QLD

Young offenders aged between 10 and 18 can be sentenced to a period of detention if they are found guilty of an offence or remanded in a youth detention centre if they are refused bail. There are two youth detention centres in Queensland, the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre in Wacol and the Cleveland Youth Detention…

A Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) decision late last year has called into question the state’s laws prohibiting firearm silencers. The decision considered the Queensland Police’s refusal to grant a farmer’s request to possess a silencer in order to more safely use his firearms to control invasive species on his property. The health benefits…

In Queensland, the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act gives police the power to take a person’s identifying particulars or a DNA sample in some circumstances.  Whether the police can take your fingerprints or other identifying particulars or a DNA sample and when they must destroy them depends on the offence you have been charged with…

The Queensland Criminal Code makes it an offence to attempt to commit a criminal offence or to conspire to commit a criminal offence. The maximum penalties which apply to attempts to commit offences and conspiring to commit offences depend on the penalty that applies to the offence itself. The maximum penalty for attempted offences is…

When the police suspect a person has committed an offence, they may ask the person to participate in an interview. Participation in police interviews is voluntary and suspects have the right to remain silent. Anything a suspect says to the police may be used as evidence against them during any ensuing court proceedings. However, police…

When an offender pleads guilty or is found guilty of a crime, he or she will proceed to be sentenced by the court. If the court imposes a term of imprisonment, it may choose to suspend that term either wholly or partially.  When a term of imprisonment is suspended, the offender is free to live…

Reaching an agreement about parenting arrangements after a separation can be a challenging process for all parties involved and will often require the assistance of a lawyer or mediator. The situation can be even more complicated when the relationship has broken down irretrievably due to domestic violence. Domestic violence proceedings and family law proceedings are…

When a person is charged with a criminal offence, they have two options. They can either plead guilty to the offence and proceed to sentencing or plead not guilty and proceed to a contested hearing. This article will provide some insight into what is involved in a contested hearing. Pleas in mitigation When any criminal…

The offence of arson is governed by Section 461 of the Queensland Criminal Code, which provides: Any person who willfully and unlawfully sets fire to: A building or structure; A motor vehicle, train, aircraft or vessel; Any stack of cultivated vegetable produce, or of mineral or vegetable fuel; A mine, or the workings, fittings, or…

This article examines the relationship between child protection proceedings in the Children’s Court and parenting proceedings in the Family Court or Federal Circuit Court. While child protection matters in Queensland are governed by the Child Protection Act 1999, parenting matters are governed by the Family Law Act 1975.  What are child protection proceedings? The Child…

When adults are sentenced for criminal offences in Queensland, there are various custodial sentencing orders the court can make.  Queensland courts can sentence a person to an actual term of imprisonment, a suspended term of imprisonment or an order that combines prison and a probation order. The sentencing of adults for criminal offences is governed…

At common law, the privilege of self-incrimination is a person’s fundamental right not to be compelled to provide documents or answer questions in circumstances where the information or answers may incriminate the person.  It is possible for this common law right to be curtailed by statute in appropriate circumstances. In a recent Queensland Court of…

When a person is charged with any criminal offence, they are given a first mention date in the Magistrates Court. However, serious indictable offences cannot be dealt with in the Magistrates Court. Defendants in these matters have a right to be tried by a Judge and Jury, rather than a Magistrate. Before a matter can proceed…

If you drive a vehicle with a weight of more than 4.5 tonnes on any road in Australia (except Western Australia) then you may find yourself before a Local Court or Magistrates Court for Heavy Vehicle offences. The requirements under Queensland and New South Wales legislation in this area are now quite onerous since changes…

The statistics on domestic violence are chilling. A 2017 study conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that 1 in 4 women in Australia have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15. On average, one woman is murdered by a current or former partner every week. The…

A duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on a person to take a reasonable standard of care when doing acts that could foreseeably harm others. Duty of care is an element of the tort of negligence. If a person suffers injury as the result of another party’s negligent act or omission, the injured…