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Grono, Sylvia --- "Civil Forfeiture – The Australian Experience" [2009] ELECD 221; in Young, N.M. Simon (ed), "Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property

Editor(s): Young, N.M. Simon

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847208262

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: Civil Forfeiture – The Australian Experience

Author(s): Grono, Sylvia

Number of pages: 32

Extract:

5. Civil forfeiture ­ the Australian
experience
Sylvia Grono*

INTRODUCTION
Australia is a federation of six states and two territories. The federal govern-
ment (the Commonwealth) and each state and territory have criminal law
powers. The Commonwealth, five of the six states, and both territories have in
recent years passed laws providing for the forfeiture of assets and the imposi-
tion of pecuniary penalties in relation to criminal conduct which has not been
proven to the criminal standard in a criminal court.1 There is no single
Australian model. The Australian Constitution prescribes the powers of the
Commonwealth to legislate and also sets out some basic rights. There is no
Commonwealth Bill of Rights but the common law has recognized a number
of basic rights and Australian Courts will not construe statutory provisions as
abrogating important common law rights, privileges and immunities in the
absence of clear words or a necessary implication to that effect.2




* The views expressed herein are the author's personally and do not represent
the views of the Australian Government or the Commonwealth Director of Public
Prosecutions.
1 See Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) (hereinafter POCA); Criminal Assets
Recovery Act 1990 (NSW); Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000 (WA); Criminal
Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002 (Qld); Criminal Property Forfeiture Act 2002 (NT);
Confiscation of Criminal Proceeds Act 2003 (ACT); Criminal Assets Confiscation Act
2005 (SA). Tasmania has not passed civil forfeiture legislation; it has legislation
providing for forfeiture of the proceeds of crime but it is solely ...