It is unlikely that a duty solicitor will appear on a Commonwealth matter, other than to conduct a bail application. However, for the sake of completeness, a basic discussion of Commonwealth offences follows. It is worth noting that the Commonwealth can lay State charges and State law applies in these cases. Many Commonwealth statutes contain criminal offences. A large percentage of offences before the courts is social security fraud. The most commonly encountered Commonwealth offences are found in the following Acts:

Commonwealth law is different from State law in that there are only two categories of offences; summary and indictable offences. If the matter is to be dealt with summarily then the same procedure as for any State matter applies [see Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) s 68]. Summary offences are those involving a maximum penalty of twelve months or less or no penalty of imprisonment [see Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) s 4H].

Indictable offences involve a penalty of more than 12 months imprisonment [see Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) s 4G]. Indictable offences with penalties of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years may be dealt with summarily or either party can elect to have the matter indicted, and the committal process commences [see Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) s 4J]. When matters are indicted to a higher court for trial, the trial must be by jury [see Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (Cth) s 80].

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecutes a wide range of offences on behalf of the Commonwealth. Whilst the DPP prosecutes the bulk of Commonwealth offences, it does not deal with all such offences.

Time limits

There is no time limit for the commencement of proceedings for offences with penalties of imprisonment of more than six months. Proceedings must commence for all other offences within twelve months of the date of the alleged offence [see Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) s 15B].