When the system
moves fast,
your defence
moves first.
NSW criminal courts finalised 151,113 appearances in the year ending June 2025. Of those with a proven outcome, 86 percent were found guilty. Those numbers reflect what happens without skilled legal intervention — not what has to happen.
finalised — 2024–25
resulting in a finding of guilty
defended Local Court hearing
committal to District Court verdict
The decisions made in the first 24 to 48 hours of an investigation shape everything that follows. Before you speak to police, before you enter a plea, before your options narrow — get legal advice.
Criminal defence that goes deeper than the charge sheet.
Every dismissed charge, every evidence exclusion, every charge downgrade, and every sentence that avoids imprisonment is the result of deliberate, skilled legal work — not luck. The NSW system rewards preparation. We build it from day one.
Australian Criminal Lawyers Sydney defends individuals and organisations across the full spectrum of NSW criminal law — from Local Court summary matters and AVOs through to Supreme Court trials for murder, serious drug supply, and complex financial crime.
NSW criminal procedure is distinct from every other Australian jurisdiction. The ERISP framework, the qualified right to silence under section 89A of the Evidence Act, the Bail Act 2013’s show cause regime, and ICAC’s coercive examination powers all create legal jeopardy that requires lawyers who work in NSW courts every day.
We offer a free first consultation. Use it before you make any decision — about whether to speak to police, which court to elect, or how to enter your plea.
Which court hears your matter determines the stakes.
Local Court
Handles 94 percent of all NSW criminal finalisations. Summary offences are heard entirely here — drink driving, common assault, minor drug possession, low-range traffic, and AVO proceedings. Also conducts committal proceedings for serious indictable offences. Key Sydney courts include Downing Centre, Central, Parramatta, Burwood, Waverley, and Sutherland.
District Court
Hears trials and sentences for serious indictable offences that cannot be dealt with in the Local Court — serious assault, drug supply, complex fraud, mid-range sexual assault, and armed robbery. Requires strict rules of evidence, extensive brief preparation, and deep criminal law expertise. The primary venues are Sydney District Court and Parramatta Justice Precinct.
Supreme Court
Handles murder, manslaughter, major drug importation, serious corporate crime, and matters where the accused elects Supreme Court trial. Its Court of Criminal Appeal hears appeals from lower courts on conviction, sentence, and questions of law. Cases heard here demand the highest level of specialist criminal defence representation.
Sydney criminal defence across every category of NSW law.
Drug Offences
From possession to large commercial supply, NSW drug law turns on quantity thresholds that most people don’t understand until it’s too late. Traffickable quantity triggers a deemed supply presumption — a reverse onus that puts the burden on you to prove the drug was for personal use. Commercial supply carries 20 years. Large commercial supply carries life. Defending these charges requires forensic scrutiny of weight methodology, search lawfulness, and admissions admissibility.
NSW drug offences ›White Collar, Corporate & Financial Crime
ASIC commenced 132 new investigations in the first six months of 2025 — more than double the year before — and secured AUD$57.5 million in civil penalties. The Financial Accountability Regime now extends personal liability to directors and senior executives. ICAC holds coercive examination powers where the privilege against self-incrimination does not apply in the same way it does in a criminal court. Appearing before ICAC without specialist legal representation is a serious mistake.
NSW fraud & corporate offences ›Sexual Assault & Serious Violence
Charges involving sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, or aggravated assault carry mandatory minimum sentencing considerations, potential registration on the NSW Child Protection Register, and permanent reputational consequences. These matters require defence counsel who can systematically challenge witness credibility, interrogate forensic evidence, analyse digital records, and identify procedural defects in the collection and preservation of evidence. The decisions made at the committal stage shape the entire trial.
NSW violence & sexual offences ›Traffic & Licence Offences
A suspended or disqualified licence in Sydney can end a career and make daily life impossible. High-range PCA, drug driving, street racing, and predatory driving sit at the serious end. But even mid-range PCA can carry automatic disqualification periods that devastate working lives. A section 10 dismissal under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act leaves a person criminal-record free, with no demerit points and no disqualification. There is no automatic right to a section 10 — it requires skilled preparation.
