Understanding Criminal Law: Strict Liability Offences and Absolute Liability Offences

Law can be difficult to understand. It varies from country to country and state to state, but criminal offences and how they are prosecuted in Australia generally tend to follow the same overarching guiding principles. The only difference is the specifics of how each is handled by the specific state.

In this article, we discuss two types of offences which differ from those where the prosecution must prove intent or fault on the part of the defendant. For strict liability and absolute liability offences, the intent or fault element of the accused’s actions does not necessarily matter – it comes down to whether what police say happened, happened!

If you’ve been charged with a strict liability offence or an absolute liability offence in the Australian Capital Territory and are looking to better understand how each works, here is a simple guide for you.

So, how do strict liability offences and absolute liability offences work in the Canberra Courts? Let’s discuss.

Although very rare, absolute liability offences may be charged every now and then. Pursuant to  the Criminal Code 2002, Section 24 absolute liability offences occur if the following circumstances are met:

• For the physical elements of an offence, there are no fault elements (mental components of an offence such as the requirement to prove intent).
• The defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact does not apply.

Therefore, for a person who is charged with an absolute liability offence, the only question to be considered is – did the physical act or conduct which contravenes the relevant section occur?



Note: Examples of absolute liability are environmental crimes and specific importation issues, as dictated by the Customs Act 1901.

Unlike the absolute liability offences, strict liability provides the possibility of a technical defence. According to the Criminal Code 2002, Section 23, a strict liability offence can happen should the following requirements are met:

• There are no fault elements (intention, recklessness, knowledge, etc on the part of the accused) for the physical elements of the offence; and
• The defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact is available.

So, breaking things down, whilst absolute liability offences usually come down to whether or not the physical aspect of an offence occurred or not and that’s it, strict liability offences allow for the possibility of an accused person raising the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact.



An individual caught driving whilst their right to drive was suspended, for instance, is charged with a strict liability offence. If they are able to successfully raise through their evidence that they honestly and reasonable believed that their licence was not suspended, then they may be able to successfully defend the charge. 

Whilst not much can get you out of an absolute liability offence, working around a strict liability defence can be entirely possible. If you can establish that you were labouring under an honest and reasonable mistake regarding the facts that make up the offence (eg. you honestly believed (reasonably) that your licence was not suspended) you may be able to defend the charge.

You need only provide sufficient evidence to establish that you have made an honest and reasonable mistake regarding the facts that make out an offence.

This is the main defence against a strict liability offence, but you need to gather the right evidence and arrange it into a strong, coherent strategy.

Unfortunately, navigating through the law by yourself can be incredibly difficult and time-consuming, and frankly very risky given how important an adverse result in a criminal case can be.

To give you the best chance of successfully defending yourself against the charge, you’ll be better off working with experienced criminal lawyers. Andrew Byrnes Law Group are the lawyers you need to help you put forward the best defence strategy.

Through our sharp and precise moves, innovative strategic planning, and ruthless passion, we’ll help make building your defence possible.  For more information, don’t hesitate to reach our team of criminal defence lawyers.