Laws on murder, attempted murder and manslaughter
Part of the Crime topic
Understand the law on murder, attempted murder and manslaughter in Queensland.
In short
These laws and rules apply to the most serious crimes against another person in Queensland.
Use these rules to understand murder, attempted murder and manslaughter offences.
There are severe consequences for breaking the law under the Criminal Code Act 1899. Penalties include up to life imprisonment.
You must
To comply with the law in Queensland you must:
- Report any knowledge of these crimes to police immediately.
You cannot
To comply with the law in Queensland you cannot:
- Intentionally or recklessly, through careless or negligent actions, kill another person (murder) (mansalughter).
- Attempt to unlawfully kill another person by any means (attempted murder).
- Assist another person in escaping justice before or after they have committed murder (accessory after the fact).
- Conspire to commit murder or threaten to kill another person.
Exceptions and special circumstances
You can be charged with manslaughter instead of murder if the killing was either:
- unintentional
- occurred under extreme provocation or diminished responsibility
- occured in response to serious domestice violence where you reasonably believed it was necessary to protect yourself from dealth or grievous bodily harm.