VIC

In Victoria, a private security license authorizes a person to carry out security guard work, security guard training, bodyguarding, crowd control and investigator work. Private security licenses in Victoria are heavily regulated. There is a substantial number of obligations placed on license holders to ensure that they meet the required character and professional tests in…

Many people have held a Working With Children check at some point in their life. This may have been for the purpose of volunteer work, community engagement or to be involved with a local sporting club. It may also have been a compulsory check for the purpose of paid employment. Many people adopt the ‘set…

In many circumstances, criminal offending will have a significant impact on other people. The impacts of crime on victims can be significant and diverse, and may include psychological and emotional harm, physical injury as well as financial loss.  This article deals with restitution orders, the purpose of which is to ensure that victims of crime…

We often believe that anything that we find annoying is a nuisance. However, there is a difference between what we believe is annoying and what the courts define as a nuisance. Nuisance can be dealt with as a civil law issue and it can also be a criminal offence. At civil law, it is not…

In Victoria, the power of arrest is governed by legislation. However, the common law still determines how a lawful arrest is required to be affected. In some circumstances, police must have a warrant to lawfully arrest a person. In other situations, it is lawful to arrest without a warrant.  This article summarises the situations where…

On 24 April 2020 Victoria passed legislation temporarily amending the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 will be in force for six months. Among other things, it seeks to protect tenants and landlords who are unable to perform their obligations due to a COVID-19…

On 30th March 2020, the Victorian government put in place strict emergency restrictions in an attempt to limit the spread of the Coronavirus. On 1 June 2020, these restrictions were relaxed in Stage Two of a three-step plan to reopen Australia announced by the Prime Minister last month. A lot of emergency restrictions remain in…

On 7 April 2020 the High Court granted former Cardinal George Pell leave to appeal against the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal to uphold the jury’s findings of guilt against the Cardinal in December 2018. After hearing his appeal, the High Court found that the jury ought to have entertained reasonable doubt as…

The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (the PHW Act) was enacted with the purpose of promoting and protecting public health in Victoria. It contains provisions that allow the State Government, and its Chief Health Officer, to make directions in response to public health concerns of national and international importance. The PHW Act confers wide-ranging…

In January 2017, a Melbourne man drove his car through the busy Bourke Street mall, killing six people and injuring many more. After it came to light that the man had been on bail in relation to other offences at the time the tragedies occurred, Victoria’s bail laws were reformed to prioritise the protection of…

When most people think of stealing, they think of a deliberate act of taking property that belongs to someone else. However, in some circumstances, keeping something that you have found can amount to the offence of stealing. This is known as stealing by finding and it occurs when a person finds an item and decides…

Criminal offences in Victoria fall into two categories: summary offences and indictable offences. Summary offences are dealt with in the Magistrates Court, which can sentence a defendant to a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment for a single charge. Indictable offences are more serious and carry higher maximum penalties. They are generally dealt with by…

Sex work is legal in Victoria but it is subject to a strict licensing scheme governed by the Sex Work Act 1994 and the Sex Work Regulations 2016. Sex workers who are unable to comply with these licensing requirements operate outside of the legal framework and can be prosecuted with criminal offences. This means that…

Persons charged with criminal offences must decide whether they wish to plead guilty or not guilty. This means the accused person must make a conscious, deliberate and voluntary decision to either accept responsibility for the charged offence or deny the charged offence and contest the matter in court. This decision is of extreme significance as…

A rebuttable presumption exists where the law requires a court to presume something is the case until evidence is adduced that proves otherwise. A rebuttable presumption in criminal proceedings can work in favour of an accused or against an accused. There are numerous rebuttable presumptions within criminal law. This article seeks to briefly explain them. Presumption…

Victoria amended its criminal laws relating to riot offences in 2007. The offences that now exist relating to public disorder and the threated use of violence are known as Violent Disorder and Unlawful Assembly. Courts take a serious stance on offences against the peace as one of the principal objects of the criminal law is…