CRIMES ACT 1914 - SECT 43

Attempting to pervert justice

(1) Any person who attempts, in any way not specially defined in this Act, to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat, the course of justice in relation to the judicial power of the Commonwealth, shall be guilty of an offence.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

(2) For the purposes of an offence against subsection (1), absolute liability applies to the physical element of circumstance of the offence, that the judicial power is of the Commonwealth.
Note: For absolute liability , see section 6.2 of the Criminal Code .

(3) For the person to be guilty of an offence against subsection (1), the person's conduct must be more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence. The question whether conduct is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence is one of fact.

(4) A person may be found guilty of an offence against subsection (1) even if doing the thing attempted is impossible.