CPD and the profession
Continuing professional development.
The firm contributes back to the criminal bar through an annual CPD presentation, written and presented by Aaron Kernaghan. Each year's update is one hour, free to attend, CPD-accredited, and posted with slides and notes afterward. The firm's working library of practitioner-facing research lives at akclr.com.au.
This year · December 2026
Annual NSW Sentencing Trends Update.
A one-hour walk through the NSW sentencing landscape, twelve months on. Section 25D in practice. The standard non-parole period regime as the appellate courts have continued to apply it. The intensive correction order: who is getting them, who is not. Section 14 diversion under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020. Drug Court referrals. New ground from the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal across sentencing appeals in the year.
Free to attend. Live in the Potts Point office and online. Recording posted afterward with slides and presenter notes. Suitable for solicitors and barristers in NSW and ACT criminal practice. One CPD point in professional skills (subject to LSNSW CPD-substantial-compliance requirements).
Where the presentation engages a particular line of NSWCCA authority, the verification log behind the firm's insights articles is the working reference. The annual update consolidates the year's developments into a single presentation rather than the article-by-article rhythm of the insights archive.
Register to attend.
Confirmations sent the week before. In-person seats allocated in registration order; livestream link goes to everyone who registers. On submission your email app will open with a pre-filled registration message to the firm.
CPD modules
The insights library, mapped to CPD topics.
The firm's long-form pieces in the insights archive are mapped below to the CPD topics each piece supports. Practitioners using them for CPD record-keeping should run their own substantive verification, but the JADE consolidation behind each piece is recorded in the relevant verification log.
Sentencing
Section 10 · the complete guide.
Three orders under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). Mandatory considerations. The 2018 reforms.
Read the piece →Sentencing
The early-plea discount.
Section 25D and the fixed-percentage regime. The summary-matter common-law discount. The strategic decisions the regime forces.
Read the piece →Appeals
Kentwell, in practice.
The plurality reasoning. The mandatory re-sentencing duty. Manifest excess as a residual ground. Practical grounds drafting.
Read the piece →Bail
Show cause in NSW bail.
Section 16A. The unacceptable-risk test in section 19. The show-cause offence list in section 16B.
Read the piece →Bail
Bail revocations and the Supreme Court path.
The Supreme Court bail jurisdiction. The threshold for a subsequent application. What fresh evidence looks like.
Read the piece →Evidence
The right to silence.
Section 89 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW). The narrow section 89A exception. The doorstep playbook.
Read the piece →Diversion
Section 14 MHCIFP diversion.
The diversion order under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020. Application and breach.
Read the piece →Sentencing
Section 21A factors.
The aggravating and mitigating factors. The double-counting prohibition. The seriousness analysis.
Read the piece →Sexual offences
Affirmative consent after 2022.
The new sections 61HF to 61HK. The developing NSWCCA authority including Slater v R and Poveda v R.
Read the piece →For the profession
AKCLR.com.au.
The deeper working library of practitioner research, CPD slides and conference materials sits at akclr.com.au. The firm site, here at aklawyer.com.au, is the client-facing front. The two sites are paired: each annual CPD update is published in slide form at AKCLR with the recording embedded, and the article that supports it is cross-linked here.
If you are a practitioner who would value an invitation to subsequent annual updates, register at the form above and tick the in-person option; we keep the list for the next presentation as well.
For private criminal client enquiries, the contact details are on the contact page. For practitioner enquiries about CPD or briefing Aaron as senior counsel-instructed, use aaron@aklawyer.com.au.