Fraudulent Documentation Offences in the Australian Capital Territory.

From a previous article that we published, we showed you how complicated fraud can be from a legal perspective. The law’s definitions of the criminal offence are rather broad, and proving that such a crime was committed can be a lengthy process that may lead many people confused.

If you have been charged with fraud in the Australian Capital Territory, particularly with that of using fraudulent documentation, then we will shed further light on the matter by providing you with an overview of the pertinent legislation as well as our recommendations in regards to your next steps.

A Brief Recap of the Legal Definition of Fraud

Fraudulent conduct is considered generally under the Criminal Code 2002 to be deceptive or generally dishonest action that is taken by a person to intentionally deprive another of their property or to gain a financial advantage. Fraud can include criminal activities that are carried out on computer systems with similar intentions.

An example of a fraud based offence called “obtaining property by deception” has a maximum penalty of 1,000 penalty units, 10 years of imprisonment, or both. For this offence, the prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you dishonestly obtained property belonging somebody else with the intention of permanently depriving that person of the property.

Using Fraudulent Documentation as a Criminal Offence

There are many ways that fraud offences can be committed, and using false or misleading documents is just one of those ways. There is, however, legislation that specifically pertains to the use of fraudulent documentation that we can refer to. The legislation about what is a document is deliberately very broad so that many types of conduct are captured.

Under Section 343 of the same Act, documents, for the purposes of fraud based offences, can refer to any of the following:

• anything on which there are figures, marks, numbers, perforations, symbols or anything else that can be responded to by a computer, machine or electronic device
• a credit card or debit card
• a formal or informal document

If a false document is used by a person who knows that document is false is used with the intention of dishonestly inducing someone else to accept the document as genuine, and, as a result of that person accepting it as genuine, obtains a gain, causes a loss, or influences the exercise of a public duty, they have committed a criminal offence pursuant to Section 347 of the Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for this offence is also 1000 penalty units, imprisonment for 10 years or both.

Related Offences

False documentation in fraud is not limited to just using such documents to commit the crime. Individuals can also be charged with fraud offences relating to false documents if it is alleged that any of the following has occurred:

• Tampering with a document for purposes of deception or misleading
• Forging a document for the same purposes
• Possessing a false document knowing that it will be used for the same purposes
• Accepting a false document to be genuine
• Making or possessing a device for the production of false documents
• Acts of false accounting, wherein a person tampers, conceals, or destroys documents

Conclusion

As you can see, using false documentation in the Australian Capital Territory can cover a broad range of activities. There are several possible defences or strategies you can take should you be charged with an offence.

Some examples may include that you may raise that the documents were not false or that you had no knowledge that they were. You may also raise that you had no intention to gain a financial advantage from the document. Finally, you may also raise that you acted under duress.

In any case, for various types of fraud offences your case will be heard in either the Magistrates Court or the Supreme Court, depending on the severity of the charges against you. It will be in your best interests to work with a criminal lawyer early on who can guide you through the legal landscape, solidify your defence or strategy, and map out your next steps.

We are leading criminal lawyers serving Canberra, Wollongong, Queanbeyan, Goulburn, and surrounding locations in Australia. Get in touch with us if you have any other questions. We’re happy to help!