Federal Crime and Related Proceedings

About this NPA

The Federal Crime and Related Proceedings NPA is comprised of the following:

• Summary prosecutions
• Prosecutions on indictment
• Criminal appeals
• Bail applications and empaneling juries for Criminal Cartel Trials
• Civil proceedings related to confiscating assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) where the Federal Court is conferred with a criminal jurisdiction.

More about the Court’s criminal and related jurisdiction

The Federal Court has:

• jurisdiction to deal with summary offences against a number of Commonwealth Acts, including the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (Cth) and the Australian Energy Market Act 2004 (Cth). Summary offences are tried before a Judge sitting alone.
• indictable jurisdiction to deal with the following two offences against the Competition and Consumer Act:
  • making a contract containing a cartel provision (section 44ZZRF); and
  • giving effect to a cartel provision (section 44ZZRG).
    
    The Court was given jurisdiction for those offences in 2009. An indictable offence is tried before a Judge and jury.

• jurisdiction to deal with criminal appeals by the operation of sections 30AA and 30AD of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), for offences prosecuted under Commonwealth legislation, including the Competition and Consumer Act, the Copyright Act, the Trademarks Act, the Fair Work Act, the Australian Energy Market Act, the Building and Construction (Improving Productivity) Act, as well as hear appeals from criminal matters from the Norfolk Island Supreme Court.
• jurisdiction to deal with applications involving criminal contempt arising from examinations conducted by federal law enforcement agencies, such as under s34B of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) and applications under the International Transfer of Prisoners Act 1977 (Cth).

Allocation of matters in this NPA

The Court has judges experienced in managing crime-related cases, including criminal appeals, and judicial registrars experienced in the practice and procedure of criminal prosecutions to assist the judges with the case management of such matters.

While any crime-related case is likely to be managed by the Court within this NPA, the Court will ensure that the judge allocated to manage the case has expertise in the underlying area of law the subject of the proceeding - for example, competition and consumer law or intellectual property law.

Judgments

• 15 Feb 2021: FAN19 v Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (No 2) [2021] FCA 127
  PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - where evidence given at examination conducted under s 25A of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) - where orders made providing opportunity for redaction of reasons for judgment - where suppression orders necessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice
  Judge: Banks-smith J
• 4 Feb 2021: Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions v Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS [2021] FCA 52
  CRIMINAL LAW - sentencing - cartel conduct - giving effect to a cartel provision - where offender is a corporation - where offender pleaded guilty - rolled up offence - appropriate pecuniary penalty - where offender provided bulk shipping services of "roll on, roll off" cargo to Australia
  Judge: Wigney J
• 31 Dec 2020: Booth v Dakkak [2020] FCA 1882
  CRIMINAL LAW - control orders - application for interim controls orders pursuant to s 104.4 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)
  Judge: Yates J

Speeches & Papers

• 24 May 2014: Competition, fairness and the courts
  Presented to the Competition Law Conference by Justice Rares