FEDERAL DEFENDANTS
Limited data about federal defendants are presented in this publication. Defendants who appear in Australian criminal courts may be charged with either a Commonwealth or State legislative offence or both.
For more detailed information on federal defendants refer to Federal Defendants, Selected States and Territories (cat. no. 4515.0).
In 2009-10, 12,811 (2%) defendants in the Magistrates' Courts had one or more federal offences. The proportion of defendants with one or more federal defendants varied across states and territories, ranging from 1% in Western Australia and Tasmania to 15% in the Australian Capital Territory. This is due to there being more Commonwealth property in the Australian Capital Territory (Table 3.3).
DEFENDANTS FINALISED, Proportion of federal defendants by states and territories