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Section 92.2 Criminal Code Act 1995
Offence of Intentional Foreign Interference

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Intentional foreign interference – general offence is a crime under section 92.2(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

  1. You engaged in conduct
  2. Your conduct was on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign principal, or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal, or was directed, funded or supervised by a foreign principal, or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal.
  1. You intended by your conduct to:
    (a) Influence a political or governmental process of the Commonwealth, or of a state or territory within the Commonwealth
    (b) Influence the exercise of an Australian democratic or political right or duty, whether within Australia or overseas
    (c) Support intelligence activities or a foreign principal, or
    (d) Prejudice Australia’s national security, and
  1. Any part of your conduct:
    (a) Was covert or involved deception
    (b) Involved a threat to cause serious harm, or
    (c) Involved a demand with menaces.

A ‘foreign principal’ is defined as:

  1. A foreign government principal
  2. A foreign political organisation
  3. A public international organisation
  4. A terrorist organisation, or
  5. An entity or organisation owned, directed or controlled by a foreign principal/s.

A ‘foreign government principal’ is defined as:

  1. The government of a foreign country or of part thereof,
  2. An authority of the government of a foreign country,
  3. An authority of the government of part of a foreign country,
  4. A foreign local government body or foreign regional government body,
  5. A company of a foreign country or part thereof,
  6. A body or association of an authority of a foreign country, or

An entity or organisation owned, directed or controlled by a foreign government principal, or by 2 or more such foreign government principals

A ‘deception’ is an intentional or reckless deception, whether by words or other conduct, and whether as to fact or as to law, and includes:

  1. A deception as to the intentions of you or any other person, and
  2. Conduct that causes a computer, a machine or an electronic device to cause an unauthorised response.

A deception was ‘reckless’ if you were aware there was a substantial risk your conduct would deceive, and it was unjustifiable to take that risk but you went ahead with your actions regardless.

A ‘menace’ includes:

  1. An express or implied threat of conduct that is detrimental or unpleasant to another person, and
  2. A general threat of detrimental or unpleasant conduct that is implied because of the status, office or position of the maker of the threat.

You are not guilty if you establish, ‘on the balance of probabilities’, that your conduct was:

  1. In accordance with a law of the Commonwealth
  2. In accordance with an arrangement or agreement to which the Commonwealth was party, or
  3. In your capacity as a public official.

The Attorney-General’s consent is required for a prosecution to be commenced under the section, and the hearing may occur ‘in camera’ (in secret) if the court believes this is in the interests of national security.

Duress is a defence to the charge.


Intentional foreign interference by influencing a targeted person is an offence under section 92.2(2) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

  1. You engaged in conduct
  2. Your conduct was on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign principal, or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal, or was directed, funded or supervised by a foreign principal, or a person acting on a foreign principal’s behalf
  3. You intended by your conduct to influence another person (‘the target’):
    (a) In relation to a political or governmental process of the Commonwealth, or of a state or territory within the Commonwealth, or
    (b) In the target’s exercise of any Australian democratic or political right or duty, whether in Australia or overseas, and
  1. You concealed from, or failed to disclose to, the target that your conduct was on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign principal, or a person acting for a foreign principal, or was directed, funded or supervised by a foreign principal or a person acting on a foreign principal’s behalf.

A ‘foreign principal’ is defined as:

  1. A foreign government principal
  2. A foreign political organisation
  3. A public international organisation
  4. A terrorist organisation, or
  5. An entity or organisation owned, directed or controlled by a foreign principal/s.

Again, a ‘foreign government principal’ is defined as:

  1. The government of a foreign country or of part thereof,
  2. An authority of the government of a foreign country,
  3. An authority of the government of part of a foreign country,
  4. A foreign local government body or foreign regional government body,
  5. A company of a foreign country or part thereof,
  6. A body or association of an authority of a foreign country, or

An entity or organisation owned, directed or controlled by a foreign government principal, or by 2 or more such foreign government principals

You are not guilty if you establish, ‘on the balance of probabilities’, that your conduct was:

  1. In accordance with a law of the Commonwealth
  2. In accordance with an arrangement or agreement to which the Commonwealth was party, or
  3. In your capacity as a public official.

The Attorney-General’s consent is required for a prosecution to be commenced under the section

And the hearing may occur ‘in camera’ (in secret) if the court believes this is in the interests of national security

Duress is a defence to the charge.

If you require Expert Legal Advice from an Experienced Criminal Defence Lawyer for your Offence of Intentional Foreign Interference matter, call Sydney Criminal Lawyers® today on (02) 9261 8881.

The Legislation

92.2 Offence of Intentional Foreign Interference

Interference generally

(1) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person engages in conduct; and

(b) any of the following circumstances exists:

(i) the person engages in the conduct on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal;

(ii) the conduct is directed, funded or supervised by a foreign principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal; and

(c) the person intends that the conduct will:

(i) influence a political or governmental process of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; or

(ii) influence the exercise (whether or not in Australia) of an Australian democratic or political right or duty; or

(iii) support intelligence activities of a foreign principal; or

(iv) prejudice Australia’s national security; and

(d) any part of the conduct:

(i) is covert or involves deception; or

(ii) involves the person making a threat to cause serious harm, whether to the person to whom the threat is made or any other person; or

(iii) involves the person making a demand with menaces.

Note: An alternative verdict may be available for an offence against this subsection (see section 93.5).

