Greg Coombes Solicitor

12/03/2026

Another WIN for the team at Greg Coombes Solicitor!
Come and see us for any Court matters.
Experience counts!

15/02/2026

Do you need an AVO??

If you have an issue where you fear physical harm, stalking or intimidation, you might need an AVO.
There are 2 types, domestic or personal. Generally a domestic AVO (ADVO) involves a family member, and a personal AVO (APVO) involves a colleague or neighbour.
Both types have 2 ways of happening. Police application or private application.
There’s no hard and fast rules, but generally, the police are more interested in ADVO’s.
If you make a complaint to police about someone who is not a family member, they may decide to act for you, or they may decline.
If they decline, all is not lost. You can make a private application.
You can represent yourself, or you can engage a solicitor.
AVO’s are quite a different Court process than a typical criminal case.
I would strongly suggest researching this properly before acting for yourself, or seek advice of a lawyer.

27/10/2025

Did you know parents can be fined if they permit/ knowingly allow their child to carry a knife?

Carrying a knife for self-defence or the defence of another is not a reasonable excuse. The courts are particularly concerned about this element with the increase in knife related crimes.

It is an offence to have a knife in a public place without a reasonable excuse. A knife includes a knife blade, a razor blade, or any other blade.

What is a reasonable excuse to carry a knife?

A reasonable excuse to have a knife includes:
• for your job/training
• for the preparation of food
• for use in lawful entertainment/recreation/sport
• exhibition of knives for retail or trade purposes • organised exhibition by knife collectors
• wearing of official uniform
• genuine religious purposes
• during travel to or from or incidental to the above activities.


What is the penalty?
• Police-issued fine: First-time offenders could be served a notice and required to pay a $550 fine.
• The lower charge: Under s. 11B of the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW), the maximum penalty is $5,500 or imprisonment for two years.
• The higher charge: Under s. 93IB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), the maximum penalty is $4,440, imprisonment for 4 years, or both.
• Visible carrying a knife to cause fear: Under s.93IC of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), the maximum penalty is $11,000 or imprisonment for 4 years of both.

A new separate offence for parents If a child (10-17 years) commits an offence against s 93I b, Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), and the parent knowingly authorises or permits the child to commit the offence, the parents can receive a $550 fine.

30/09/2025

Drug Possession Charges- What you need to know!

In New South Wales, the offence of possessing a prohibited drug carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. The offence of drug possession is contained in section 10 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985.

What drugs are illegal to possess?

There is a very long list of drugs that are illegal to possess. The most common examples include:
• Cannabis
• Ecstasy
• Amphetamines
• Co***ne
• He**in
• L*D
What the police must prove;

Police need to prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt for the court to find a person guilty of this offence:
• That they possessed a substance
• That the substance was a prohibited drug
• That they knew they were in possession of that substance

Anything over the personal use threshold could then impose the risk of automatic supply charges.

Possible Defences

• A person charged with possession of drugs may validly argue any of the following defences.
• Honest and reasonable mistake
A person would not be guilty of an offence if they had an honest and reasonable belief that the substance they possessed was a legal substance.
• The Carey Defence
The Carey Defence is a defence that applies when a person was temporarily in possession of someone else’s drug.
• Duress
A person is not guilty of a drug offence if they were acting under duress. This means that a serious threat was made to their life or the life of another person and they carried out the act only in response to that threat.
• The drug was not an illicit drug
• The accused will be found not guilty if the prosecution cannot prove that the drug was the drug alleged. This must be done through testing and analysing the drug.
• Possession for Personal use is very hard to prove, Personal possession is still Illegal unless prescribed

Penalties

Section 10 – avoiding a criminal record
Normally, when you plead guilty to a criminal or traffic offence the Court imposes a penalty and records a conviction. If the court records a conviction, you will have a criminal record.
For Drugs such as Cannabis, amounts for Cannabis but only up to 15g may be eligible for a cannabis caution or health referral although supply thresholds indicate quantities from 300g trigger indictable supply presumptions under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985.

Fines

By far the most common penalty imposed by the Local Court is a fine. When deciding the amount of any fine the Magistrate or Judge should consider your financial situation and your ability to pay any fine they set.

Other Penalties

There are many other more serious penalties such as Community Service orders, Periodic detention/Imprisonment, depending on the matters, most cases above the personal use threshold make this level of severity.

19/08/2025

New Road Rules.

In the 12 months prior to July 2025, there was a 2.9% increase in road related fatalities across Australia.
Colleagues at Sydney Criminal Lawyers released a story yesterday listing the changes enacted in response.
The story can be accessed here: https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/new-road-rules-and-driving-offences-come-into-effect-across-australia/
An outline of some of the notable changes include
P1 drivers are not permitted to drive from 11pm to 5am (work and education exceptions).
P1 and P2 drivers are only allowed 1 passenger between the ages of 16-21 years.
P plate drivers are not permitted to use mobile phones, even when mounted. This includes buds and earphones.
P2 drivers are required to do 30 months before obtaining their "blacks" (up from 24).
Learners are required to do 150 hours supervised (up from 120).
The penalty for mobile phone use is now $1625 with 5 demerits.
Speed limits for passing road-side assistance and emergency vehicles is 40km/h in 80km/h or less areas.
Drivers 60 years and over now require a medical assessment each 3 years until aged 70.
As worrying as further restrictions on freedoms are, and more regulations, it is difficult to argue that point when the number of people dying on the road is apparently increasing.

