Source check: 27 August 2026. “Weird law” lists are copied for years after Acts are repealed, penalties change or a narrow safety rule is stripped of context. We checked four recurring claims against current official sources.

Claim 1: South Australia restricts the sale of large refrigerators

Verdict: true, but it is a child-safety rule.

Section 58B of South Australia’s Summary Offences Act 1953 deals with a refrigerator, ice chest or icebox that has a compartment of at least 42.5 litres.

The provision does not impose a strange ban on owning a normal refrigerator. It restricts selling or hiring one unless the compartment is designed so that every door or lid can be opened easily from inside when the outside catch is fastened. It also addresses disposal of large enclosed articles unless doors, lids or fastening mechanisms have been made safe. The point is to prevent entrapment.

Claim 2: Australians must always walk on the right-hand side of the road

Verdict: misleading.

Road rules vary by jurisdiction, and the first rule is generally to use a footpath or nature strip where one is available and practicable. For example, rule 238 of the current Road Rules 2014 (NSW) governs pedestrians travelling along a road.

Where a pedestrian must use the road, the rule generally requires travel as near as practicable to the far left or far right side and, where practicable, facing approaching traffic. That is a road-safety rule for circumstances where someone is walking on the carriageway, not a nationwide offence of simply walking on the “wrong” side of a footpath.

Claim 3: using a vacuum cleaner after 10 pm is illegal in Victoria

Verdict: too broad.

The Victorian Environment Protection Authority’s current residential-noise guidance lists prohibited times for noise from specified residential equipment. For vacuum cleaners, the listed prohibited times are before 7 am and after 10 pm on weekdays, and before 9 am and after 10 pm on weekends and public holidays.

But time alone is not the whole rule. The guidance explains the test by reference to noise being heard in another residence and notes that residential noise can still be unreasonable outside the prohibited times. “Vacuuming after 10 pm is always a crime” omits the statutory context and how the noise rule operates.

Claim 4: only a licensed electrician may change a light globe in Victoria

Verdict: false.

The official Electricity Safety (General) Regulations Exemption Order 2020 expressly exempts work involving insertion or removal of a light source with lamp caps, a fluorescent-tube starter or a fuse element from specified parts of Victoria’s electrical-licensing regime. The exemption does not extend to public lighting attached to a supply network.

Replacing a normal removable light globe is therefore not proof of unlawful unlicensed electrical work. Installing or altering fixed wiring, fittings or other electrical equipment is a different question and should be left to an appropriately licensed electrician.

Why old “weird law” lists become unreliable

  • An Act may be repealed while copied articles continue to describe it as current.
  • A genuine provision may apply only in one state or to a tightly defined situation.
  • Penalty-unit values change and should not be frozen into evergreen content.
  • An exemption, definition or later amendment may reverse the headline claim.
  • A safety rule can sound absurd when its purpose and triggering conditions are omitted.

For a current legal question, start with the authorised legislation for the relevant Commonwealth, state or territory jurisdiction and then check the responsible regulator’s guidance. This article is a general fact-check, not legal advice.

Call 1800 577 015 for free general legal information from Jen, Go To Court’s AI assistant. Jen is not a lawyer. If you need advice about a particular allegation or notice, you can request a lawyer consultation, subject to availability.