An Offence of Specific Intent is one for which the intention to cause a particular result is an element.
In other words, it is one whereby the prosecution bears the onus of proving beyond a reasonable doubt.
That the defendant intended to cause a particular outcome such as death, harm, destruction, concealment, stealing, gaining a financial advantage or committing an indictable offence.
Section 428B of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) lists these offences, which include:
- Murder, intent to murder or wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent;
- Poisoning, spiking drinks or food, sabotage or using an explosive substance;
- Kidnapping, abducting a child or assaulting with intent to have sexual intercourse;
- Being armed, breaking into a premises or destroying or damaging property with intent;
- Blackmail, forgery, making or possessing false documents or dealing with identification information, and,
- Corrupting or intimidating witnesses, perverting the course of justice or perjury with intent.
Section 428C makes clear that a defendant’s intoxication, whether or not self-induced, can be taken into account when determining whether he or she had the required intent unless before becoming intoxicated. He or she had resolved to engage in the relevant conduct or became intoxicated in order to strengthen his or her resolve to engage in the conduct.
Section 428E provides that where a defendant is charged with murder his or her self-induced intoxication cannot be taken into account when determining whether the required state of mind for the alternative offences of manslaughter or assault causing death was present but intoxication that was not self-induced can be considered when making that determination.
Section 428B of the Crimes Act 1900 is Offences of Specific Intent to Which Part Applies and is extracted below.
For expert advice and outstanding representation from Australia’s Most Awarded Criminal Defence Firm, call Sydney Criminal Lawyers® today on (02) 9261 8881 and let our experienced defence team help you.
The Legislation
Section 428B of the Crimes Act 1900 deals with ‘Offences of Specific Intent to Which Part Applies’ and reads as follows:
428B Offences of Specific Intent to Which Part Applies
(1) An
“offence of specific intent” is an offence of which an intention to cause a specific result is an element.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the offences referred to in the Table to this section are examples of offences of specific intent.
Table
(a) an offence under the following provisions of this Act:
19A Murder
27 Acts done to the person with intent to murder
28 Acts done to property with intent to murder
29 Certain other attempts to murder
30 Attempts to murder by other means
33 Wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent
33A Discharging firearm etc with intent
33B Use of weapon to resist arrest etc
37 (2) Choking, suffocation or strangulation with intent to commit or assist in committing another indictable offence
38 Using intoxicating substance to commit an indictable offence
38A Spiking drink or food
41 Using poison etc to injure or to cause distress or pain
41A Poisoning etc of water supply
47 Using etc explosive substance or corrosive fluid etc
48 Causing explosives to be placed in or near building, conveyance or public place
49 Setting trap etc
51A Predatory driving
55 Possessing or making explosives or other things with intent to injure
60C Obtaining of personal information about law enforcement officers
61K Assault with intent to have sexual intercourse
82 Administering drugs etc to herself by woman with child
83 Administering drugs etc to woman with intent
86 Kidnapping
87 Child abduction
91M Installing device to facilitate observation or filming
93L Threatening to contaminate goods with intent to cause public alarm or economic loss
93M Making false statements concerning contamination of goods with intent to cause public alarm or economic loss
93R Leaving or sending an article with intent to cause alarm
99 Demanding property with intent to steal
110 Breaking, entering and assaulting with intent to murder etc
111 Entering dwelling-house
113 Breaking etc into any house etc with intent to commit serious indictable offence
114 (a) (c) (d) Being armed etc with intent to commit offence
190 Receiving etc cattle unlawfully killed, or carcass etc
192F Intention to defraud by destroying or concealing accounting records
192G Intention to defraud by false or misleading statement
192H Intention to deceive members or creditors by false or misleading statement of officer of organisation
192J Dealing with identification information
192K Possession of identification information
192L Possession of equipment etc to make identification documents or things
193B (1) Money laundering
193D (1) Dealing with property that subsequently becomes an instrument of crime
196 Destroying or damaging property with intent to injure a person
198 Destroying or damaging property with intention of endangering life
199 Threatening to destroy or damage property
200 Possession etc of explosive or other article with intent to destroy or damage property
202 (c) Interfering or damaging etc bed or bank of river with intent of obstructing etc navigation
203B Sabotage
203C Threaten sabotage
205 Prejudicing the safe operation of an aircraft or vessel
