Section 572(3) of the Criminal Code (Qld) authorises amendment of an indictment after verdict where the omission is not material to the merits and no injustice results, even where the omission concerns an element of the offence such as 'unlawfully'. The test is whether the accused incurred any disadvantage from the error, not whether the omission was technically significant. For juvenile sentencing, voluntary desistance from a group attack is a significant mitigating factor that may substantially reduce the appropriate sentence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 21 later cases that cite this judgment.
5 of the 21 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.