Insights
Not the law of the lecture hall. Plain notes on what to expect, what to do, and what not to do when a charge is in front of you.
For practitioners, our research and commentary lives at AKCLR.com.au.
The early-plea discount is real. So is a wrongful conviction. The five hidden costs of a plea that should not have been entered, the narrow appellate path after a plea is in, the duty solicitor problem, and the cases where a plea is the right call.
Read the full note →The ACT companion to the NSW note. The early-plea discount under section 35 of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) is discretionary, not fixed. The hidden costs of a wrongful plea follow the accused in the ACT just as they do in NSW, with one important consequence (the FVO regime) that runs differently.
Read the full note →Anyone who promises an outcome in a criminal matter is selling something other than law. A frank note on what honest forecasting in criminal defence actually sounds like, and the red flags of a lawyer who promises results.
Read the full note →What family members and friends can and cannot do for an accused person facing a criminal charge. The line between supporting a witness and influencing one, the offences in Part 7 of the Crimes Act that catch the wrong side of the line, and how the lawyer is the lawful channel for everything in between.
Read the full note →What actually has to happen in the first month after a criminal charge in NSW. Bail conditions, the police interview window, choosing a lawyer, Legal Aid applications, the brief, the first listing, and the decisions that have to be made before the matter moves on.
Read the full note →The solicitor-barrister relationship in NSW criminal practice. When senior counsel is engaged, what to expect at a conference, the fee structure, the brief to counsel, and the division of work between solicitor and barrister at the bar table.
Read the full note →Section 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) catches supply of a prohibited drug other than cannabis on three or more occasions in 30 days, for reward. Maximum 20 years, strictly indictable, SNPP listed. The elements, the strategic decisions, and the defences.
Read the full note →A deeper read of Kentwell v The Queen [2014] HCA 37. The plurality reasoning, the structure of the re-sentencing exercise, the relationship between specific error and manifest excess, and the practical implications for how a sentence appeal is run in current NSW practice.
Read the full note →What happens after a bail revocation in NSW and how the Supreme Court release application works. The detention application by the prosecutor, the Supreme Court bail jurisdiction, the threshold for a subsequent application, and what fresh evidence looks like in practice.
Read the full note →The aggravating and mitigating factors in section 21A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), the seriousness analysis, the burdens of proof on each list, and how the factors interact with the objective gravity assessment.
Read the full note →The Drug Court of NSW is the most powerful alternative to full-time custody for offenders whose offending is driven by drug dependence. The Drug Court Act 1998 framework, the eligibility criteria, the referral process, the program phases, the sanctions and rewards, and the realistic outcomes.
Read the full note →The AVO proceeding and the criminal proceeding run in parallel. The choices made in one shape the other. A note on consent without admissions, section 14 contraventions, and the bail consequences accused persons need to plan for.
Read the full note →A 30-minute playbook for the moment police execute a search warrant at your home or business. How to read the warrant under Part 5 of LEPRA, what to say, what to record, and what to do once the officers have gone.
Read the full note →Curfews, exclusion zones, non-contact, reporting, surety, electronic monitoring. A practical guide to living under NSW bail conditions for the months a criminal proceeding is on foot, with the diary template, the breach playbook, and the section 51 variation route.
Read the full note →A walk through the first listing for accused persons attending the NSW Local Court for the first time. What to wear, what to expect, what the magistrate will ask, what the prosecutor will say, and the decisions that have to be made on the day. ACT Magistrates Court equivalent included.
Read the full note →The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Consent Reforms) Act 2021 (NSW) replaced section 61HE of the Crimes Act with the new section 61HF to 61HK framework, in force 1 June 2022. A note on what changed, what the prosecution must now prove, and what the defence does in response.
Read the full note →Why declining an ERISP is rarely a sign of guilt, why section 89 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) protects pre-trial silence, and the narrow section 89A exception you need to know about before you walk into a serious indictable interview.
Read the full note →A plain-English guide to section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). The three orders the section allows, the factors the court considers, and the work that makes the difference between a section 10 outcome and a conviction.
Read the full note →The CRO is the modern good-behaviour bond. It can run for up to two years, with conditions calibrated to the offending. A practical guide to how the order works, the difference between a CRO with conviction and a CRO without, and the consequences of breach.
Read the full note →An ICO is a sentence of imprisonment served in the community under supervision. Community safety is the paramount consideration. The section 67 exclusions cut deep. A guide to the threshold, the conditions, and what an ICO actually feels like.
Read the full note →The diversion order that replaced the old section 32 application. A Magistrate can dismiss a charge against a defendant with a mental health or cognitive impairment, conditional on treatment. What the application looks like, what makes it succeed, and what happens on breach.
Read the full note →ACT bail runs on a different framework from NSW. The three-tier presumption regime, the section 9C exceptional-circumstances test for murder and serious drug offences, and the section 22 criteria the court applies once the presumption is engaged.
Read the full note →Section 25D fixed the indictable-discount regime at 25%, 10%, or 5%, depending on when the plea is entered. The committal stage is the largest window. A guide to the timing decisions the regime forces, and the separate residual common-law discount on summary matters.
Read the full note →The House v The King test for specific error, the Kentwell re-sentencing duty, and the residual ground of manifest excess. The two appellate paths (Local Court to District Court, District Court to CCA), and the five grounds that most often succeed.
Read the full note →The show-cause regime sits in section 16A of the Bail Act 2013 (NSW). For a list of serious offences, the accused must show cause why detention is not justified before the unacceptable-risk test is even reached. A short guide for accused persons and their families.
Read the full note →For practitioners
A working set of tools the firm uses on real files, free to use. Plus a free daily digest of the most significant decisions from the High Court, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, the ACT Supreme Court, and other Australian appellate courts, posted each morning.
Curated by AKCLR
A selection from the firm’s daily case-law digest at AKCLR.com.au. Each item summarises the decision in one sentence and points to the published judgment.
22 June 2026 · NSW Court of Criminal Appeal
Sentence appeal allowed in a Commonwealth attempt to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug (heroin, about 1.087 kg, controlled delivery). Error established and the sentencing discretion re-exercised; applicant resentenced.
Read on JADE →19 June 2026 · Queensland Court of Appeal
Sentence appeal allowed on three counts of reckless money laundering of about $450,000 over four months. A head sentence of three years held not supported by the comparable cases for reckless (rather than deliberate) money laundering; applicant resentenced.
Read on Queensland Judgments →18 June 2026 · NSW Court of Criminal Appeal
17 domestic violence convictions quashed and a new trial ordered. Improper Crown cross-examination suggesting recent invention from matters not put to a complainant (Hofer v The Queen applied); the trial judge’s direction did not cure the miscarriage; the proviso was not applied.
Read on JADE →16 June 2026 · ACT Supreme Court
Judge-alone acquittal on aggravated burglary, property damage, taking a motor vehicle without consent, and theft, in joint commission. A s 138 Evidence Act 2011 (ACT) challenge to police search evidence (body-worn camera, crime scene powers) was rejected; identification in a circumstantial case was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Read on JADE →For the full daily digest, see AKCLR.com.au.