If you are charged with Concealing A Serious Offence, let our responsive team of experts manage your defence. Contact Nott and Co Lawyers. We are the most responsive criminal lawyers in NSW and will get you a straight answer in 24 hours. Best possible outcomes at best fixed fee prices.

Under section 316(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) if you know that a person has committed a serious indictable offence and you have information which might assist police to arrest/convict the offender you must provide the information to police. If you do not, without reasonable excuse you are liable to imprisonment for 2 years.

The Prosecution must prove each of the following elements beyond reasonable doubt;

• A person has committed a serious indictable offence (this is one that is punishable by a term of five years or more;
• You knew, or believed, that that person had committed that offence;
• That had valuable information that might have assisted police to arrest and/or convict the offender;
• You failed, without reasonable excuse, to bring that information to the attention of a member of the police force of other appropriate authority.

Prison for up to two years is the maximum penalty.

If you wish to plead not guilty, possible defences for Concealing A Serious Offence include:

• If you were compelled to act in a certain way due to the circumstances, or the threats of another you may be able to argue duress.
• If your actions were necessary to prevent a greater harm from occurring, you may have the defence of necessity.
• That the information you withheld would not have been of material assistance;
• That you had a reasonable excuse for not bringing the information to the attention of the police;
• That you didn’t actually know or believe that someone had committed a serious indictable offence;

In criminal matters in particular, your initial dealings with police can be very detrimental to you legally if you do not know your rights. We operate a hot line 24 hours a day and on weekends to give you the best possible access to legal advice when you need it.

Technology is in the DNA of Nott and Co Lawyers. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Facetime, dictation software, and mobile phones are everyday tools that we use to keep costs down for our clients and ensure that our lawyers are accessible.

We have a network of barristers and solicitors from all fields of legal practice. We call upon them for our clients to make sure that legal issues are examined from all angles.

We run many of our matters on a fixed fee, capped hour basis, to give our clients some certainty as to the cost of legal services. Being caught up in legal action or in Court is stressful enough so we make sure that there are no further surprises when it comes to legal fees.