What are costs? In Victoria, individuals who are facing criminal proceedings, can by order of the Magistrate/Judge claim their incurred legal costs. In the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, s400 states that ‘the court must not make an order awarding costs against a person...
What is the difference? 1. Home Invasion: This is an offence under Section 77A of the Crimes Act 1958, the elements of this offence are illustrated below: 1.) A person commits a home invasion if— ( a. ) the person enters a home as a trespasser with intent— ( i. ) to...
The history of FPO’s – Firearm Prohibition Orders were introduced in Victoria in May 2018, these are newer protective measures with the purpose to protect the community and stop gun crime by targeting people who wish to possess, use or carry firearms unlawfully....
What is it? The Spent Convictions Act 2021 is relatively new legislation, with its main purpose being to remove the unfair barriers that face Victorians who have committed offences in the past, but have now shown the possibility of rehabilitation. A ‘spent conviction’...
The purpose of this blog is to explain the summary offence procedure and to talk about how negotiations work with police during the procedure. Mention Hearing This is the initial stage of the procedure, and the Magistrate will ascertain where parties are at in...
I’ve been served a preliminary brief, what does this mean? What is a preliminary brief? A preliminary brief is essentially a group of documents that are compiled by Victoria Police, these documents are then served to the accused who has been charged with a criminal...