Penalty: Imprisonment for 20 years.

Interference involving targeted person

(2) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person engages in conduct; and

(b) any of the following circumstances exists:

(i) the conduct is engaged in on behalf of, or in collaboration with, a foreign principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal;

(ii) the conduct is directed, funded or supervised by a foreign principal or a person acting on behalf of a foreign principal; and

(c) the person intends that the conduct will influence another person (the target ):

(i) in relation to a political or governmental process of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; or

(ii) in the target’s exercise (whether or not in Australia) of any Australian democratic or political right or duty; and

(d) the person conceals from, or fails to disclose to, the target the circumstance mentioned in paragraph (b).

Note: An alternative verdict may be available for an offence against this subsection (see section 93.5).

Penalty: Imprisonment for 20 years.

Other matters

(3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(b) and (2)(b):

(a) the person does not need to have in mind a particular foreign principal; and

(b) the person may have in mind more than one foreign principal.

Why Choose Sydney Criminal Lawyers®?

Going to court can be nerve-racking, but having a strong and compassionate legal team behind you can make the experience significantly easier to deal with.

Here are 12 reasons to choose our multi-award winning legal team:

  1. Proven Track Record of Exceptional Results

    Sydney Criminal Lawyers® consistently achieves outcomes which are in the highest percentile of the Judicial Commission’s sentencing statistics for criminal cases.

    Our legal team devises effective case-strategies and fights hard to have cases dropped entirely or charges downgraded – saving clients the time, expense and stress of a defended hearing or jury trial.

    Where cases nevertheless proceed, our lawyers have an outstanding track record of winning defended Local Court hearings, and complex jury trials in the District and Supreme Courts.

    We also consistently win appeals in the District and Supreme Courts (including the NSWCCA) after clients have received unsatisfactory results with other law firms in the lower courts.We are one of the few firms to achieve successful criminal law appeals in the High Court of Australia.

    Where our clients wish to plead guilty, we frequently achieve ‘dismissals’ and ‘non convictions’ in cases where other lawyers have advised there is no chance of doing so.

  2. Highest Level of Client Satisfaction

    We have the best and most comprehensive client review record of any law firm in Australia.

    Regular communication, accessibility and quality service are our team’s highest priorities.

    We are committed to thoroughly explaining all steps involved in the criminal law process, providing regular updates throughout the proceedings, and making ourselves accessible and responsive.

    We are passionate about providing an exceptional level of service to our clients, and we fight hard to achieve optimal results in the shortest period of time.

  3. Australia’s Most Awarded Criminal Law Firm

    We have received more awards and accolades than any other criminal law firm in Australia. Our team has been awarded “Criminal Defence Firm of the Year in Australia” in a number of prestigious and competitive awards programs for several years running.

    The awards recognise our exceptional track record of results, our outstanding client service, the high level of satisfaction we achieve, the affordability of our services and our overall excellence.

  4. Fixed Fees

    We want our clients to know exactly how much their cases will cost from the very start. That’s why we were the first criminal law firm in Australia to publish ‘fixed fees’, back in 2004.

    We offer fixed fees for most types of criminal cases and services.Our fixed fees apply to a range of Local Court cases such as drink driving, drug possession, fraud, common assault and AVOs, and also specific services such as prison visits, bail applications, appeals and defended hearings.

    Unlike many other law firms, our fixed fees are published on our website – which ensures transparency and certainty.

  5. Free First Appointment

    For those who are going to court, we offer a free first conference of up to an hour with one of our Senior Criminal Defence Lawyers.

    We also offer a free first conference to those who have received an unsatisfactory result after being represented in court by another law firm, or after representing themselves, and wish to appeal.

  6. Specialist Lawyer Guarantee

    We guarantee that only lawyers with substantial criminal defence experience will work on your case and appear for you in court.

    This ensures our clients receive the highest quality representation from an experienced, specialist criminal lawyer.

  7. All NSW Courts

    From Bombala to Broken Hill, our lawyers appear in courts throughout New South Wales – and across Australia for Commonwealth cases.

    And we offer fixed fees for most criminal and traffic law cases throughout the state.

  8. Accredited Specialists

    Our entire firm is exclusively dedicated to criminal law – which makes us true specialists.

    All of our lawyers have years of experience representing clients in criminal cases, and our principal has been certified by the Law Society of NSW as an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 2005.

    An ‘Accredited Specialist’ is a lawyer who has practised for at least 5 years in a particular field of law (such as criminal law), has passed a rigorous assessment process conducted by the Law Society of NSW, and has been selected by the Specialist Accreditation Committee of the Law Society as an expert in the field.

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    Our firm’s specialist experience ensures you receive the best possible result, whatever your criminal law case may be.

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    Our team is passionate about achieving results, and unlike many other law firms, our lawyers do not have monthly financial ‘budgets’ to meet.

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  10. Team of Lawyers Behind You

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  11. Familiar with Magistrates and Judges

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  12. Convenience

    We have offices in locations across the Sydney Metropolitan Area and beyond, including:

    We offer free parking at our Sydney CBD offices, and all of our offices are close to train stations and bus terminals.

    For those who are unable to attend our offices, we offer conferences by telephone, Skye and FaceTime anywhere around the world.

    If you are going to court and wish to arrange a free first consultation, call our 24 hour hotline on (02) 9261 8881 or send us an email at info@sydneycriminallawyers.com.au.

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