Currency Watch¶
Every chapter by the date its law was last checked — oldest first. Update the currency: line in a chapter's front matter when you re-verify it.
Every currency warning in the handbook¶
Each of these is an amber box inside a chapter. Search warning to find them in context.
- 1. Legal Ethics for Victorian Criminal Practice — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — The single highest-yield currency point on this sheet
- 1. Legal Ethics for Victorian Criminal Practice — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — And the trap that precedes it
- 2. LIV Criminal Law — Currency & Automatic-Fail Watch (Vic) — YJA complicity insertions — verify
- 2. LIV Criminal Law — Currency & Automatic-Fail Watch (Vic) — YJA staged commencement + 'Adult Time' uplift — verify scope
- 2. LIV Criminal Law — Currency & Automatic-Fail Watch (Vic) — Stalking s 21A amended in 2026 — verify the current text
- 2. LIV Criminal Law — Currency & Automatic-Fail Watch (Vic) — Reform in progress — do not state proposals as law
- 3. Police Powers — Lawful? → Excluded? (Vic + Cth) — Consequence of an unlawful arrest
- 5. Bail — Master Reference (Vic) — Double uplift abolished (25 March 2024)
- 5. Bail — Master Reference (Vic) — The 'reasonably open' (Wednesbury) standard is rejected
- 6. Youth Justice — Jurisdiction, Procedure & Sentencing (Vic) — Parallel YJA / CYFA numbering (transition)
- 7. Fitness to be Tried & Mental Impairment (CMIA) — Exam Cheat Sheet (Vic) — CURRENCY — fitness is currently JUDGE-ALONE (temporary Division 2)
- 9. Committals Master — Victoria — Form 32B is statutorily inadmissible — s 127(3) CPA
- 9. Committals Master — Victoria — Early guilty plea at the committal stage
- 10. Splitting a Trial — Severance and Separate Trials (Vic) — Two provision corrections carried into this sheet
- 11. Permanent Stay of Criminal Proceedings (Vic) — Currency trap — the Basha inquiry has been abolished (28 December 2025)
- 12. Vulnerable Witnesses — Which Regime Applies? (Vic) — DREC = Div 7B, not Div 5
- 12. Vulnerable Witnesses — Which Regime Applies? (Vic) — Unsworn intermediary — resolved
- 12. Vulnerable Witnesses — Which Regime Applies? (Vic) — Examiner trap — do not reach for ss 32, 33 or 52 JDA
- 12. Vulnerable Witnesses — Which Regime Applies? (Vic) — Recorded evidence in the jury room — Movel (a pseudonym) v The King [2024] VSCA 183
- 12. Vulnerable Witnesses — Which Regime Applies? (Vic) — Watch the formulation
- 13. Competence, Compellability & Unfavourable Witnesses (Vic) — s 18 has a carve-out (s 19)
- 13. Competence, Compellability & Unfavourable Witnesses (Vic) — ★ Featured — Singh v The King [2025] VSCA 95
- 16. Admissions — ss 81–90 (Vic) — NOT VOID conduct — the 'Mr Big' line
- 17. Opinion Evidence — ss 76–80 (Vic) — s 136 limitation — the defence counter
- 17. Opinion Evidence — ss 76–80 (Vic) — Victorian takeaway on voice ID
- 17. Opinion Evidence — ss 76–80 (Vic) — s 135 / s 137 sit over every exception
- 19. Tendency & Coincidence — ss 97, 98 & 101 (Vic) — Two traps: (1)
- 19. Tendency & Coincidence — ss 97, 98 & 101 (Vic) — Handle Velkoski with care
- 19. Tendency & Coincidence — ss 97, 98 & 101 (Vic) — Hughes did not decide coincidence
- 20. Character Evidence — ss 109–112 (Vic) — Double-edged — handle with care
- 20. Character Evidence — ss 109–112 (Vic) — Define the "particular respect" carefully — the Omot trap
- 20. Character Evidence — ss 109–112 (Vic) — ★ Featured — Browne v The King [2024] VSCA 194 (Gregory Francis Browne)
- 20. Character Evidence — ss 109–112 (Vic) — Don't undercut your own direction
- 20. Character Evidence — ss 109–112 (Vic) — Child sexual offences — s 5AA (the hard bar): despite s 5(2)
- 20. Character Evidence — ss 109–112 (Vic) — Currency
- 21. Credibility Evidence — ss 101A–108C (Vic) — 'Only to credibility' is the trigger
