Criminal lawyers in Australia are specialized in any branch of law pertaining to Penal Code. The law regulates a wide range of offences, but, regardless of the nature of the case, clients should know that our team can provide professional services and legal representation in court.
Our lawyers in Australia will assist clients from the moment they have been charged with a criminal offence throughout the entire legal process. Provided that the result of a case does not reflect the expected outcome, our lawyers can appeal a court’s decision and address the next court in charge.
Please know that we can also provide our services to individuals and any other third party that has been the victim of a criminal offence or to any person involved in such a situation.
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Areas of specialization
Criminal law is comprised of numerous branches. In the list below, our criminal lawyers in Australia present some of these branches:
- domestic violence and AVOs (Apprehended Violence Orders);
- fraud and white collar crimes;
- property damage and breaking and entering;
- murder and manslaughter;
- sexual offences;
- terrorism; etc.
What is the law regulating criminal offences in Australia?
There are several rules of law specifically regulating criminal matters in Australia. These regulations are comprised of 2 types of documents – Acts and Codes, some of which are applied at a national level and some which are enforced at the level of each Australian state or territory, as follows:
- The Crimes Act;
- The Criminal Code;
- The Criminal Code Act;
- The Criminal Law Consolidation Act.
To these, other rules of law apply based on the nature of the crime. For instance, for sexual offences, the provisions of the Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act are enforced. Our Australian lawyers can offer more details on the laws that apply to a specific criminal branch.
The reason why Australia has legal frameworks applied at a state/territorial or federal levels is because the country’s system is created in a way that provides legislative and tax autonomy at a local level, while specific matters are enforced at a national level. This is why each state can have its own regulations when it comes to criminal enforcement, which will differ from the rules applicable in a another state.
Given this, we kindly recommend you to address our law firm in Australia, so that you can receive legal information for the specific region where you live in or where the criminal charge has been made.
However, regardless of the state or territory where the criminal charge has taken place, the legislation in Australia stipulates that a person has the right to be considered innocent until the judicial system proves otherwise. The judicial system implies the following parties:
- the police, which will investigate the case;
- the prosecutor (state/federal);
- the courts (state/federal courts);
- the attorneys in Australia (the accused person has the right to obtain legal representation from the moment when the criminal charges have been made).
Statistics on criminal charges in Australia
Although Australia is a highly developed economy that has a good reputation around the world for its social, economic and political systems, it deals with many cases pertaining to criminal law. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the following data is revealed:
- by 30th of June 2024, there were 44,403 adult prisoners in Australia (up by 6% compared to the previous year);
- criminal courts heard a total of 515,460 cases in 2023-2024, out of which 97% resulted in guilty judgments;
- sexual assault reports registered by the police accounted for 36,318 victims by June 2024, marking an increase of 11% from the previous year;
- personal fraud cases increased by 9.9% in 2023-2024, with 1 in 10 Australians experiencing card fraud.
If you need further information and assistance on criminal law, please contact our Australian law firm. Provided that you live in Sydney, you can rely on our local office, where you can address our lawyers in Sydney.