wider family members paying the price instead of the intended victims, but Western Australia wasn’t done, fast forward to 2024 and the Criminal Organisations Control Amendment Act 2024 was introduced to strengthen the powers given in the Unlawful Consorting and Prohibited Insignia Act 2021 (WA)

Overreach & Human Rights Concerns

Let’s break down the Criminal Organisations Control Amendment Act 2024. This act has just come into effect, and it makes things so much worse for everyone, and infringes further on human rights, something which the opposition and ACT themselves are very concerned about. MP Jacinta Allan said in an online statement,

“Members of specified organised crime groups will also be banned from prescribed Government worksites, helping to further stamp out the rotten culture influenced by outlaw motorcycle gangs and other criminal organisations.” 

Criminal Organisations Control Amendment Act 2024

It’s clear that these laws are aimed at deliberately targeting and destroying Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and then other organized crime groups, but to catch their prescribed prey, the laws overreach, so here’s what you can’t do

They have simplified the process for control orders to prevent you from: 

Prohibit you from associating with other members.

Restrict your presence at public venues, events, or gatherings.

Limit your ability to use encrypted messaging or social media.

They also made group association a crime: so no club runs, no parties, no open days, no events, you can’t even hang with your brothers in your house, a president was issued a notice and arrested for talking to his own members in public.

 It is now an offence for members of a declared organisation to associate in groups, even in private settings like a home or social function. This includes:

Riding together in public.

Meeting casually at a cafe or event.

Participating in club-related activities or support group functions.

Then we have the police applications:

Interim control orders, with no need to prove criminal behaviour.

Evidence based on criminal intelligence, kept secret from the respondent, making it harder to challenge.

But for me, here’s the kicker, you all know I am fiercely protective of prospects, 

You don’t need to be a patched member to be affected.

Prospects, associates, support crews, or even friends/family of members can be subject to restrictions if authorities believe you’re enabling criminal activity.

Please remember that engaging in criminal activity is all this government thinks motorcycle clubs do, as they have already publicly dismissed the notion that it’s about the bikes and riding. 

A new Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) scheme will also come into effect. This will allow the Chief Commissioner of Police to apply to a court to impose a broad range of conditions on someone who has participated in serious criminal activity or is likely to help another person who is engaging in serious criminal behaviour.

The SCPO scheme has been designed to restrict the activities of organised crime group leaders; an SCPO might include prohibiting that person from leaving Victoria or possessing firearms or certain amounts of cash.

And let’s not forget their favourite feature, 

Banning outlaw motorcycle groups and other criminal groups from government work sites, like construction sites. 

The Impact

It seems for the last few weeks, these laws have been all anyone can talk about, and it’s already led to a lot of fear-mongering. This is a full-out attack on the culture and community, not specifically on organized crime. Outlaw motorcycle clubs, who have been screaming for what feels like forever that they are not organized crime organizations. 

Australia showed its hand when its politicians started using terms like “This is the power we now have over the motorcycle clubs.” It’s another chapter in the age-old battle of power and ego. Authorities have been trying to punish, humiliate, and control MCs for as long as there have been motorcycle clubs, and the thing the laws show is a lack of respect for the culture and community, as well as a complete lack of human rights.

They are removing freedoms, clothing, body art, and accessories; they are all forms of personal expression that everybody should be entitled to. They applied their values to our insignias to deem it necessary to be removed, and in doing so, they showed a complete lack of understanding of the culture they are trying to destroy. Think about this for a second, they are trying to apply laws to control groups that have committed to only following their club laws. All they did was to unfairly increase the consequences of doing the things our culture holds dear and make the choice a little harder. Because there is always a choice, and some of these laws already exist in other Australian states, and they still have motorcycle clubs. 

They deem that our insignia only act to confirm membership, intimidate others, and attract new members – they have no understanding of our culture or why we do what we do or wear what we do, and they don’t care. The laws aim to shut down the recruitment of new members, restrict the activities we hold dear, like rides, social events.

So yes, they have made infringements on human rights in an effort to try to control the personal expression of members, club recruitment, and club events. All for the sake of power and ego. 

When these new laws hit the headlines, we saw all kinds fear-inducing content about what this means for the culture and how these rules could bleed into other countries, but, culture check there already here the culture and the world in general is evolving and changing, and from environmental laws, and insurance premiums, to RICO charges being applied to about everything, and club histories being used to legally deem them gangs so they then RICO charges apply. We deal with the slow dismantling of the culture every day; these rules are a part of that, and there are things like the lack of young people coming into the culture that will have a much deeper impact.

The good news is that the world is changing, and a lot of what we’re experiencing is a result of that. Authorities are trying to cling to power as it shifts from a top-down approach to a bottom-up one. Our Culture and MC community is changing, too, and we get to decide what that looks like. From the consortium of clubs meeting to try to initiate some kind of agreement to ensure peaceful conflict resolution, to individuals on the ground trying to restore the old school values that seem to be more like a distant relic.

The great part about evolution is that it is up to us all what direction the culture takes and what kind of legacy we leave behind. 

Summary:

 The Western Australian government has introduced two major pieces of legislation. The Unlawful Consorting and Prohibited Insignia Act 2021 (WA) and the Criminal Organisations Control Amendment Act 2024, under the banner of reducing organized crime. On paper, they target “OMCGs” (Outlaw Motorcycle Criminal Gangs). In practice, they are sweeping, controversial, and have major cultural consequences.

What’s happening in WA is less about crime control and more about power, control, and ego. While these laws try to dismantle clubs and their culture, the MC community has always thrived on resilience and choice. The future of the culture depends not on laws, but on how members choose to adapt, protect their legacy, and pass it forward.

Sources:

Victoria Parliament Document: https://tinyurl.com/t7r8enz5

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