Criminal Law Insights

Using a mobile phone illegally while driving in Victoria carries a $627 fine and 4 demerit points, under the Road Safety Road Rules 2017. Learner and P-plate drivers cannot use a phone at all, and detection cameras now enforce the rules automatically.

Driving when you have never held a licence is an offence under section 18 of the Road Safety Act 1986, carrying up to 60 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment. That is far more than the penalty for an expired licence, and the court can also delay when you may apply for a licence.

Victoria has no single offence called “assault with a weapon.” A weapon instead escalates the charge, lifting an assault from a minor summary matter to a serious indictable offence, and where a weapon is used to cause serious injury the maximum reaches 20 years with a statutory minimum term.

Common assault in Victoria carries a maximum of 15 penalty units or 3 months imprisonment, but a first-time offender rarely faces the maximum. Diversion, a good behaviour bond, or a fine without a conviction are common outcomes, and imprisonment is unlikely for a genuine first offence.

An assault charge linked to family violence uses the same Crimes Act 1958 offences, but the family violence context changes everything around it. There is a pro-charge police response, a safety notice or intervention order running alongside the criminal charge, tougher bail, a complainant who cannot simply drop the matter, and family violence treated as an aggravating factor at sentencing.

Credit card fraud in Victoria is usually charged as obtaining property or a financial advantage by deception under the Crimes Act 1958, each carrying up to 10 years, or as a Commonwealth financial information offence. Dishonesty is the element the prosecution must prove, and it is often where these cases are fought.

To appeal a conviction in Victoria, a Magistrates’ Court conviction is appealed to the County Court as a full rehearing, while a County or Supreme Court conviction is appealed to the Court of Appeal, which requires leave. Both pathways have a strict 28-day time limit from the date of sentence.

Contempt of court in Victoria is conduct that defies or undermines the authority of a court, such as disrupting a hearing, refusing to answer as a witness, disobeying a court order, or publishing material that prejudices a trial. It can carry a fine or imprisonment, and in the higher courts the penalty is not fixed by statute.

In Victoria, consent means a free and voluntary agreement to each sexual act. Since July 2023, the affirmative consent model requires a person to say or do something to find out whether the other person consents, and a belief in consent is not reasonable if they did nothing to check. Consent can also be withdrawn at any time.