The Federal Government has the power to create offences in areas where it has the authority to act. This includes control of the national borders, trade, taxation, social security and customs.
A Commonwealth criminal offence is charged where there is a breach of the law of the Commonwealth, such as the Customs Act or the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).
The Criminal Code (Cth) governs the general principle of criminal liability for all federal offences. It is not prosecuted under the State laws and the conduct of the prosecution is usually undertaken by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
The sentencing of offenders for commonwealth offences is largely governed by the Crimes Act (Cth). The court is required to consider consistency in sentencing across all the jurisdictions.