Commonwealth Criminal Law – 4th edition by Troy Anderson

Commonwealth Criminal Law – 4th edition by Troy Anderson
The Federation Press
496pp $160

Troy Anderson, Judge of the District Court of New South Wales, writing extra-curially, has taken on the unenviable task of summarising the principles of Commonwealth criminal law in 449 pages in Commonwealth Criminal Law. Like earlier editions, the text will provide welcome assistance to practitioners and judges alike in demystifying the complex world of federal criminal law and in disentangling and understanding interactions between state and federal offences and legislation. The text will assist in advising and representing clients in contested matters and at sentencing. At the outset, the text acknowledges that it aims to provide practitioners with the information they need when presenting matters in court.

The text discusses the role of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), and the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth). It outlines the essential principles of criminal responsibility in the context of Commonwealth crime. Later chapters give an overview of particular offences, including money laundering, serious drug and precursor offences, terrorism and espionage offences, exploitation and telecommunications offences, and offences under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Each niche area covered by the text provides guidance on topics that may otherwise be difficult to navigate when they arise infrequently.

This fourth edition of the text introduces a new chapter on Commonwealth investigative powers under the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth), and the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 (Cth). This is a particularly timely addition given the raft of cases arising out of ‘AN0M’ (an application covertly distributed by law enforcement and unwittingly used by offenders) and challenges to the admissibility of evidence in those prosecutions. While this edition is unable to comment on CD v Director of Public Prosecutions (SA) [2025] HCA 37 (handed down on 8 October 2025 after the publication of this text), the chapter nevertheless provides a valuable overview of Commonwealth powers. In CD, the High Court upheld a challenge to the Surveillance Legislation (Confirmation of Application) Act 2024 (Cth) to deem information obtained under warrants related to the AN0M application as lawfully obtained.

The inclusion of modern slavery offences is also a new and helpful addition to the text, given the increased prevalence of such offences. There is also a useful discussion of ‘deepfakes’ and the Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Act 2024 (Cth), another emerging and widely overlooked issue that arises when AI is used to generate an extremely realistic but false depiction of someone saying or doing something that they did not actually do or say.

The final chapter is dedicated to sentencing, imprisonment and release, helping practitioners with the particularly complex task of sentencing and post-sentencing decisions for federal offending. Albeit, with the proposed introduction of the Commonwealth Parole Board in 2026, the final chapter of the text may require some updating in due course.

All in all, the text provides an essential outline of federal criminal law and is a welcome addition to the crime practitioners’ library. Whilst some of the offences may be infrequently encountered, the text provides an essential reference point when they do arise.

Reviewed by Megan Styles, Barrister, Malthouse Chambers

February 2026