Lawful Correction
Lawful Correction is a complete defence to a criminal charge which means it leads to a verdict of ‘not guilty’.
The defence is contained in Section 61AA of the Crimes Act 1900 which states that you are not criminally responsible for an offence arising from applying physical force to a child if:
- You were the child’s parent or were acting for the child’s parent
- You applied force to punish the child, and
- The force was reasonable
A ‘child’ is a person under the age of 18 years.
A person ‘acting for a parent’ is:
- The child’s step-parent, or the parent’s de-facto partner or relative, or a person to whom the parent has entrusted the child’s care, and
- Who the parent authorises to use physical force to punish the child
In the case of Indigenous persons, a person acting for a parent includes a person recognised by the Indigenous community as having special responsibilities towards the child.
The factors relevant for determining whether the force was ‘reasonable’ are:
- The child’s age, health, maturity and other characteristics
- The nature of the alleged misbehaviour, and
- Any other relevant circumstances
Physical force that is more than trivial or negligible is not reasonable where applied to:
- The child’s head or neck, or
- Any other part of the child where
The harm is likely to last more than a short period of time.
What Our Clients Say SEE ALL
-
★★★★★
Got me the best possible outcome, her knowledge and skills helped me a lot
Coincidering my charges lawyer Karina got me the best possible outcome, her knowledge and skills…
-
★★★★★
Better than expected outcome
Patrick performed well under unexpected time pressure today. I engaged Patrick's services to defend me…
-
★★★★★
Extremely happy with outcome
Big thank you to Fred Cao who was representing me today. Explained step by step…
-
★★★★★
No conviction for my father’s driving offence
Wissam successfully got a no conviction for my father’s driving offence which will enable him…