Meaning of serious offence
8 Meaning of serious offence
Subject to subsection (2), in this Act serious offence means—
a life offence; or
an offence of a type that, if committed by an adult, would make the adult liable to imprisonment for 14 years or more.
An offence is not a serious offence if—
it is a relevant offence under the Criminal Code, section 552BA; or
Editor’s note—
Criminal Code, section 552BA (Charges of indictable offences that must be heard and decided summarily)
it is an offence that is the subject of a charge to which the Criminal Code, section 552A or 552B applies; or
Editor’s note—
Criminal Code, section 552A (Charges of indictable offences that must be heard and decided summarily on prosecution election) or 552B (Charges of indictable offences that must be heard and decided summarily unless defendant elects for jury trial)
under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986, section 13, proceedings for a charge for the offence may be taken summarily; or
Editor’s note—
Drugs Misuse Act 1986, section 13 (Certain offences may be dealt with summarily)
under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986, section 14, proceedings for a charge for the offence may be taken summarily.
Note—
Proceedings for a charge for an offence may not be taken summarily under section 14 if the prosecution allegations include an allegation as to a commercial purpose.
Editor’s note—
Drugs Misuse Act 1986, section 14 (Other offences that may be dealt with summarily if no commercial purpose alleged)
If it is necessary for the purposes of subsection (2) to have reference to the table of excluded offences included in the Criminal Code, section 552BB, a reference in that table to the circumstance that the offender does not plead guilty to an offence is taken to be a reference to a child not admitting to committing the offence.
For the purpose of this section, the type of an offence includes the circumstances in which it is committed.
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