AB v Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth)

The applicants, AB and CD, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Full Federal Court. The dispute concerned the validity of search warrants issued under the *Proceeds of Crime Act 2002* (Cth) and the admissibility of evidence obtained pursuant to those warrants in subsequent criminal proceedings. The Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) was the respondent.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the Federal Court had erred in upholding the validity of the search warrants. This involved determining whether the information provided to the issuing officer in support of the applications for the warrants was sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Act, particularly concerning reasonable grounds to suspect that the warrants would afford evidence of, or otherwise be relevant to, the commission of a serious offence. A related issue was whether, even if the warrants were invalid, the evidence obtained should have been admitted under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) or the common law.

Hayne and Crennan JJ considered the principles governing the issuance of search warrants, emphasising the need for a proper evidential basis to establish reasonable suspicion. Their Honours reviewed the material before the issuing officer and concluded that the information provided did not establish reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of a serious offence as required by the Act. Consequently, the warrants were vitiated. The Court further considered the admissibility of the evidence, applying the principles of proportionality and necessity, and determined that the admission of the evidence obtained under the invalid warrants would be unfair to the applicants.

Special leave to appeal was granted, the appeal was allowed, and the orders of the Full Federal Court were set aside. The evidence obtained pursuant to the search warrants was excluded from use in the criminal proceedings.