Laws Relating to Driving Conduct that Causes Grievous Bodily Harm in NSW
The driver accused of being responsible for causing the deaths of 10 wedding attendees and the hospitalisation of 20 more by losing control of a bus in the Hunter Valley is facing dozens of additional charges for major traffic offences....
Should Uniform Affirmative Consent Laws Be Enacted Across Australia?
Victoria is the latest jurisdiction to introduce affirmative sexual consent laws, becoming the third Australian jurisdiction to enact laws which require those who participate in sexual activity to take positive steps to ensure the other party or parties are consenting....
United States Strips Military Commanders of Prosecutorial Powers
United States President Joe Biden has ordered an historic change to the way serious crimes such as sexual assaults and murders that are allegedly committed by defence personnel are dealt with, transferring prosecutorial powers from commanders to an independent body...
Criminal Offences Relating to Female Genital Mutilation in NSW
On 16 October 2019, the highest court in Australia upheld the convictions of three people who had been found guilty of mutilating the genitals of two girls aged six and seven in New South Wales, in a barbaric practice that...
Community Correction Orders: Diverting Offenders Away from the Criminal Justice System
Tim Mathieson, who is perhaps best known as the “first bloke” for being the partner of Julia Gillard when she was prime minister, has pleaded guilty to a sexual offence in Victoria. The 66-year old appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court...
Fraud Enabled by MyGov ‘Security Gap’ Costs Australian Taxpayers $500 Million
The Federal Government’s PR department has gone into overdrive this week, boasting about how it is drafting National Digital Identification legislation which it claims will safely and securely use the personal data of millions of Australians to streamline access to...
I’m Going to Court for a Criminal Offence. Will I Go to Prison?
“I’ve been accused of a criminal offence, am I looking at a prison sentence?” This question, or a variant of it, is regularly asked by clients who are charged with criminal offences, particularly by those who have been accused for...
The Criminal Offence of Sexual Touching Without Consent
It has been reported that Tim Mathieson, who is the ex-partner of former Australia prime minister Julia Gillard, will plead guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to intentionally sexually touching a woman without her consent in Melbourne’s CBD on 13 March...
The Offence of Using a Carriage Service to Procure a Child Under 16 for Sexual Activity
The deputy principal at a high school in Sydney’s south-west has been sentenced to more than three and a half years behind bars for sexting who he believed to be a 14-year old girl. Damian Wanstall’s LinkedIn profile hasn’t been...
UK Proposes Legal Defence for Domestic Violence Victims Who Harm or Kill Their Partners
The United Kingdom is considering sentencing reforms which would provide a legal defence to victims of domestic violence who harm or kill their perpetrators after being subjected to sustained abuse. UK review The proposal comes in the wake of an...
