Dooley Blog

You don’t necessarily think of what happens to a driver who causes a serious traffic accident. The initial focus is on injuries to the drivers and passengers of the vehicles involved. However, after the accident, dependent upon the reasons behind the accident, drivers often have to face court to answer charges and, if the accident involves a fatality, the driver at fault can be facing a custodial sentence.

Contributing factors to accidents involving fatalities in NSW to the year end July 2011 were as follows:

Excessive Speed – 135 fatalities
Fatigue – 60 fatalities
Alcohol Involvement – 61 fatalities

According to RTA research, the following indicates the evolving trend behind serious accidents - “In the 1970s and early 1980s, drink driving was Australia's biggest road safety challenge. Since random breath testing was introduced in 1982 there’s been a change in community opinion - drink driving is not acceptable. As a result, there are far less alcohol-related road deaths. With the decrease in drink driving, speed has become the biggest road safety challenge for the RTA.”

If you are involved in and charged with a serious driving offence for any of the following reasons, Police may immediately suspend and / or confiscate a driver’s licence:

• you are speeding in excess of 45 km/p over the designated limit;

• you return a middle or high range prescribed concentration of alcohol or commit other alcohol-related offences;

• you were street racing;

• if you are a provisional licence holder, and are caught speeding 30 km/h over the limit; or

• you are on a learner’s licence and are caught driving unaccompanied.

Lack of a licence can impact heavily on your employment but if the crash you are deemed to have been responsible for has resulted in someone being killed or seriously injured, you may face severe penalties including time behind bars.

In addition to the legal consequences to the at fault driver, the emotional and financial suffering of the victims of motor vehicle accidents and their family is immense.

The cost to the community for fatal and serious crashes as estimated by the RTA in 2010 was $3.7 billion each year.

We often think that our jails are the place for criminals and people unfit to live in mainstream society. However, a driver convicted of having been responsible for the death or serious injury of someone can see them jailed for long periods of time.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a serious traffic offence you can contact us to assist you with the matter.

 

A recent report shows that mums and dads claiming parenting payments are the most frequently convicted welfare swindlers and although it is often considered ‘un Australian’ to be a dobber, tip-offs to Centrelink by Australians regarding possible or known welfare fraud has helped claw back millions (over $100 million) in taxpayer funds each year. It appears that Australians are willing to dob!

The types of Centrelink fraud can vary from a university student making up (with the assistance of his/her parents) that they are no longer able to live at home because of a family dispute to receive Youth Allowance, to a couple living together in a de facto relationship and one party claiming the single parent allowance, to the extreme situation where a NSW woman was discovered to have created a fake child to help claim more than $100,000 in benefits.

Centrelink can be made aware of somebody claiming money fraudulently not only via ‘tip-offs’, but also as a result of receiving referrals from various Courts where they become aware through other court proceedings (e.g. family law proceedings) that a person was fraudulently receiving moneys from Centrelink, and through data matching tools (which enables comparisons to be run between income reported to the Australian Taxation Office and welfare benefits made by Centrelink) can catch out welfare cheats.

If caught, people should not be fooled to think that they will just have to pay back the money; Centrelink has increased the rate of prosecuting people caught defrauding the Government and the Courts are increasing their rate of convictions for Centrelink fraud (from single parent to Newstart allowances).

Centrelink fraud is considered to be an act of stealing and stealing taxpayers money is a serious crime. It is an offence to engage in conduct which results in a person obtaining a financial advantage from the Government when that person is aware that they are not entitled to that advantage. If Centrelink refers a matter for prosecution and that person is charged with an offence, they will be prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in the Local Court (most circumstances) however, in some more serious offences they may be transferred to the District Court of NSW.

Many people are surprised to learn that the maximum penalty upon pleading guilty or being found guilty for this offence is imprisonment for 12 months if heard in the Local Court and 5 years if heard in the District Court.

If you require any information or advice, or have any concerns regarding Centrelink fraud please contact us.