210 (b) Acting with intention of destroying etc aids to navigation
211 Criminal acts relating to railways
249C Misleading documents or statements used or made by agents
249D Corrupt inducements for advice
249K Blackmail offence
253 Forgery–making false document
254 Using false document
255 Possession of false document
256 (1) and (3) Making or possession of equipment etc for making false documents
308C Unauthorised access, modification or impairment with intent to commit serious indictable offence
308D Unauthorised modification of data with intent to cause impairment
308F Possession of data with intent to commit serious computer offence
308G Producing, supplying or obtaining data with intent to commit serious computer offence
308H Unauthorised access to or modification of restricted data held in computer
308I Unauthorised impairment of data held in computer disk, credit card or other device
314 False accusations etc
315 Hindering investigation etc
317 Tampering etc with evidence
318 Making or using false official instrument to pervert the course of justice
319 General offence of perverting the course of justice
321 (1) Corruption of witnesses and jurors
322 Threatening or intimidating judges, witnesses, jurors etc
323 Influencing witnesses and jurors
328 Perjury with intent to procure conviction or acquittal
333 (2) Subornation of perjury
530 (1) Serious animal cruelty
(b) an offence under the following provisions of this Act to the extent that an element of the offence requires a person to intend to cause the specific result necessary for the offence:
57 (assault on persons preserving wreck)
58 (assault with intent to commit serious indictable offence on certain officers)
66B (assaulting with intent to have sexual intercourse with child under 10)
66D (assaulting with intent to have sexual intercourse with child between 10 and 16)
91P (intentionally record intimate image)
91Q (intentionally distribute intimate image)
94 (assault with intent to rob person)
95 (assault with intent to rob in circumstances of aggravation)
96 (assault with intent to rob with wounding)
97 (assault with intent to rob with arms)
98 (assault with intent to rob)
109 (entering with intent, or stealing etc in dwelling-house and breaking out)
126 (killing with intent to steal)
139 (destroys, damages, breaks with intent to steal)
140 (destroys, damages, breaks with intent to steal)
197 (dishonestly destroying or damaging property with a view to gain)
204 (destruction of, or damage to, an aircraft or vessel with intent)
(c) any other offence by or under any law (including the common law) prescribed by the regulations.
Why Choose Sydney Criminal Lawyers®?
Going to court can be nerve-racking, but having a strong and compassionate legal team behind you can make the experience significantly easier to deal with.
Here are 12 reasons to choose our multi-award winning legal team:
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Proven Track Record of Exceptional Results
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® consistently achieves outcomes which are in the highest percentile of the Judicial Commission’s sentencing statistics for criminal cases.
Our legal team devises effective case-strategies and fights hard to have cases dropped entirely or charges downgraded – saving clients the time, expense and stress of a defended hearing or jury trial.
Where cases nevertheless proceed, our lawyers have an outstanding track record of winning defended Local Court hearings, and complex jury trials in the District and Supreme Courts.
We also consistently win appeals in the District and Supreme Courts (including the NSWCCA) after clients have received unsatisfactory results with other law firms in the lower courts.We are one of the few firms to achieve successful criminal law appeals in the High Court of Australia.
Where our clients wish to plead guilty, we frequently achieve ‘dismissals’ and ‘non convictions’ in cases where other lawyers have advised there is no chance of doing so.
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Highest Level of Client Satisfaction
We have the best and most comprehensive client review record of any law firm in Australia.
Regular communication, accessibility and quality service are our team’s highest priorities.
We are committed to thoroughly explaining all steps involved in the criminal law process, providing regular updates throughout the proceedings, and making ourselves accessible and responsive.
We are passionate about providing an exceptional level of service to our clients, and we fight hard to achieve optimal results in the shortest period of time.
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Australia’s Most Awarded Criminal Law Firm
We have received more awards and accolades than any other criminal law firm in Australia. Our team has been awarded “Criminal Defence Firm of the Year in Australia” in a number of prestigious and competitive awards programs for several years running.
The awards recognise our exceptional track record of results, our outstanding client service, the high level of satisfaction we achieve, the affordability of our services and our overall excellence.
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Fixed Fees
We want our clients to know exactly how much their cases will cost from the very start. That’s why we were the first criminal law firm in Australia to publish ‘fixed fees’, back in 2004.
