Federal Crime and Related Proceedings

About this NPA

The Federal Crime and Related Proceedings NPA is comprised of the following:

• Summary prosecutions
• Prosecutions on indictment
• Criminal appeals
• Bail applications and empaneling juries for Criminal Cartel Trials
• Civil proceedings related to confiscating assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) where the Federal Court is conferred with a criminal jurisdiction.

More about the Court’s criminal and related jurisdiction

The Federal Court has:

• jurisdiction to deal with summary offences against a number of Commonwealth Acts, including the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (Cth) and the Australian Energy Market Act 2004 (Cth). Summary offences are tried before a Judge sitting alone.
• indictable jurisdiction to deal with the following two offences against the Competition and Consumer Act:
  • making a contract containing a cartel provision (section 44ZZRF); and
  • giving effect to a cartel provision (section 44ZZRG).
    
    The Court was given jurisdiction for those offences in 2009. An indictable offence is tried before a Judge and jury.

• jurisdiction to deal with criminal appeals by the operation of sections 30AA and 30AD of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), for offences prosecuted under Commonwealth legislation, including the Competition and Consumer Act, the Copyright Act, the Trademarks Act, the Fair Work Act, the Australian Energy Market Act, the Building and Construction (Improving Productivity) Act, as well as hear appeals from criminal matters from the Norfolk Island Supreme Court.
• jurisdiction to deal with applications involving criminal contempt arising from examinations conducted by federal law enforcement agencies, such as under s34B of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) and applications under the International Transfer of Prisoners Act 1977 (Cth).

Allocation of matters in this NPA

The Court has judges experienced in managing crime-related cases, including criminal appeals, and judicial registrars experienced in the practice and procedure of criminal prosecutions to assist the judges with the case management of such matters.

While any crime-related case is likely to be managed by the Court within this NPA, the Court will ensure that the judge allocated to manage the case has expertise in the underlying area of law the subject of the proceeding - for example, competition and consumer law or intellectual property law.

Judgments

• 28 Apr 2023: Hartley v Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police [2023] FCA 368
  CRIMINAL LAW - search warrant - validity of warrant - whether warrant did not or did not sufficiently state an offence - whether warrant ambiguous - where warrant sufficiently described nature of offence to indicate area of search - where warrant not established to be invalid
  Judge: Abraham J
• 16 Mar 2023: Fogarty v Jakovac (No 2) [2023] FCA 234
  CRIMINAL LAW - election pursuant to s 104.12A of the Criminal Code (Cth) to confirm an interim control order made against the respondent under s 104.4 of the Criminal Code - where the respondent has been convicted of an offence relating to terrorism - consideration of whether there remains a residual risk of reoffending arising from both the…
  Judge: Bromwich J
• 23 Feb 2023: Lusty v CVA22 [2023] FCA 130
  CONTEMPT OF COURT - sentencing - contempt of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission - respondent in contempt by refusing to answer questions in examination - where respondent pleaded guilty - fixed term of 8 months imprisonment imposed
  Judge: Thawley J

Speeches & Papers

• 24 May 2014: Competition, fairness and the courts
  Presented to the Competition Law Conference by Justice Rares