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Charged with Conveying False Information That a Person or Property Is in Danger
Conveying false information that a person or property is in danger is a criminal offence under section 93Q of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), carrying a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment. It sits within Part 3A, Division 4 of the Act, headed “Bomb and other hoaxes,” and is the primary NSW charge for bomb threats, hoax emergency calls, and false warnings of danger.
For a broader legal overview, it is important to distinguish this NSW offence from federal offences under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), particularly where electronic communications, threats, weapons, or prohibited substances are involved.
Many people charged with this offence did not intend the consequences that followed. A message sent as a joke, a threat made in anger during an argument, a hoax call made while intoxicated, or a false report to emergency services can all meet the definition. The prosecution does not need to prove that anyone was actually frightened, only that the information was likely to cause fear and that you knew it was false.
Where the false information was conveyed by phone, text message, email, or social media, police may instead, or in addition, charge a Commonwealth offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), including using a carriage service for a hoax threat, which carries a maximum of 10 years imprisonment. These federal offences are subject to a separate statutory framework and may involve provisions in a particular chapter or title of the criminal code. A federal prosecution can therefore require a different legal strategy and defense from a NSW prosecution.
Outcomes vary widely. Most section 93Q matters are finalised in the Local Court, and where the conduct was impulsive, isolated, and not connected to any real intention to harm, non-conviction and community-based outcomes are achievable. The likely outcome depends on the facts of the case, the seriousness of the conduct, any prior criminal history, and whether the prosecution alleges an organised activity, conspiracy, fraud, or another offence.
The Australian Legal Practice represents clients facing hoax and false information charges across Burwood, Sydney CBD, and Parramatta. Our lawyers are available 24/7, and the first consultation is free.
Call (02) 8084 9929 to arrange a free consultation with a principal lawyer.
What Is Conveying False Information That a Person or Property Is in Danger?
Conveying false information is the offence of communicating information that you know to be false or misleading, where that information is likely to make the recipient fear for the safety of a person or of property.
This statutory offence should not automatically be confused with a weapons offence, fraud offence, or federal crime merely because the communication refers to a weapon, property damage, or another criminal activity.
The offence has three components:
- You conveyed information to another person
- You knew the information was false or misleading
- The information was likely to make the recipient fear for the safety of a person, property, or both
The prosecution must establish these matters before a person can be convicted. A person is not automatically convicted simply because police allege a violation of the relevant provision, and the prosecution must prove the alleged conduct to the required criminal standard.
Under section 93Q(2), information can be conveyed by any means, including:
- Making a statement in person or by phone
- Sending a document, letter, or note
- Transmitting an electronic message, including a text message, email, or social media post or message
Under section 93Q(3), “the safety of a person” includes the safety of the person who conveys the information and the safety of the person it is conveyed to. A false claim that you yourself are in danger is covered.
Conduct that can result in a charge includes:
- Calling a school, shopping centre, airport, or workplace and falsely claiming a bomb has been planted
- Sending a message claiming that a person is armed, injured, or about to be attacked when this is untrue
- Making a false report to emergency services that a person is in danger, such as a hoax call to 000
- Posting a false warning on social media that a venue or event is about to be attacked
Depending on the facts, statements about explosives, weapons, military facilities, prohibited items, or intended destruction may also result in investigation for additional offences. An alleged attempt to conceal such activity can also become relevant to the prosecution’s case.
Conveying false information is distinct from several related offences:
- Leaving or sending an article with intent to cause alarm (section 93R): leaving or sending a substance or article intending to induce a false belief that it is dangerous, for example a suspicious package, maximum 5 years imprisonment
- Public mischief (section 547B): knowingly making a false representation to police that calls for a police investigation, maximum 12 months imprisonment or a $5,500 fine, dealt with only in the Local Court
- Using a carriage service for a hoax threat (section 474.16 Criminal Code (Cth)): using a phone or internet service to send a communication intending to induce a false belief that an explosive or dangerous substance has been or will be left in a place, maximum 10 years imprisonment
- Using a carriage service to make a threat (section 474.15) or to menace, harass, or cause offence (section 474.17): Commonwealth offences that commonly accompany or replace a section 93Q charge where the communication was made by phone or online
- Other federal offences may apply where the alleged activity involves fraud, prohibited weapons, military property, destruction of property, or a conspiracy to commit a crime. Whether any additional charge is available depends on the precise conduct and the applicable statutory provision.
Conveying False Information Under Australian Law
Section 93Q of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) provides:
“A person who conveys information (a) that the person knows to be false or misleading, and (b) that is likely to make the person to whom the information is conveyed fear for the safety of a person or of property, or both, is guilty of an offence.”
