Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA ACT 1976 - SECT 23FI

Verdict must be unanimous

  (1)   The jury's verdict on each count in the indictment must be unanimous. If the indictment includes alternate counts, the jury need only reach a verdict on one of those counts.

  (2)   Before the jury retires to consider its verdict on a count in the indictment, the Court must inform the jury that its verdict must be unanimous.

Jury may deliver alternative verdicts

  (3)   If an offence specified in a count in the indictment is an offence for which an Act allows the jury to find the accused:

  (a)   not guilty of the offence; but

  (b)   guilty of another offence;

the Court may inform the jury of this.

  (4)   If, in accordance with an Act referred to in subsection   (3), the jury unanimously finds the accused:

  (a)   not guilty of an offence specified in a count in the indictment; but

  (b)   guilty of another offence;

the indictment is taken to have always included a count against the accused for the other offence.

Foreperson is to deliver the verdict

  (5)   The jury's verdict is to be delivered by the jury foreperson.