Utter counterfeit money

Legislation: Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 (Cth) s 7(a)

Maximum penalty: 12 years imprisonment (natural persons); 600 penalty units (body corporation)

Period: 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2023

Jurisdiction: Magistrates' Court

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of an offence
On SACStat, a case is a collection of one or more charges sentenced at a hearing

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the Magistrates' Court, 305 charges of utter counterfeit money were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2023. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was a fine with conviction (38.7% or 118 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 47 cases sentenced in the Magistrates' Court in the five years to 30 June 2023, utter counterfeit money was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case). Among the 47 cases, 36 people were male and 11 people were female. The most common outcome for cases was a fine with conviction (38.3% or 18 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Figure 1: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of utter counterfeit money

Number: 305 charges

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of utter counterfeit money

See Table 1 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 3: Community correction order lengths for charges of utter counterfeit money

Number: 41 charges

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for charges of utter counterfeit money

See Table 3 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 4: Fine amounts for charges of utter counterfeit money

Number: 41 charges

Note: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing fine amounts for charges of utter counterfeit money

See Table 4 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 5: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 305 charges

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of utter counterfeit money

See Table 5 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 6: Number of charges of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 305 charges

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of utter counterfeit money

See Table 6 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 8: Average community correction order lengths for charges of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 41 charges

Bar graph showing community correction order lengths each year for charges of utter counterfeit money

See Table 8 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9: Average fine amounts for charges of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 41 charges

Note: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing fines amounts each year for charges of utter counterfeit money

See Table 9 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 10A: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 47 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 10A in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 10B: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 36 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 10B in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 10C: Sentencing outcomes for females for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 11 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for female offenders for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 10C in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 10E: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 38 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 10E in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 11: Imprisonment lengths for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 11 cases, including imprisonment only (11 cases), imprisonment with a recognizance release order where the person is released immediately (1 case), and imprisonment with a recognizance release order where the person is released after serving some time in prison (0 cases).

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 11 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 13: Fine amounts for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 18 cases

Bar graph showing fine amounts for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 13 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 15: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 47 cases

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 15 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 16: Number of cases of utter counterfeit money for all people by financial year

Number: 47 cases

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 16 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 17: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 11 cases

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 17 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 19: Average fine amounts for cases of utter counterfeit money by financial year

Number: 18 cases

Bar graph showing fines amounts each year for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 19 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 21A: Ages of offenders (where age is known) for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 47 cases

Bar graph showing age groups of offenders for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 21A in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 21B: Gender of offenders (where gender is known) for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 47 cases

Bar graph showing gender of offenders for cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 21B in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 21C: Number of charges per case (of any sentenced offence) for cases of utter counterfeit money

Number: 47 cases

Bar graph showing the number of charges in cases of utter counterfeit money

See Table 21C in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.