The wording of the section is important because it focuses on what the accused knew, what was conveyed, and the likely effect of the information. It does not require an actual attempt to cause injury or destruction. A legal defense may therefore focus on whether the prosecution can prove the required knowledge and whether the alleged statements were actually likely to cause fear.
The same conduct can attract charges under NSW or Commonwealth law depending on how the information was conveyed and what it alleged:
Offence | Section | Maximum Penalty |
Conveying false information that a person or property is in danger | s 93Q Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) | 5 years imprisonment |
Leaving or sending an article with intent to cause alarm | s 93R Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) | 5 years imprisonment |
Public mischief (false representation to police) | s 547B Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) | 12 months imprisonment and/or 50 penalty units ($5,500) |
Using a carriage service for a hoax threat | s 474.16 Criminal Code (Cth) | 10 years imprisonment |
Using a carriage service to threaten to kill | s 474.15(1) Criminal Code (Cth) | 10 years imprisonment |
Using a carriage service to threaten serious harm | s 474.15(2) Criminal Code (Cth) | 7 years imprisonment |
Using a carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence | s 474.17 Criminal Code (Cth) | 5 years imprisonment |
A person facing a federal charge should also have the relevant chapter, title, and statutory provision identified before deciding how to conduct the case. The same statement can have very different legal consequences depending on whether it falls under NSW law or a Federal criminal provision.
Jurisdiction and court for the NSW offence:
- Section 93Q is a Table 1 offence under Schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW)
- It is dealt with in the Local Court unless either the prosecution or the accused elects to have the matter heard in the District Court
- In the Local Court, the maximum penalty is 2 years imprisonment and/or 100 penalty units ($11,000)
- Commonwealth carriage service offences are prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and, in practice, are also most commonly finalised in the Local Court, where the 2-year jurisdictional limit applies
The applicable stat and jurisdiction can affect how the prosecution proceeds, the available sentencing options, and whether a person could ultimately be imprisoned or fined. Legal advice should therefore identify the exact provision alleged rather than relying on a general online overview.
What Must the Prosecution Prove?
To secure a conviction under section 93Q, the prosecution must prove each of the following elements beyond reasonable doubt:
- You conveyed information to another person, by any means
- The information was false or misleading
- You knew, at the time you conveyed it, that the information was false or misleading
- The information was likely to make the person receiving it fear for the safety of a person or of property, or both
Two points about these elements are frequently decisive:
- Knowledge is essential: the offence requires that you knew the information was false or misleading. Honestly repeating something you believed to be true, even if it was wrong and caused alarm, is not an offence under section 93Q
- The test is objective: the prosecution does not need to prove that the recipient actually feared for anyone’s safety. It must prove that the information was likely to cause that fear, judged by the nature of the information and the circumstances in which it was conveyed
The distinction between knowing and merely being mistaken can be critical to a defense. A person who did not knowingly make a false statement may have a substantially different case from a person who willfully created and transmitted false information.
If the prosecution cannot prove any one of these elements, the court must find you not guilty.
Where phone or online communication is involved, identification is often the main contest. The prosecution must prove that you, and not another person using your phone, account, or device, conveyed the information.
Digital evidence may include account records, device information, messages, metadata, call records, and other evidence of the alleged activity. The reliability and admissibility of that evidence can become central to the case.
Penalties for Conveying False Information in NSW
Court | Maximum Penalty |
Local Court (Table 1) | 2 years imprisonment and/or 100 penalty units ($11,000) |
District Court on election | 5 years imprisonment |
Sentencing options available to the court:
- Section 10 dismissal (no conviction recorded)
- Conditional Release Order (CRO) with or without conviction
- Fine
- Community Correction Order (CCO)
- Intensive Correction Order (ICO), served in the community
- Full-time imprisonment
Depending on the circumstances, a person may be fined rather than imprisoned, particularly where the conduct is at the lower end of seriousness. Conversely, a person can be imprisoned where the court considers the offence sufficiently serious. Being charged does not mean that you will be convicted or imprisoned.
Factors that influence the severity of the penalty:
- The nature of the false information, with bomb threats and threats against schools, airports, hospitals, or public events treated most seriously
- The scale of the response, including evacuations, emergency service deployment, and disruption to the public
- Whether the conduct was a single impulsive act or a repeated or planned course of conduct
- Whether the communication targeted a specific person, such as a former partner, in a domestic context
- Mental health or intoxication at the time, and any treatment undertaken since
- Prior criminal history
- Genuine remorse and an early guilty plea, which attracts a discount of up to 25 per cent
There is no standard non-parole period for this offence. Where the conduct caused a significant emergency response, or was directed at a vulnerable person as part of a pattern of harassment, custodial outcomes become more likely. Where the conduct was an isolated, impulsive act with limited consequences, non-conviction and fine outcomes are commonly achieved.
