Civil Forfeiture

When can Civil Forfeiture Restraining Orders be made?

• Civil Forfeiture Restraining Order (CFRO) for the purpose of making a Civil Forfeiture Order;
• A Court may make both a CFRO and a Restraining Order
• A CFRO can be made based on a person formally informing the court that they suspect that the property is tainted by a Schedule 2 offence if the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for that belief.

Can I make an application for Exclusion?

You can make an application for exclusion within 30 days of being given notice, although the court may allow you more time if the judge believes that it is “in the interests of justice” to do so.

The Court may make an order excluding property from a CFRO if:

• The property is neither tainted property nor derived property or
• The applicant was:
  
  • not in any way involved in the commission of the relevant offence and
  • did not know (or should not have had a reasonable suspicion) that the property was used or going to be used in the offending and
  • the property was not subject to the control of another person

A CFRO expires after 90 days unless an application for a Civil Forfeiture Order has been made in the relevant court and is still pending.

A Civil Forfeiture Order can be made if:

• Notice has been given to every person whom the applicant has reason to believe may have an interest in the property and
• Not less than 30 days have lapsed since the giving of the notice and
• There are no pending applications pursuant to section 36V for exclusion from the CFRO

The court can exclude property from an order on the basis that it would cause hardship to any person.

The court can consider any material it thinks fit to determine the application.