CRIMINAL OFFENCES

There are five categories of criminal offences:

• summary offences;
• lesser criminal offences where an Act will require that it must be dealt with summarily;
• criminal offences where an Act will allow in certain circumstances for the matter to be dealt with summarily;
• criminal indictable offences that may, in certain circumstances, be dealt with summarily; and
• strictly indictable offences.

All summary matters are heard in the Local Court and dealt with summarily by a magistrate in the Local Court. If the matter is strictly indictable or an indictable matter that cannot be heard summarily, it will be dealt with in the District Court or Supreme Court.

Summary offences and matters dealt with summarily

Summary offences are the least serious of criminal matters.

Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) sets out the offences that must be dealt with summarily, the following:

• an offence under any Act that is required to be dealt with summarily,
• an offence under any Act that is described as a summary offence,
• an offence for which the maximum penalty that may be imposed is not, and does not include, imprisonment for more than 2 years except:
• an offence that under any other Act is required or permitted to be dealt with on indictment, or
• offences listed in Table 1 and Table 2 to Sch 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

An offence may be dealt with summarily if the relevant Act permits it to be dealt with either summarily or on indictment.

Certain summary offences may be dealt with by Local Courts if the offence is permitted or required to be dealt with summarily by a Local Court, unless the Act expressly excludes the matter being dealt with by a Local Court.

Indictable offences

All other offences are indictable and, while they initially commence in the Local Court, they will ultimately be determined in either the District Court or the Supreme Court.

About Post Author

Mark Racca

Principal Solicitor & Director
LLB, GradDipLegPrac, MPA

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