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Lionel Rattenbury
Criminal Defence Lawyer


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Murder / Manslaughter Offences - NSW
Welcome to the NSW Infanticide article page. Everything you need to know about Infanticide according to NSW law - Dated: 09/01/2009

What the Law States according to NSW Law for Infanticide
According to NSW Law for the charge of Infanticide,

On the police facts sheet and the court attendance notice that you may have received you will have a reference to the law part and a short description of offence. These references help the court and the legal profession to identify the exact offence you have been charged with. The law part and short description for this offence are set out in the table below:

Law Part Short Description
7 Infanticide-SI

The Maximum Penalty - Infanticide
According to NSW Law for the charge of Infanticide,

The maximum penalty for the charge of infanticide (Section 22A of the Crimes Act) is five years imprisonment.

In NSW, a court can impose any of the following penalties for a Infanticide charge.

You’ll find a brief description of each of these penalties at the bottom of this page.

Likely Penalty

Supreme Court

Based on our experience and statistics from the Judicial Commission of New South Wales we believe that the penalty in a case that is within the mid range of seriousness for the offence of infanticide, if heard in the Supreme Court, is likely to be a good behaviour bond with supervision under section 9 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act for a period of 5 years.

For first time offenders the likely penalty is imprisonment for a period of 6 years.

What the Police must prove according to NSW Law for Infanticide

To convict you of a Infanticide charge, the police must prove each of the following matters beyond a reasonable doubt:

  1. You must be the natural mother of the baby
  2. The baby must be less than twelve months old; and

At the time of the killing, you must have been suffering from mental disturbance which resulted from you not having recovered from giving birth to the baby or from the effect of lactation consequent upon the baby’s birth.

Possible Defences under NSW Law - Infanticide

Possible defences to a Infanticide charge include but are not limited to:

In NSW which court will hear the matter - Infanticide

This matter is strictly indictable which means that it can only be finalised in the Supreme Court.

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Section 10 for a use of Infanticide charge: avoiding a criminal record. Normally, when you plead guilty to a criminal offence, the court imposes a penalty and records a conviction. If the court records a conviction, you will have a criminal record. However, if we can convince the court not to convict you, there will be no penalty of any type and no criminal record. In all criminal cases, the court has the discretion not to convict you, but to give you a Section 10 dismissal instead. Read more.

Fines for Infanticide charge: When deciding the amount of a fine for an infanticide charge the magistrate or judge should consider your financial situation and your ability to pay any fine they set. Read more.

Good behaviour bond for Infanticide charge: This is an order of the court that requires you to be of good behaviour for a specified period of time. The court will impose conditions that you will have to obey during the term of the good behaviour bond. The maximum duration of a good behaviour bond is five years. Read more.

Community service order for Infanticide charge (CSO): This involves either unpaid work in the community at a place specified by probation and parole or attendance at a centre to undertake a course, such as anger management. In order to be eligible for a CSO you have to be assessed by an officer of the probation service as suitable to undertake the order. Read more.

Suspended sentence for Infanticide charge: This is a jail sentence that is suspended upon you entering into a good behaviour bond. Provided the terms of the good behaviour bond are obeyed the jail sentence will not come into effect. A suspended sentence is only available for sentences of imprisonment of up to two years. Read more.

Periodic detention for Infanticide charge (commonly known as weekend detention): This form of imprisonment ceased to be a sentencing option in October 2010.

Intensive correction order for Infanticide charge (ICO): This option has replaced periodic detention. The court can order you to comply with a number of conditions, such as attending counselling or treatment, not consuming alcohol, complying with a curfew and performing community service. Read more.

Jail for a use of prohibited drugs charge: This is the most serious penalty for the charge of Infanticide charge and involves full time detention in a correctional facility. Read more.

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