- 22. Prior Inconsistent Statements — s 43 (Vic) — Admitted lies are more than inconsistencies
- 22. Prior Inconsistent Statements — s 43 (Vic) — s 60(3) — not for admissions
- 22. Prior Inconsistent Statements — s 43 (Vic) — ★ Featured — Barton (a pseudonym) v The King [2025] VSCA 74
- 23. Privilege — ss 117–134 (Vic) — Public interest immunity — s 130
- 25. Improper Questions (s 41) & DREC (Vic) — Mandatory — no objection required
- 29. Prior Convictions — Can You Adduce Them? — Circular reasoning — the reason leave is so guarded
- 30. Post-Offence Incriminating Conduct (Vic) — Do not write an Edwards direction
- 32. Prior Sexual History Evidence (Vic) — Comprehensive Practitioner Cheat Sheet — Three currency traps that will cost you the question. First
- 32. Prior Sexual History Evidence (Vic) — Comprehensive Practitioner Cheat Sheet — The Victorian privilege is qualified, not absolute — including at committal
- 32. Prior Sexual History Evidence (Vic) — Comprehensive Practitioner Cheat Sheet — Two items to re-check before you rely on them. First
- 34. Serious Driving Offences — Which Charge Applies? (Vic) — Study paper, not a code
- 35. Sexual Offences Against Adults — Which Charge Applies? (Vic) — SORA — the adult-victim trap
- 35. Sexual Offences Against Adults — Which Charge Applies? (Vic) — s 39 carries NO standard sentence
- 36. Care, Supervision or Authority — and "Contrary to Community Standards" (Vic) — Identical section numbers exist in the Summary Offences Act 1966 — check which Act you are in
- 37. Burglary-family Offences — The Sexual-Intent Condition (Vic) — The three conditions are not interchangeable
- 37. Burglary-family Offences — The Sexual-Intent Condition (Vic) — The intimate image offences
- 37. Burglary-family Offences — The Sexual-Intent Condition (Vic) — What the Part 2A range leaves out — the sharpest point on this sheet
- 37. Burglary-family Offences — The Sexual-Intent Condition (Vic) — Schedule 3 membership is not eligibility
- 38. DPCSA Trafficking Quantities — Which Threshold? (Vic) — The 'any amount' principle — the mixture (admixture) rule
- 38. DPCSA Trafficking Quantities — Which Threshold? (Vic) — Currency & verification
- 39. Drug Quantity Aggregation — The Formula (Vic & Cth) — What the Crown CANNOT do (Ahmed; Pearce)
- 39. Drug Quantity Aggregation — The Formula (Vic & Cth) — Pure weight only
- 43. FV Contravention — Which Charge? (Vic) — Service-vs-explanation tension (FVSN)
- 44. Attempt — Vic Criminal Law — Attempted murder requires an intent to KILL only
- 44. Attempt — Vic Criminal Law — Correction — the 'series of events' test is Tasmanian, not Victorian
- 45. Incitement — Vic Criminal Law — Incitement to murder = intent to KILL only
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — s 321R is NOT in the conspiracy Division — and the proposition usually attached to it is the converse
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — Do not cross-pair these two citations
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — Two corrections to the fault authorities — both are automatic-fail risks
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — At least TWO guilty minds are required
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — R v Barbouttis — the impossibility proposition is the DISSENT; the holding is the opposite
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — Common law conspiracy to defraud SURVIVES
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — Three subsection traps in s 11.5 — the numbering is routinely misstated. (1)
- 46. Conspiracy (Vic & Cth) — ss 321–321F Comprehensive Reference — Complicity contrast — Rohan belongs here, not under s 321
- 47. Complicity (Involvement) — Vic Criminal Law — Automatic-fail terminology (current law, post-1 Nov 2014)
