Australia: Crime

The second phase of New South Wales' most expansive overhaul of firearms regulation recently took place, marking the biggest leap in firearms and gun licence laws since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. The reforms are enshrined in the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (NSW), and were passed in an emergency sitting just days after the Bondi Beach terror attack in December 2025.

Australia strengthens its response to counterfeit goods importation through new legislation that creates strict liability offences and enables infringement notices at the border. The amendments aim to make counterfeit importing unprofitable by ensuring penalties and seized goods exceed potential profits. How will these changes impact intellectual property rights holders and importers operating in Australia?

New South Wales has introduced permanent legislation allowing police to use metal detector wands to scan people for knives in designated public areas, following successful trial operations that seized 380 weapons. The reforms expand police powers while raising concerns about civil liberties, racial profiling, and the potential for these scans to become stepping-stones for more invasive searches, despite knife crime being at an all-time low in NSW.

A little-known rule in NSW sentencing law is quietly shaping outcomes in criminal cases—and in some situations, it can dramatically reduce the amount of time a person spends in prison.

One of the most common drug offences we see as criminal lawyers is possessing dangerous drugs under section 9 of the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (Qld).

While most criminal matters proceed through the traditional court system, there are instances where charges can be resolved without the need for court proceedings.

Division 272 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) makes it a serious Commonwealth offence for Australian citizens or residents to engage in, cause, procure, or ‘groom’ sexual activity with a child overseas.

When a court imposes a prison sentence after a plea of guilty or a finding of guilt it will, in most cases, specify the total effective sentence encompassing a non-parole period and parole period. This article attempts to demystify the laws on parole and non-parole in New South Wales.

Following the Australian Government’s new federal hate crimes legislation that commenced in January 2026, HSF Kramer Partners Jacqui Wootton and Alice Molan and Solicitor Shaun Milligan...