Other consequences of a conviction include:
- Criminal record affecting employment, particularly in security, aviation, education, and government roles
- Immigration consequences for non-citizens under the character test in the Migration Act 1958
- Potential civil liability for the cost of the emergency response in serious cases
Possible Defences Against Conveying False Information
Several defences can result in a charge being dismissed, reduced, or withdrawn.
- No knowledge that the information was false: you believed the information to be true when you conveyed it, or you were repeating information from another source in good faith
- Not likely to cause fear: the information, judged objectively in its context, was not likely to make the recipient fear for anyone’s safety, for example an obvious joke between friends or a statement no reasonable recipient would take seriously
- Not the person who conveyed it: another person used your phone, account, or device, or the identification evidence is unreliable
- Information was not false or misleading: the information conveyed was true, or was substantially accurate
- Duress: you were forced to convey the information by threats of serious harm from another person
- Necessity: the conduct was necessary to avoid an imminent and greater harm
- Mental health: where a mental health or cognitive impairment was a relevant factor, an application under section 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW) can result in the matter being dealt with by way of a treatment plan rather than a conviction
Every defence is assessed on the specific facts, including the content of the communication, call and message records, device and account access, and any admissions made during a police interview.
Your Options When Charged with Conveying False Information
Option | What It Means |
Negotiate with the prosecution | Where knowledge or identification is contestable, or where a Commonwealth charge has been laid for conduct better dealt with under section 93Q, representations can result in the charge being withdrawn, substituted, or the facts amended |
Plead not guilty | Contest the charge at a defended hearing, where the prosecution must prove your knowledge of falsity, the likelihood of fear, and your identity as the sender beyond reasonable doubt |
Plead guilty and seek the best outcome | An early guilty plea attracts a sentencing discount of up to 25 per cent; evidence that the conduct was impulsive or isolated, mental health material, and steps taken since can support a section 10 dismissal or CRO without conviction |
Before selecting an option, it is important to read the charge sheet carefully and identify the exact statutory provision alleged. A case involving a NSW offence may require a different approach from a federal case involving a Commonwealth chapter or title.
An alleged attempt, conspiracy, or related crime may also change the way enforcement authorities approach the matter. The fact that a person has been investigated does not itself establish a violation, and the prosecution must still prove each offence beyond reasonable doubt.
Why Choose The Australian Legal Practice for Conveying False Information Charges
- Principal-level representation. You deal directly with an experienced senior lawyer, not a junior
- 24/7 availability on (02) 8084 9929. Hoax and false information charges frequently follow a fast-moving police response, at any hour
- Three Sydney offices: Burwood, Sydney CBD, and Parramatta
- Free initial consultation so you can understand which charge has been laid and what the prosecution must prove
- Fixed-fee arrangements available for section 93Q matters heard in the Local Court
- Experience across both the NSW offence and the equivalent Commonwealth carriage service offences, which are governed by different sentencing laws
- Experience challenging identification and device attribution evidence in phone and online communication cases
- Advice on section 14 mental health applications where a mental health condition contributed to the conduct
Call (02) 8084 9929 to arrange a free consultation with a principal lawyer.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Conveying False Information
Yes. The prosecution does not need to prove that the recipient actually feared for anyone’s safety. It must prove that the information was likely to cause that fear, judged objectively.
Not on its own. If you knew the information was false and it was likely to cause fear, the fact that you intended it as a joke does not defeat the charge. However, where the context made it obvious that the statement was not serious, this can support an argument that the information was not likely to cause fear, and it is also relevant to sentencing.
Section 93Q is a NSW offence covering false information conveyed by any means, with a maximum of 5 years. Section 474.16 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code applies specifically where a phone or internet service was used to send a hoax threat about an explosive or dangerous substance, with a maximum of 10 years. Police can charge either or both. Commonwealth offences are sentenced under a different framework, the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), rather than NSW sentencing law.
It can. A false report to emergency services that a person is in danger is information conveyed to another person, and if it is likely to cause fear for a person’s safety, it falls within section 93Q. A false report to police that calls for an investigation can also be charged as public mischief under section 547B.
In most cases, yes. Section 93Q is a Table 1 offence, which means it is dealt with in the Local Court unless the prosecution or the accused elects to have it heard in the District Court. In the Local Court, the maximum penalty is 2 years imprisonment and/or $11,000.
Speak to a criminal defence lawyer today on (02) 8084 9929 or book a free consultation online.
