A Guide on the Law and Penalties for Possessing, Supplying or Making Explosives
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. On 5 March 2019, an Adelaide boy was charged for the offence of possessing an explosive substance after he allegedly hopped on board a public bus armed with a pipe bomb. The 16-year-old teenager first came to the attention of authorities after a report was made to police ...continue reading
What is Armed with an Offensive Weapon to Commit an Indictable Offence?
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. It’s not every day that you hear of a person causally wandering the streets with a bow and arrow, ready to fire it. It’s even less often that you hear of the victim of a bow and arrow attack being saved all thanks to their mobile phone. A ...continue reading
Penalties for Using or Possessing a Blow-Pipe that is Capable of Projecting a Dart in NSW
At about 7pm last Saturday night, a 15-year-old teenage girl, along with her friends, were walking along on a road in Cessnock, NSW when a teenager carrying a pipe with a homemade dart reportedly “leaned out of a vehicle window with a pipe and blew the dart into the girl’s face”. A 17-year-old teenager ...continue reading
What are the Defences and Penalties for Being Armed With an Offensive Weapon in NSW?
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh Anger is an emotion that is able to make us react in various ways. Sometimes, it arrives in a quick flash, momentarily causing our heart rate to increase in irritation before shortly fleeting, like when people refuse to follow directions. At other times, where boundaries are crossed, it can ...continue reading
New NSW Sentencing Penalty Introduced: The New ‘Intensive Corrections Orders’
On 24 October 2017, Parliament in NSW assented to the amending legislation which effectively changed the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). As of 24 September 2018, three major new sentencing options were introduced into NSW. A Magistrate or Judge can now impose any one of these new sentencing or penalty options for traffic ...continue reading
New Sentencing Option Introduced in NSW: ‘Community Correction Orders’
Our previous blog outlined how the ‘section 10 bond’ has now replaced the new ‘conditional release order’ as a new sentencing option in NSW for criminal and traffic offences. This blog outlines a further new sentencing option called a ‘community corrections order’ which effectively replaces the old ‘section 9 bond’ and ‘community service order’ penalties, ...continue reading
The End of ‘Section 10 Bonds’ in NSW as a Sentencing Option
The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) reflects the law behind all the sentencing options a Magistrates or Judges can impose on a person guilty of a NSW criminal or traffic offence. That Law has now changed and the new NSW sentencing penalties or options commence from today 24 September 2018 onwards. The popular ...continue reading
What is an Affray and its Penalty in NSW?
What is Affray in NSW? Unlike assault charges, including common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm, which are considered offences against individuals, affray is a more serious type of charge carrying a maximum term of up to 10 years imprisonment, and is considered an offence against the public order to ...continue reading
Can You Refuse to Give a DNA Sample to Police?
By Jimmy Singh and Fahim Khan Australian criminal law can be complex to understand, especially when it’s concerning police rights regarding when they can and can’t carry out intrusive tests on your body. Generally, DNA samples are considered to be more effective at solving crimes than fingerprints. DNA samples are considered to be very effective ...continue reading
Can You Refuse to Give Evidence in Court Against a Family Member?
By Jimmy Singh & Tayla Regan Imagine being compelled by the courts to give evidence against your mum, dad, brother or sister. Regardless of the court outcome, consider the kind of potential damage this can cause to the relationship. To avoid undue hardship of a witness and to protect the family unit, in some situations ...continue reading