Crimes Act 1958

A person is not guilty of attempting to commit an offence unless the conduct of the person is—

more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence; and

immediately and not remotely connected with the commission of the offence.

For a person to be guilty of attempting to commit an offence, the person must—

intend that the offence the subject of the attempt be committed; and

subject to subsection (2A), intend or believe that any fact or circumstance the existence of which is an element of the offence will exist at the time the offence is to take place.

For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), in the case of an attempt to commit an offence against section 38 (rape), section 39 (rape by compelling sexual penetration), section 40 (sexual assault) or section 41 (sexual assault by compelling sexual touching), instead of the element of the offence referred to in section 38(1)(c), 39(1)(c), 40(1)(d) or 41(1)(d), it must be proved that at the time of the attempt the person (A) does not reasonably believe that the person against whom the offence is to be committed (B) would consent to the penetration or the touching (as the case requires).

A person may be guilty of attempting to commit an offence despite the existence of facts of which he or she is unaware which make the commission of the offence attempted impossible.