We offer fixed fees for most types of criminal cases and services.Our fixed fees apply to a range of Local Court cases such as drink driving, drug possession, fraud, common assault and AVOs, and also specific services such as prison visits, bail applications, appeals and defended hearings.
Unlike many other law firms, our fixed fees are published on our website – which ensures transparency and certainty.
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Free First Appointment
For those who are going to court, we offer a free first conference of up to an hour with one of our Senior Criminal Defence Lawyers.
We also offer a free first conference to those who have received an unsatisfactory result after being represented in court by another law firm, or after representing themselves, and wish to appeal.
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Specialist Lawyer Guarantee
We guarantee that only lawyers with substantial criminal defence experience will work on your case and appear for you in court.
This ensures our clients receive the highest quality representation from an experienced, specialist criminal lawyer.
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All NSW Courts
From Bombala to Broken Hill, our lawyers appear in courts throughout New South Wales – and across Australia for Commonwealth cases.
And we offer fixed fees for most criminal and traffic law cases throughout the state.
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Accredited Specialists
Our entire firm is exclusively dedicated to criminal law – which makes us true specialists.All of our lawyers have years of experience representing clients in criminal cases, and our principal has been certified by the Law Society of NSW as an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 2005.
An ‘Accredited Specialist’ is a lawyer who has practised for at least 5 years in a particular field of law (such as criminal law), has passed a rigorous assessment process conducted by the Law Society of NSW, and has been selected by the Specialist Accreditation Committee of the Law Society as an expert in the field.
Accredited Specialists are required to undertake more training each year than other lawyers and must be successful in having their accreditation renewed every year. Specialist Accreditation is the mark of a true specialist.
Our firm’s specialist experience ensures you receive the best possible result, whatever your criminal law case may be.
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Results-Focused Law Firm
Our team is passionate about achieving results, and unlike many other law firms, our lawyers do not have monthly financial ‘budgets’ to meet.
The absence of budgets means our lawyers are entirely focused on achieving optimal results in the shortest space of time; whether by getting charges dropped or downgraded at an early stage or having cases ‘thrown out of court’.
Not having budgets also means our lawyers are not under pressure to engage in unscrupulous practices such as unnecessarily adjourning cases or ‘overcharging’ clients – which, sadly, is a common complaint against many other lawyers and law firms.
No budgets encourages regular consultation between lawyers within the firm – promoting an ‘open door’, team environment where lawyers bounce ideas off one another, formulate case strategy together and benefit from each other’s specialised experience, methods, techniques and insights.
The result is a firm which delivers optimal outcomes in the shortest time periods, at the least expense and stress to our clients.
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Team of Lawyers Behind You
Our clients benefit from the pool of knowledge that only an extensive team of experienced criminal defence lawyers can provide.
Our lawyers regularly consult one another to stay ‘ahead of the pack’ in the ever-changing field of criminal law – constantly devising, refining and implementing specialised techniques which ensure our clients achieve the best possible outcomes.
A team approach is particularly important when it comes to serious criminal cases such as murder, commercial drug cases, serious and sexual assaults, large-scale fraud, robbery and other ‘indictable’ cases.
In such matters, clients reap the benefits of several lawyers devising and executing case strategies which maximise the chances of having cases dropped or downgraded at an early stage, or ‘thrown out of court’ – often saving clients a great deal of cost, time and anxiety.
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Familiar with Magistrates and Judges
Each of our lawyers appears in court on a daily basis, and has done so for years. We have therefore been able to develop an understanding of, and rapport with, magistrates and judges in Sydney and indeed across the state.
Our team’s extensive experience before the courts ensures your case is tailored to the specific nuances of individual judicial officers, maximising the likelihood of a favourable result.
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Convenience
We have offices in locations across the Sydney Metropolitan Area and beyond, including:
- the Sydney CBD, on Castlereagh Street, directly opposite Downing Centre Court,
- Parramatta, opposite the Justice Precinct carpark,
- Liverpool, and
- Sutherland.
We offer free parking at our Sydney CBD offices, and all of our offices are close to train stations and bus terminals.
For those who are unable to attend our offices, we offer conferences by telephone, Skye and FaceTime anywhere around the world.
If you are going to court and wish to arrange a free first consultation, call our 24 hour hotline on (02) 9261 8881 or send us an email at info@sydneycriminallawyers.com.au.