Articles

In the Crimes Act 1958, section 195H, affray is outlined as follows: “A person who uses or threatens unlawful violence and whose conduct would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to be terrified commits an offence”. Affray is a serious common law offence, and is defined as the fighting of two…

Family Violence Intervention Orders and Counselling Orders in Victoria The Legislation Family Violence in Victoria (and nationally) has seen a dramatic increase over the past several years. In the 2020-2021 financial year, there were 41,512 Family Violence Intervention Order matters dealt with by the Magistrates’ Court, an increase of 2,427 from the previous year. The…

Getting Arrested In Victoria, people can be arrested in a multitude of ways by various individuals. Arrests can be made with a warrant authorising police to do so, or without a warrant. Furthermore, arrests in Victoria can also be carried out not only by Victoria Police but also by any member if the public (commonly…

Currently in Victoria, the Control of Weapons Act 1990 (‘The Act’) and the Control of Weapons Regulations 2021 (‘The Regulations’), are the two primary sources of legislation which deal with various weapons related offences, regulations, and licencing requirements in Victoria. In addition to the stringent licencing and regulatory approval, one needs to go through to…

Before we dissect the notion of the meaning behind the highest standard of proof in our judicial system (Beyond a reasonable doubt), it is equally as important to have a look at why our system has two differing standards of proof, namely on the balance of probabilities in a civil jurisdiction and beyond a reasonable…

In Australia the Court’s when deciding the outcome of a matter (depending on if the case before them if of a civil or a criminal nature) are required to set a benchmark in which a party must be able to reach in terms of ultimately deciding whether or not that particular party is successful or…

Unfortunately, it is reality that many pregnant women and/or women with young children, come before the Courts for a variety of criminal matters, which can result in terms of imprisonment being imposed.Pursuant to the Sentencing Act 1991, the law does not currently recognise that someone’s gender ought to be taken into account with respect to…

What constitutes discharging a missile to endanger a person or property? It is an offence to have thrown or discharged a missile to the injury of or danger to any person or damage to any property. To be found guilty of the offence, the Police Prosecution must prove beyond all reasonable doubt each legal element…

What constitutes driving whilst suspended? It is an offence to drive whilst your Victorian drivers licence was suspended. To be found guilty of the offence, the Police Prosecution must prove beyond all reasonable doubt each legal element of the offence as follows: Importantly, driving whilst suspended is a strict liability offence, and therefore a person’s…