Tuesday, 20 August 2024 | 5:30pm - 7:00pm | In-Person & by Webinar 
1.5 CPD units (Standard)

Presenter: Sean Nottle, Mangan Ey & Associates

The Criminal Assets Confiscation Act 2005 is a complex piece of legislation that has wide reaching consequences for not just offenders, but innocent third parties and their property. At a fundamental level it is concerned with an aspect of the criminal-sphere that is both intriguing and (for some) irresistible. 

'A suspect charged with drug offences, driving around in an imported European car'. 'Sprawling properties purportedly financed by illicit endeavors'. 'A cash-based operation of mind boggling proportions'. These are the headlines the CAC Act is designed to deal with.  Since 2018, with the introduction of the Prescribed Drug Offender scheme, the reach of the CAC Act has been extended beyond instruments and proceeds of crime. Now, if convicted of a prescribed offence, ALL property an offender either owns or effectively controls forfeits to the Crown, irrespective of its provenance. The implications of the Act for defendant's and interested parties can be significant. This has the potential to impact clients of not just criminal practitioners. 

Family Lawyers, whose clients are involved in separation proceedings with someone who has been charged with prescribed offences, may have to navigate complex applications to exclude property from forfeiture. Additionally, corporate or trust structures that end up at the mercy of an application to seize or forfeit the assets of the entity on the basis they are 'effectively controlled' by an offender.  

The presentation will give practitioners a rudimentary understanding of the abilities of the DPP and SAPOL to seize, restrain and then forfeit property within the scope of the Act. The presenter has worked on both sides of the bar table in this area of quasi criminal law, with involvement in matters from the Magistrates Court through to the Appellate Court. This session will provide guidance as to the options for parties involved in confiscations proceedings to oppose orders and seek exclusion of assets. It will provide a succinct understanding of the basics of this often overlooked area of the law in South Australia. 

You will learn a general understanding on basic principles surrounding:

• Confiscation Schemes and their history
• Retraining Orders - what can and can't be restrained and how to exclude property from orders
• Forfeiture Orders - including conviction-based methods (including prescribed drug offender schemes) as well as instrument or proceeds linked applications
• Exclusion applications - how to protect your client's interests and assets

Registration Fees:
Platinum / GDLP / Student Members: Free
Members (admitted more than three years): $110
Members (Junior - admitted less than three years): $85
Non-Members: $160
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