NSW traffic offences ›AVOs & Domestic Violence
Domestic violence-related matters now represent more than one in four Local Court finalisations in NSW. An AVO — whether police-initiated or privately sought — can prohibit you from entering your own home, having any contact with your children, and continuing employment in certain fields. Contravening an AVO is a criminal offence carrying up to two years imprisonment. Defending an AVO and any accompanying criminal charge requires coordinated legal strategy from the outset, not two separate approaches.
NSW domestic violence & AVOs ›Drug Importation & Federal Charges
Drug importation matters draw in Commonwealth law — the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) — and the Australian Federal Police, often in conjunction with the NSW Crime Commission. These prosecutions involve intercept evidence, controlled deliveries, and extended covert surveillance. Maximum penalties extend to life imprisonment for commercial quantities. Defending these charges requires specialist expertise in both state and federal criminal procedure, and engagement from the earliest point of contact with authorities.
NSW federal & importation charges ›The ERISP and your right to silence.
NSW Police conduct formal suspect interviews as Electronically Recorded Interviews with Suspected Persons (ERISPs). The ERISP is recorded and becomes part of the prosecution’s brief of evidence if charges follow. Admissions made in an ERISP are difficult to displace at trial and have formed the basis of many convictions.
The tactical decision of whether to participate in an ERISP, give a no-comment interview, or provide a prepared statement is one of the most consequential choices in a criminal matter. Get advice before the interview — not after.
Before any ERISP begins, the custody manager must caution you under section 122 of LEPRA — advising you that you are not required to say anything and that anything you say may be used as evidence. Police must also give you a reasonable opportunity to contact a lawyer before the interview can lawfully proceed.
The general right to silence is protected by section 89 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW). Pre-trial silence cannot ordinarily be used to draw adverse inferences against you at trial.
Where you are suspected of an offence carrying five or more years imprisonment, have been given a special caution by an investigating officer, and a solicitor is physically present at the time — silence on a fact you later rely on at trial may allow a court to draw an unfavourable inference. This provision is narrow but real, and is precisely why having a lawyer present at an ERISP matters.
Before a matter reaches trial, your lawyer can initiate case conferencing with the ODPP or police prosecutor about whether charges should be downgraded, amended, or withdrawn. This requires a realistic assessment of the evidence and the credibility that comes from experienced criminal lawyers who deal with prosecutors regularly.
The first critical battle.
If police refuse bail at the station, you or a family member must move immediately. A failed bail application in the Local Court can be repeated only if there has been a change of circumstances. Presenting a weak application without proper preparation can result in remand for the duration of a matter — weeks, months, or longer.
Certain charges — serious violence, terrorism, serious drug importation, offences committed while on bail — require the accused to demonstrate why their detention is not justified before the court will even consider the risk factors. This is a significantly higher threshold than the ordinary unacceptable risk test, and failing to meet it means remand.
For most charges, the court assesses the risk that the accused will fail to appear, commit a serious offence, endanger the community, or interfere with witnesses or evidence. Bail conditions — reporting requirements, curfews, no-contact orders, surety — are the tools the court uses to manage assessed risk. Skilled advocacy identifies which conditions will be most persuasive.
After a failed Local Court bail application, section 74 of the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) requires a demonstrated change of circumstances before a fresh application can be made. This makes the first application the most critical. Preparation — including stable accommodation evidence, character references, surety, and a clear account of the risk factors — determines the outcome.
Speak to a lawyer before you do anything else.
The first consultation is free and confidential. We’ll give you an honest assessment of where you stand, what the prosecution needs to prove, and what the realistic options are — before any decision is made that narrows them.
The Law Society of NSW grants Accredited Specialist status in criminal law to practitioners who meet rigorous criteria including demonstrated expertise, peer assessment, and ongoing specialist education. An Accredited Specialist brings a level of technical depth and currency in NSW criminal practice that generalist practitioners cannot match — knowing the current state of the law on evidence admissibility, the relevant case law on sentencing for particular offences, and the practical culture of specific Sydney courts and benches. NSW Police’s Forensic Evidence and Technical Services Command employs over 900 staff focused on physical and electronic evidence. Matching that investigative capacity requires experienced specialist counsel on the defence side.