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DATA ELEMENTS AND DATA ELEMENT CONCEPTS


OFFENCE


IDENTIFYING AND DEFINITIONAL ATTRIBUTES

Metadata type:

DATA ELEMENT CONCEPT Version: 1

Definition:

Any act or omission by a person or organisation for which a penalty could be imposed by the Australian legal system.

An Offence is generally taken to be a breach of legislation (including subordinate legislation) or common law, which may render a person liable to prosecution, mainly at the instigation of the crown, and liable to punishment if the proof of such allegation is established according to law. An Offence is an alleged offence until the act or omission is proved to have occurred and conforms to the prescribed legislation.

Context:

Offences which are heard by the courts can be divided into two general classes: summary and indictable. This is an important distinction because it affects the procedures used in the prosecution process.

Summary offence

A criminal offence which is regarded as less serious relative to an indictable offence as defined by specific Commonwealth, state or territory legislation. Charges relating to summary offences are generally dealt with by a Magistrate, who decides the guilt or innocence of the accused. These offences are heard in a Magistrates' Court and do not require trial by jury in a higher court.

Indictable offence

A serious offence as defined by specific Commonwealth, state or territory legislation. Charges relating to indictable offences generally require a trial and/or sentence hearing in a higher court, either a Supreme Court or an intermediate court. The judge presides over the court and rules on questions of law while the jury determines the guilt or innocence of the accused. Under some circumstances, a defendant can elect to have these charges dealt with in a Magistrates' Court.

For summary indictable offences the registrar may also elect to commit a defendant for sentencing in a higher court if they deem the offence too serious for the limits imposed on a magistrate's sentencing discretion.

The following Australian Standard Offence (ASOC) group codes are out of scope of the criminal courts collections as they relate to breaches of existing orders/sentences:

ASOC Group 1512 Breach of Bail
ASOC Group 1513 Breach of Parole
ASOC Group 1519 Breach of Justice Order, n.e.c.

Is related to the data element concept:

Charge

Principal Offence

1. Australian Standard Offence Classification (cat. no. 1234.0)

The ABS Australian Standard Offence Classification appears on the ABS web site. From the ABS home page (<www.abs.gov.au>) select: Methods, Classifications, Concepts & Standards/ABS concepts, classifications and statistical standards/ 12. Classifications and work manuals/ 1234.0 Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC).

2. Criminal Courts, Australia (cat. no. 4513.0)

Source organisation:

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics

2. Australian Bureau of Statistics

History:

Commenced 2005

Comments:

The Australian Standard Offence Classification (cat. no. 1234.0) has been developed to provide a classificatory framework for the comparison of statistics on offences across Australia.