The suite of more than 60 changes includes new rules relating to L and P-platers, overseas drivers, speed limits and a range of traffic offences.

15/08/2025

15/08/2025

Did you know you could actually avoid that sneaky speeding fine in the 40km/hr zone you always thought as 60 km/hr.

Some little tricks that might save those demerit points and that sneaky fine. Especially around double demerit periods!

• Use GPS or google maps, these give you waring when speed zones change. They can also give you speed alerts for those buy rush hours where you may forget the small things ( We vote this the best!).

• Regularly check speed signs, especially in school zones (40 km/h) or variable limit areas.

• Slow down in adverse conditions (e.g., rain, fog) to avoid reckless driving charges. We all know accidents sneak up on us.

Some Penalties are gobsmacking.. its best you try avoid them at all costs, but if you get stuck in the mud with one of these give me a call and I can do my best to get you the best possible outcome.

Penalties (Class A vehicles, e.g., cars):

• 1–10 km/h over: $138 fine, 1 demerit point.

• 11–20 km/h over: $322 fine, 3 demerit points.

• 21–30 km/h over: $561 fine, 4 demerit points.

• 31–45 km/h over: $1,078 fine, 5 demerit points, 3-month disqualification (automatic).

• Over 45 km/h: $2,794 fine, 6 demerit points, 6-month disqualification (automatic).

• Court Penalties: For serious cases, up to $2,200 fine (20 penalty units) or 7 years imprisonment for reckless driving under Section 117 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

15/08/2025

Little news update on Social media age restrictions 😟

From 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.

While no formal assessments have been made, the age restrictions are likely to apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, among other platforms.

How do you feel about these new laws? To find out some more facts you can access it from the link below.

The Australian Government is protecting young Australians at a critical stage of their development, through world-first social media age restrictions.

08/08/2025

$2200 fine for no handbrake?

You park down Prince Street. Put the car in park, and walk away.
You don't pull on your parking brake.
That just earnt you a fine of up to $2,200!!!
Granted, this is not enforced very often (thankyou Coffs-Clarence Police!).
I loaned my car to my sister last week. She used the park brake, and rang me to find out how to release it.
I didn't know where the button was because I've never used it, and I've had my car around 5 years!
It's not only the park brake.
Keys in ignition? $2200
Engine running? $2200
Windows down? $2200 (if car isn't occupied)
Doors unlocked? $2200 (if car isn't occupied)
Next time you see the boys in blue, a tip of the cap for not fining you $8,000 to $10,000 for parking!

08/08/2025

Got a PCA Mid-range driving offence?

Below are some of the maximum penalties imposed when they go to court. If you have any concerns around your Mid-Range PCA reading or are concerned about receiving the maximum penalty for your offence, contact Greg Coombes and discuss your options for the best possible outcome today.

If a person is convicted by a court of this offence the maximum penalty for a first offender is imprisonment for 9 months and a fine. The maximum penalty for a repeat offender following the recording of a criminal conviction is imprisonment for 12 months and a much larger fine.

For first offences, the minimum disqualification period is three months with a maximum of six months, where an interlock order is also made. Where an interlock exemption order is made, the automatic disqualification period is 12 months with a minimum period of 6 months.

For second or subsequent offenders, the minimum disqualification period is six months, and the maximum is 9 months where an interlock order is also made. Where an interlock exemption order is made, there is an automatic disqualification period of three years which can be reduced to a minimum of 12 months.

For a person to be found guilty of Mid-Range Drink Driving the prosecution must prove each of the following matters beyond a reasonable doubt:

That you “drove” a motor vehicle; or were in driver’s seat and attempted to put the vehicle in motion; and at the time, your Blood Alcohol Concentration was between 0.080 and 0.149.

There are some defences that may be possible to a Mid-Range Drink Driving charge:

- That your Blood Alcohol Content was not higher than 0.080 at the time your drove (for example, if you drunk more after you finished driving);
- That you were not the driver of the vehicle.
- That you were not “driving” as defined by the Act.
- That there was an issue with the way the breath test/analysis was conducted which might render the reading inadmissible.

07/08/2025

Your 'Right to Remain Silent"
Answering a Police question that sounds Innocent? "Is it just you living here? Are you the only person that drives this car? Is this your bag?" Besides giving your name, ID and staying polite and respectful it's always better to stay on the safe side and say nothing. This is when it's best to save it for a lawyer and get some legal advice first. You have a right to remain silent, and it cannot be used against you down the track. In any circumstance, give Greg Coombes a call and he can help you through the process.