The course in one page

Every lesson in two or three lines. Read this first if your court date is close, then go to the lessons that matter for you.

Module 1The Court Attendance Notice and Facts Sheet

1. 1What have you been charged with? Read the CAN. Check it says s 10(1) Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act. Anything mentioning supply or a traffickable quantity means this course is not your guide.
2. 2When do you need to attend court? The date is a court order. Your first appearance is usually a short mention. You can ask for a four-week adjournment and will almost always get it. Missing the date can mean a conviction in your absence.
3. 3What is the H number and who is the OIC? Quote the H number on everything. The OIC investigated you; the prosecutor decides your charge. Communicate with police in writing, about procedure only, never about what happened.
4. 4What if you do not agree with the facts sheet? If you plead guilty, the facts sheet is what you are sentenced on. Mark every line agree, disagree or do not know. Wrong facts: ask for correction. Unfair wording: address it at sentence. Facts that go to guilt: that is a defence, not a dispute.
5. 5How to contact and negotiate with police Representations to police are usually a lawyer's job because they rest on legal argument and anything you write is an admission. Safe requests: correct plain errors, ask police to consider diversion. Withdrawal on the evidence: get advice first.

Module 2The Offence of Possess Prohibited Drug

1. 6Will you go to gaol for this offence? Two years is the maximum; imprisonment is the last resort in law and is imposed in about one in a hundred of these matters. The real question is conviction or no conviction.
2. 7What are the possible penalties? The ladder runs from a s 10(1)(a) dismissal through a CRO without conviction, fine, CCO and ICO to custody. A CRO without conviction is the realistic target for a prepared first offender, and it is never guaranteed.
3. 8What is the law behind the offence? The prosecution must prove a prohibited drug, your possession (custody plus knowledge), and no lawful authority, each beyond reasonable doubt. Real arguments live in shared spaces, borrowed bags and unlawful searches. Small quantity and personal use are not defences.
4. 9How does the Judge figure it out? The Judge places the offence on a seriousness scale, then weighs your factors under s 21A, applies a plea discount, and for a non-conviction outcome works through the four s 10(3) matters. Everything in Module 3 is evidence for one of those.
5. 10What are people with this charge actually receiving? In 2021 about 62 percent received a fine, about 21 percent no conviction, about 1 percent custody. Preparation is what moves a matter between the first two groups.
6. 11Should you plead guilty or not guilty? Three tests: are the elements provable, what does the prosecution actually have, what do you lose if you lose. Plead guilty and ask for an adjournment to prepare, or plead not guilty and receive a hearing timetable. Nine situations mean self-representation is the wrong call.

Module 3How to Prepare for Court

1. 12How to get your reference letters right Three references, from three parts of your life, addressed to the court, stating the writer knows about the charge, describing what they have seen. Brief the writers. Read every reference before it goes in.
2. 13How to write your apology letter One page in your own words: who you are, what happened, unqualified responsibility, what you now understand, what has changed, what you ask for. No promises, no template language, no argument with the facts.
3. 14Should you attend any programs? Enrol in a program the week you are charged, not the week before sentence. SMART Recovery or counselling for most; MERIT only for a genuine problem. Get a letter confirming attendance.
4. 15How to write your submissions Submissions are three to five minutes, in dot points, under the four s 10(3) headings, ending with the ask and a fallback. Rehearse aloud with interruptions.
5. 16How should you dress? Dress for a bank interview. Nothing with a logo. Folder, not loose paper. Phone off.
6. 17Can you bring other people? One or two support people. A referee attending strengthens the reference. Gallery rules: silent, still, stand for the Judge.

Module 4Time to Attend Court

1. 18What to expect before you enter court Inside by 9:00. Security is airport-style; bring nothing you would not take on a plane. Pack the folder against the list.
2. 19Where do you need to go? Check the Online Registry the night before, find the list, find the room, and register with the court officer before you sit down.
3. 20Who is who and where is what? Bench, court officer, bar table, prosecutor, gallery. Tender documents to the court officer. Use the wait to watch how this Judge treats the matters before yours.
4. 21How to act and speak at court Bow at the bar, stand for the Judge, Your Honour only, speak into the microphone, wait for the prosecutor to finish. Never deny the offence after pleading guilty.
5. 22What should you say? Scripts for every stage: called, adjournment, plea with disputed fact or program request, tender, submissions, questions, and the close.
6. 23Can everything be finished today? Prepared and pleaded guilty: usually finished that day. Program incomplete, assessment needed, or the list ran out: a new date. Block the whole day either way.
7. 24What if you do not know what is happening? If lost, say so. Ask for the matter to be stood down. Find the duty solicitor. Stop and ask if anyone mentions custody, assessment, a report you have not seen, or a charge you did not know about.
8. 25Final tips and court etiquette The one-page checklist for the day.

Module 5After Court

1. 26Do you know what you got? Collect the written order before you leave. Read it against the table. Conditions start immediately; a breached CRO is resentenced with a conviction.
2. 27What can you do if you are not happy with the result? Nothing in the room. Appeal to the District Court within 28 days; it is a rehearing and the sentence can go up. Sentenced in your absence: annulment, not appeal.
3. 28What if you have a conviction now? A conviction shows on a police check; disclose it plainly when asked. Spent after ten years crime-free; a s 10 finding is treated as spent immediately. The US ESTA drug question is about conduct, not conviction.
4. 29What have you learned from this? Write down what led to this and whether it still exists. If something underneath is unresolved, get support now.
5. 30You made it through Where the course stops, and the consultation for the matters it was not written for.