Have you ever paid for something with all the loose change in your wallet?
What if you wanted to pay for some milk and bread with $10 worth of 50-cent coins?
Doesn’t sound too bad, right?
Well, you could be refused service.
It's happened before and it turns out it's completely legal.
There’s an obscure section in the Australian Currency Act 1965.
It says coins aren’t legal tender if they exceed:
20 cents where 1-cent and/or 2-cent coins are offered
— and these can still be used.
$5, if any combination of 5-cent, 10-cent, 20-cent and/or 50-cent coins are offered,
or 10 times the face value of the coin if $1 or $2 coins are offered.
But all of this is up to the merchant — if they're happy to accept the coins,
then no problem.
Back to the milk and bread – so if you did want to use those 50-cent coins,
the maximum amount you could go up to would be $5, before someone could refuse to accept.
So what if you’re trying to pay for that $3.50 cup of coffee with a $100 note?
Well, the Reserve Bank of Australia says:
Only two coins — the holey dollar and dump coin — have had their legal tender status removed.
So technically you could use pennies and shillings and other pre-decimal coins if you wanted,
although they’re probably worth more as collector items.
There are plenty of other obscure laws in Australia, which you've probably never heard of
but are 100% legit.
In 2017, Victoria introduced specific legislation
banning “mooning”, aka exposing your bare rear end.
First-time offenders face up to two months in jail…
Victoria also says you can’t fly a kite to the “annoyance of any person”
in a public place.
We all know about noise restrictions in residential areas,
but Victoria’s pretty specific about it.
It’s an offence to make unreasonable noise with a vacuum cleaner, amongst other items,
after 10pm or before 7am on weekdays, and 9am on weekends.
And you can’t drive a dog or goat harnessed
or attached to a vehicle in a public place.
Just in case you were considering doing that.
Up until a couple of years ago,
it was illegal to have more than 50kg of potatoes in Western Australia.
Also in the west, you could spend a year in jail
if you try and clean up seabird or bat poo without a licence.
And don’t even think about challenging someone to a duel in WA or Tasmania.
That could cost you $6,000, or two years behind bars.
While many of these laws seem ridiculous now,
it's just not possible for governments to comb through
every single offence that exists.
And reviewing them often isn't high on the priority list, with punishments unlikely.
There are plenty of other lesser known rules that are actively enforced today.
Drivers in New South Wales can be fined up to $2,200 for not taking enough
care to avoid splashing mud on public bus passengers.
Nationwide, you can’t take your dog for a walk or run while riding a bike.
And using offensive language in a public place is a criminal offence.
That can go for slogans too.
A couple years ago a Brisbane man was fined for moving a fridge on a train.
It's not the only over-sized item Queenslanders have tried to move on public transport,
and anything that doesn’t fit on luggage racks or under seats is a no-no.
And ever heard of squatter’s rights?
Well, it’s an actual thing.
You can apply for ownership of a property if you can prove you’ve lived there for
12 to 15 years, depending on the state, without the permission of the owner.
A few months ago, the New South Wales Supreme Court granted ownership of a house
in Sydney’s inner west to a property developer.
Twenty years earlier, he found the empty home and has been renting it out ever since.
But don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
There are some popular, but unverifiable claims that it’s illegal to wear
hot pink pants after midday on Sunday in Victoria.
And that you can’t dress up as Batman or Robin in Australia…
Thanks for watching, please like, share and subscribe, and let us know about any weird or
wacky laws that you’ve heard of.