Have you been charged with a dishonesty offence?

Contact Woods & Co Lawyers in Adelaide

Use our experience! We can help with serious large scale fraud or a minor shop theft.

At Woods & Co Lawyers, we are experienced in dealing with all sorts of dishonesty offences. You may be feeling embarrassed and charged with a minor shoplifting offence. We can help you realise you are not alone and assist you through the process. Alternatively, we have also assisted defendants charged with fraud and dishonesty offences where the allegations involve millions of dollars.

Dishonesty offences cover a wide variety of matters. Theft, Receiving, Robbery, Money laundering, Dishonestly dealing with documents, Blackmail, Commonwealth fraud, Abuse of public office, computer fraud, Dealing with instruments of crime, Deception, Identity theft, and many others.

We are also very experienced in handling Commonwealth Fraud including Taxation offences, Social Security Fraud, and Corporate Fraud.

We have the resources and experience to handle large complex matters. We appear in Adelaide and all courts in South Australia. We deal with all matters respectfully.

Obtaining legal advice at an early stage is important. Criminal Assets Confiscation proceedings are often commenced in Dishonesty and Fraud matters.

We specialise in criminal law. Don’t call a lawyer who does your corporate work – call a criminal law expert.

We Protect your rights! Please call our friendly experienced team on

8311 3111.

If you are looking to learn more about us you can read our reviews on Google & Facebook

We listen! – We help! We deliver!

Why choose us for dishonesty offences?

We have over 20 years of experience in delivering great results in criminal and traffic law cases in Adelaide

We listen! We help! We deliver

Our client reviews support the high level of satisfaction we achieve for you.

We have over 100 5-star reviews across Google & Facebook

We specialise only in Criminal and Traffic law matters. Our expertise, reputation & knowledge is second to none.

We protect your rights!

Hayder Al Hamdany

25/10/2023

They are reliable, honest and operate with integrity. I recommend them to anyone who is looking for some great legal advocacy and support. Ben always takes the time to answer any questions I may have, and provides me with all the options available. As a new with a legal matter, it can be difficult to find a suitable lawyer. I was lucky to be connected to Ben. On another note, their charges were also very reasonable to the services they provided.

Sarah Budarick

29/08/2023

I seriously have so much respect for woods and co especially Ben who has represented me. They are affordable, professional and aim for the best out come possible. The reception staff are also amazing.

tom warley

09/08/2023

I can’t speak highly enough of my experience with Woods & Co. Hugh has helped me out on more than one occasion and kept my mind at ease whilst ensuring a positive outcome each time. I would definitely recommend their services to anyone.

Janice Collins

16/06/2023

I would highly recommend Woods & Co Lawyers to others. A special thanks to Hugh for getting a good result quickly. To the ladies at the desk thank you for your wonderful support. Much appreciated 🙂

Lina Abete

20/05/2023

Excellent professional service

Qamar Zaman

02/05/2023

I highly recommend Woods&Co Lawyers. I got into big trouble for the first time and of course was scared out of my mind. MICHAEL WOODS AND HUGH WOODS and the rest of the team eased my mind about the whole process. Definitely great customer service and professionalism. I am also very happy with the deal I got. If I ever (which I hope I don’t) get into any other trouble, WOODS&CO Lawyers is the one I will call on. Thank you so much for everything!

Mori Shakouri

09/03/2023

Really nice and gentlemen, professional and friendly, highly recommended

Frequently asked questions in relation to Dishonesty Offences.

What is dishonestly dealing with documents?

A document is false if it gives a misleading impression as to its validity or effect.

A person is guilty if they dishonestly engage in conduct.

Conduct includes;

creating a false document
falsifying a document
knowingly possessing a false document
producing or using a false document

If you deceive another person or exploit their ignorance or manipulate a machine to benefit yourself, another or to cause detriment then you may be guilty.

What are the penalties for dishonestly dealing with documents?

For a basic offence: 10 years imprisonment
For an aggravated offence: 15 years imprisonment

An offence is aggravated if it occurred under certain circumstances. These are listed in s 5AA in Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA). They include (but are not limited to) factors such as whether to offence was committed:

Against a victim under the age of 12 or over the age of 60
Against a victim who had a particular relationship with the offender (e.g., a child, spouse or domestic partner)
In association with a criminal organisation
Whilst the offender was in a position of authority or trust
Against a victim who was in a position of vulnerability because of physical disability or cognitive impairment.

What are the possible defences for dishonestly dealing with documents?

If the person does not act dishonestly, judged by the standards of ordinary people.
A lack of proof that the person engaged in the conduct defined
If a person has a legal or equitable right to the property then they may not act dishonestly
Suffers from a mental impairment