R v Ciantar [2006] VSCA 263 at [78] does not require that in every case involving lesser included offences or alternative counts, the jury must be specifically alerted to the possibility that consciousness of guilt evidence relates to a lesser offence rather than the offence charged; the sufficiency of directions depends on the particular circumstances. However, it is ordinarily preferable to give such a specific direction, and the Victorian Criminal Charge Book model direction is endorsed as appropriate. The failure to give a Browne v Dunn warning does not automatically constitute a miscarriage of justice where the alleged recent invention is a subsidiary matter and not relied upon as consciousness of guilt evidence.
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