Can Police Enter My Residence to Check Compliance With a Public Health Order?
The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to unprecedented controls being placed on the Australian population, significantly restricting movement, association and gatherings. State and federal parliaments have been shut down, the executive has taken over powers normally exercised by parliament and...
The Law on Observing, Filming and Distributing Intimate Images in NSW
Isolation can be lonely, so it’s only natural that many of us will be reaching out in intimate ways via text and video-calls whilst we are cooped up indoors. But ‘sexting’ in the time of COVID-19 comes with certain risks...
The Offence of Criminal Negligence in New South Wales
The same day that The New South Wales Government ordered the closure of Bondi Beach, slamming beachgoers for being careless and flouting COVID-19 social distancing regulations, the Ruby Princess was given the go-ahead to dock in Sydney, bringing with her...
COVID-19 Social Controls: ‘An Authoritarian Wet Dream In Progress’
In the past several weeks, the government has pushed through legislation with unprecedented speed, ostensibly to slow the spread of COVID-19 by enforcing physical distancing and restricting travel. Amongst these laws are those which severely restrict our freedom of movement...
What is the Offence of Drug Supply in New South Wales?
It has been reported that at around 1.15pm, Thursday 3 April 2020, a 37-year old man from Lane Cove in the lower northern suburbs of Sydney attended a hotel on Elizabeth Street in the Sydney CBD to deliver a box...
All Local Court Bail Applications to Be Heard in the Downing Centre
The past few weeks have seen drastic changes to the way in which criminal cases are dealt with in the Children’s, Local, District and Supreme Courts. On 2 April 2020, the Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, Judge Graeme Henson,...
The Offence of Failing to Comply With a Public Health Order
It has been reported that at around 9.20am on Wednesday, 1 April 2020, a 41-year old woman from Queanbeyan in south eastern New South Wales was walking along a street in Cooma when she allegedly “stepped in front of another...
Defendant Granted Bail Due to Coronavirus Concerns
As the COVID-19 epidemic unfolds, it’s having a substantial impact on the Australian criminal justice system, from the Local Court all the way up to the High Court of Australia. NSW District Court Chief Judge Derek Price announced on 30...
Am I Guilty of a Crime if I Attempted and Failed?
Most criminal offences in New South Wales require the prosecution to prove a number of ‘essential elements’, or ingredients, beyond a reasonable doubt for a person to be found guilty. For example, to establish the offence of sexual assault under...
Should Politicians Take Pay Cuts?
Hundreds of thousands of Australians are out of work or working from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of businesses have shut their doors, many never to reopen. A large number of these have been built by ordinary Australians...
