25. Ancillary Orders and Costs on Conviction
Prosecution costs, surcharge, compensation, forfeiture, deprivation and confiscation.
How to study for BSB Criminal Litigation
Prepare for a closed-book assessment by linking every power, gateway, burden, procedure and appellate route to its place in the criminal case.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Costs, surcharge and compensation have different statutory purposes and calculations and must be addressed separately from the principal sentence.
Exam cue: Identify the statutory power, beneficiary, property or amount and priority among financial orders.
Concept 2
Forfeiture and deprivation remove specified property through distinct statutory powers linked to offence or lawful possession.
Exam cue: Check means and the relationship between loss, compensation and any civil recovery.
Concept 3
Confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act is a structured proceeds-recovery process, not a general punitive fine.
Exam cue: Separate offence-related property orders from benefit-based confiscation.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Treating the victim surcharge as compensation paid directly by reference to proved loss.
Guardrail: Do not import a current-law change into the assessment merely because it post-dates the syllabus cut-off; use the latest BSB-issued syllabus or amendment for exam scope.
Ordering forfeiture or deprivation without linking property to the statutory conditions.
Guardrail: Do not import a current-law change into the assessment merely because it post-dates the syllabus cut-off; use the latest BSB-issued syllabus or amendment for exam scope.
Calculating confiscation as another measure of offence seriousness.
Guardrail: Do not import a current-law change into the assessment merely because it post-dates the syllabus cut-off; use the latest BSB-issued syllabus or amendment for exam scope.
Memory anchors
Costs
A contribution to prosecution costs subject to power, means and justice.
Surcharge
A statutory financial order distinct from the victim's compensation.
Compensation
Address personal injury, loss or damage and give reasons if not ordered where relevant.
Forfeiture or deprivation
Use the specific statutory power for qualifying offence-related property.
Confiscation
Determine benefit and available amount through the Proceeds of Crime Act procedure.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
After conviction, what is the purpose of ordering the offender to pay prosecution costs?
The prosecution submits an unexplained costs figure far beyond what the case reasonably required. What should the court do?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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