- 47. Complicity (Involvement) — Vic Criminal Law — Osland is a primary-limb case — do not state the proposition at large
- 47. Complicity (Involvement) — Vic Criminal Law — 'Probable', not 'possible' (ss 323(1)(b), (d))
- 48. Defences (excluding Mental Impairment) — Exam Cheat Sheet (Vic) — Intoxication + self-defence
- 48. Defences (excluding Mental Impairment) — Exam Cheat Sheet (Vic) — Currency — affirmative consent (30 July 2023)
- 48. Defences (excluding Mental Impairment) — Exam Cheat Sheet (Vic) — Forged birth certificate / photo ID — not in the source material
- 49. Jury Directions in Victorian Criminal Trials — Complete Catalogue — Revision current to JDA Authorised Version No. 017 (26 April 2026)
- 50. Victorian Sentencing — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — Standard-sentence exclusions & the "exceptional circumstances" hurdle
- 50. Victorian Sentencing — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — Effect of a special reason — and a change to the test
- 51. Standard Sentence Scheme (Vic) — Concept, History & Application — Citation caution — verify before you cite a case as the standard-sentence authority
- 52. Cumulation & Concurrency (Vic) — s 16(3A) — do not cite it
- 52. Cumulation & Concurrency (Vic) — Cross-check against the Part 2A sheet
- 53. Verdins — Impaired Mental Functioning at Sentencing (Vic) — Mandatory sentencing — the statutory test is HIGHER than Verdins
- 54. Bugmy — Deprived Background in Sentencing — The consequence practitioners miss
- 55. Drug Offences — Sentencing (Vic & Cth) — Citation collision — resolve before citing
- 56. Commonwealth Sentencing — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — General position on federal mandatory penalties
- 56. Commonwealth Sentencing — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — s 16A(2A) — customary law and cultural practice excluded both ways
- 56. Commonwealth Sentencing — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — s 19B is the ONLY non-conviction disposition for Commonwealth matters
- 56. Commonwealth Sentencing — Comprehensive Cheat Sheet — Parole for terrorism offenders — s 19ALB and Hatahet
- 57. Commonwealth Sentencing — The Sentencing Sequence (Cth) — Currency — confirm if conduct straddles the date
- 57. Commonwealth Sentencing — The Sentencing Sequence (Cth) — Diversion — supported only as "probably" available
- 58. Ancillary Orders (Vic) — Which Order, Which Test, Which Authority — Currency — the unexplained wealth regime commenced 20 March 2025
- 58. Ancillary Orders (Vic) — Which Order, Which Test, Which Authority — Two unresolved conflicts in the FPO module — read the sections before advising. Revocation
- 58. Ancillary Orders (Vic) — Which Order, Which Test, Which Authority — No FPO case law in the sources, and the scheme sunsets 8 May 2028. The source material
- 58. Ancillary Orders (Vic) — Which Order, Which Test, Which Authority — Currency — under-12 destruction under the Youth Justice Act 2024
- 59. Serious Offenders — Post-Sentence Orders (Vic) — Two regimes, same words — do not conflate them. 'Serious offender'
- 60. Serious Sex Offender Orders — Post-Sentence Scheme (Vic) — 2009 Act repealed — use the 2018 Act
- 61. Spent Convictions — Is This Conviction Spent? (Vic) — Some serious convictions can never be spent
- 61. Spent Convictions — Is This Conviction Spent? (Vic) — 2023 statutory review — not yet legislated
- 61. Spent Convictions — Is This Conviction Spent? (Vic) — Thin case law
- 62. Appeals — Comprehensive Reference (Vic & Cth Criminal) — Commonwealth companion case and the Victorian statutory location of the materiality test
- 62. Appeals — Comprehensive Reference (Vic & Cth Criminal) — The standard of review on an interlocutory appeal — resolved by Moore v The King [2024] HCA 30
- 62. Appeals — Comprehensive Reference (Vic & Cth Criminal) — Currency watch