Charging documents

The filing of a charging document commences proceedings against a defendant.

Any person may commence a proceeding under section 15 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 by filing the charging document. The document must be disclosed to the defendant as part of the initial disclosure. 

Section 16 of the Act and rule 3.1 of the Rules sets out the information that must be included in a charging document. 

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The charge

A charging document must contain only one charge, unless any other enactment provides otherwise. The charge must relate to a single offence but may be a representative charge or be worded in the alternative.

The charge must contain sufficient particulars to fully and fairly inform the defendant of the substance of the alleged offence, including a reference to the provision creating the offence. If the penalty for the offence charged is one where it is greater if the defendant has previous convictions, the charge must include the range of penalties available on conviction and the existence of the previous convictions.

Charges worded in the alternative

A charge may allege several different matters, acts, or omissions in the alternative if the relevant offence is worded in the alternative in the enactment that prescribes it. The Court may, in the interests of justice, order that a charge worded in the alternative be amended or divided into two or more charges.

Representative charges

A charge may be representative if multiple offences of the same type are alleged to have been committed in similar circumstances and

  • the offences are committed over a period of time, and the nature and circumstances of the offences make it unreasonable for the complainant to particularise dates or other details of the offences

or

  • it is likely that the same plea would be entered by the defendant to all offences if charged separately, and it would be unduly difficult for the Court to manage the charges separately due to the number of offences.

Representative charges must include particulars of the offences for which the charge is representative (for example, particulars of values, amounts or quantities) and the dates on or between which the offending is alleged to have occurred. The Court may, in the interests of justice, order a representative charge be amended or divided into two or more charges, or that two or more charges be amalgamated into a representative charge.

Further particulars

If satisfied it is necessary for a fair trial, the Court may order further particulars of any document, person, thing or other matter relevant to the setting out of the charge, be provided by the prosecutor.

Filing a charging document

Charging documents must be filed in the District Court nearest to where the offence charged is alleged to have occurred, or nearest to where the person filing the charging document believes the defendant can be found, or (if all parties agree) another District Court. If two or more charging documents are to be filed for the same defendant, they may be filed in a District Court in which any one of those documents could be filed.

A charging document does not need to be sworn when it is filed but must contain a statement by the person commencing the proceeding that he or she has good cause to suspect that the defendant has committed the offence specified in the charge (rule 2.2(1)). Charging documents can be authenticated by signing and dating (or if an electronic document, then by an electronic means). The Rules set out the requirements for authentication of documents (rule 2.2(2)).

Offence relating to false or misleading information in a charging document

The Act creates an offence of including in a charging document, or directing any other person to include, any false or misleading information that the person knows is false or misleading. The offence is punishable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years.

How to file a charging document

Under rule 2.3(2) a charging document must be filed by delivering it to the Registry by hand, or by sending it to an electronic system used by the Registry (for example, system-to-system filing. Note that, initially, only the Police will be able to file charging documents via the electronic system).

Time for filing a charging document

Subject to any provision in any other enactment that provides a different limitation period for filing a charging document, the following applies for offences alleged to have been committed after the Act comes fully into force

Offence

Time that a charging document must be filed within

 (after the date on which the offence was committed)

Category 1 and 2
  • 6 months if the maximum penalty is not greater than 3 months’ imprisonment (or not greater than $7,500 if no sentence of imprisonment)
  • 12 months if the maximum penalty is greater than 3 months’ imprisonment but not greater than 6 months’ imprisonment (or greater than $7,500 but not greater than $20,000 if no sentence of imprisonment)
  • 5 years in any other case unless the Solicitor-General has given prior consent to file a charging document more than 5 years after the offence was committed

Category 3
  • 5 years if the maximum penalty is not greater than 3 years’ imprisonment unless the Solicitor-General has given prior consent to file a charging document more than 5 years after the offence was committed
  • Any time in any other case

Category 4
  • Any time in all cases

Under section 405 of the Act, offences alleged to have been committed prior to the Act coming fully into force are subject to the limitation period that applied when the offence was alleged to have been committed.

Find out more:

  • For more information about the filing of charging documents for private prosecutions, see section 26 of the Act. A private prosecutor may also be required to provide sufficient evidence to justify a trial before a charging document is accepted for filing

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