ABSTRACT
There are nine jurisdictions in Australia (six states, two territories and the federal jurisdiction), each has its own criminal law. The main source of criminal law in three of the states (Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia) is the common law, which is derived from the UK. The criminal law in the other jurisdictions is based mainly in statute and, for this reason, they are referred to as the Code jurisdictions. The Criminal Codes in Queensland and Western Australia are the oldest and are similar. The Code in the Australian Capital Territory is based on the Commonwealth Code, which also informs aspects of the Northern Territory Code.
