Crime AND Misconduct Commission

Queensland Law - Crime and Misconduct Commission (the CMC) - Lawyer / Solicitor Article.

Criminal Law Article written by Bill Potts (Queensland criminal defence lawyer who is experienced in Crime Misconduct Commission matters).

Crime and Misconduct Commission (the CMC) - What is it? - Lawyer / Solicitor Article

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (the CMC) is a Queensland body that was created to fight major crime, including organsied crime and pedophilia.  The CMC has both intelligence and investigative powers pursuant to the Crime and Misconduct Act, Queensland.

The CMC has powers to arrest and seize evidence, and it plays a major role in confiscation of proceeds of crime.  However, the CMC also has special investigative powers that Police do not have.  These include giving notice to person to attend a hearing where that person must give evidence under oath before the Commission and produce any required documents.  Failure to comply can be an offence and may result in penalties, including imprisonment.

Note that there is a similar federal body that also investigates serious crimes called the Australian Crime Commission. Click here to learn more.  Further, there is a similar Queensland body that was created to investigate deaths, namely the Queensland Coroner.  Click here to learn more.

Crime and Misconduct Commission (the CMC) - I've been Given a Notice - What are my Rights and Obligations? - Lawyer / Solicitor Article

If you have been given a notice by the CMC to attend a hearing to give evidence or produce documents, section 82 of the Crime and Misconduct Act obligates you to comply fully.  Failure to fully comply by attending when required may be an offence. Click here to find out more. 

Where you are given a notice to attend a hearing and give evidence, you will be required to give evidence on oath or affirmation just as you would at Court, although there will be no Judge as the hearing is not a Trial.  Rather, the purpose of the hearing is to gather information and any evidence will be given before the Commission. Further, while the hearing may be public, in practice it will usually be closed to protect the investigation.

You must not give false or misleading statements or documents to the CMC, to do so may also to an offence. Click here to find out more about false or misleading statements or Click here to find out more about false or misleading documents.

You are entitled to have a legal representative with you during the hearing who may object to questions being asked during your examination. However the objections that can be made are more limited than what would be available if you were before a Court.

It is important that you understand that pursuant to sections 190 and 192 of the Crime and Misconduct Act, you have NO right to silence when it comes to the CMC.  This means you have no right to refuse to provide documents or answer questions. Even where the document or answer may be self-incriminating, the presiding officer can still require you to provide the document or answer under section 194(2) of the Crime and Misconduct Act. 

However, section 197 of the Crime and Misconduct Act does provide some protection where the answer or document provided is self-incriminating.  It says that if you legitimately claim that the answer or document is self-incriminating prior to responding to the question or request, that answer or document cannot be used against you in a civil, criminal or administrative proceeding. 

Although it is important to note that any information, self-incriminating or otherwise, may still be used against you in:

1. perjury proceedings (i.e. lying on oath),

2. determining any offence against the Crime and Misconduct Act; and

3. any civil proceeding that is in respect to a right or liability imposed by that document (e.g. where the document is a contract of sorts or a will).

Further, where a document is required to be produced at a Misconduct hearing pursuant to section 187 of the Crime and Misconduct Act, section 197 does not apply and therefore the document may be used against you in any and all proceedings commenced against you.

Note that you may object to answering questions or producing documents and the Commission may make an order to that effect (i.e. that you objected), however this does not relieve you of your obligation to answer all questions and produce all documents required.

You also have an obligation not to disclose any information about a CMC notice or hearing, to do so may be an offence. Click here to find out more.