The offence of defrauding the Commonwealth under s.29D of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) does not require proof of a pre-existing legal relationship between the accused and the Commonwealth; it is sufficient that the accused by dishonest means imperilled a Commonwealth right or interest. The section can embrace a continuing course of conduct — such as the conduct of an illicit manufacturing business — charged as a single offence without offending the rule against duplicity. In sentencing for such offences, the court may have regard to the penalties available for alternative lesser offences under the Excise Act 1901 (Cth).
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