A Rockingham man who made more than 1100 harassing phone calls to government offices in less than two months, labelling staff as everything from 'terrorists' and 'scabs' to 'cowards', was sentenced in Perth District Court this week (1 September, 2025).
The man, 46, was found guilty of two counts of using a carriage service in a way that reasonable persons would regard as menacing, harassing or offensive, contrary to section 474.17(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment for each offence, with the terms to be served concurrently. The judge considered the 42 days he spent in custody after his arrest in 2022 and ordered him to be released from custody on a 12-month recognisance order to be of good behaviour.
The AFP charged the man in February, 2022, after identifying that in November, 2021, he made close to 500 menacing, harassing or offensive calls to a Federal Minister's office.
In just a single week in December, 2021, he also made more than 650 calls to a Federal Government department, many of them abusive and offensive. These calls were targeted and repetitive.
AFP Inspector Shona Davis said the high volume of harassing nuisance calls negatively impacted the targeted offices' ability to respond to other calls.
"These types of calls - many of which contained abusive and highly insulting language - can be extremely upsetting and concerning to the people who answer them, and a waste of resources for the offices targeted," Insp Davis said.
"The judge acknowledged in his sentencing remarks that the calls would have had a substantial impact on the proper functioning of those offices.
"The AFP has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to any form of harassment and will prosecute anyone caught breaking the law in such a way."
