What is the offence of Consorting in Queensland?
What happens if you are charged with consorting in Queensland?
Being charged with habitually consorting with recognised offenders is a serious criminal offence under section 77B of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld). The offence carries a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment.
However, police cannot charge you simply because you know or associate with someone who has a criminal record. Before you can be convicted, the prosecution must prove each legal element of the offence beyond reasonable doubt, including that you received official police warnings and continued to consort with at least two recognised offenders after those warnings.
Our consorting lawyers in Brisbane are available for strategic advice. Call (07) 3012 6531 now or fill in our Quick Enquiry form to arrange a free confidential call with our best Brisbane criminal lawyers.
Key facts about consorting charges in Queensland
Legislation: The offence is contained in Chapter 9A of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld), which deals with habitually consorting with recognised offenders.
Main offence: The principal offence is created by section 77B of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld).
Maximum penalty: Habitually consorting with recognised offenders carries a maximum penalty of 300 penalty units or 3 years imprisonment.
Children: The offence applies only to adults and cannot be committed by a child.
Police warning required: Before a person can commit the offence, police must first issue an official warning in relation to each recognised offender.
Court: Consorting charges are usually dealt with initially in the Magistrates Court, although some matters may later proceed to a higher court depending on the circumstances.
What is the offence of habitually consorting with recognised offenders?
The offence was introduced to disrupt organised criminal activity by making it an offence to repeatedly associate with certain people after receiving an official police warning. Importantly, the legislation does not make it illegal simply to know someone with a criminal history.
Instead, police must prove each element of the offence beyond reasonable doubt before a court can convict you.
What does 'consorting' mean?
Under section 77A of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld), you consort with another person if you associate with them in a way that involves seeking out or accepting their company. The association:
does not need to involve criminal activity
may occur in person
may occur electronically
may occur by telephone
may occur by text message or other electronic communication.
Whether particular conduct amounts to consorting depends on the facts of each case.
Can I be charged just because my friends have criminal records?
No. Simply having friends, relatives or acquaintances with criminal histories is not enough. Police must prove all of the legal requirements for the offence, including that:
the people involved were recognised offenders
you habitually consorted with at least two recognised offenders
you received official warnings in relation to those recognised offenders
after those warnings, you associated with each person again.
Who is a recognised offender?
A recognised offender is an adult who has a recorded conviction, other than a spent conviction, for a relevant offence under Chapter 9A of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld). A conviction includes both a finding of guilt by a court and the acceptance of a plea of guilty.
Relevant offences include:
Any indictable offence carrying a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment or more, such as robbery, grievous bodily harm, dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death or grievous bodily harm, trafficking in dangerous drugs, serious fraud, and many sexual offences.
Certain offences specifically listed in the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld), including riot, going armed so as to cause fear, threatening violence, deprivation of liberty, obtaining or dealing with identification information, assault with intent to steal, and demanding property with menaces with intent to steal.
Certain offences under the Weapons Act 1990 (Qld), including particular unlawful possession or supply of weapons, dangerous conduct with a weapon, shortening firearms, and altering identification marks on weapons.
Certain Commonwealth offences, including associating with terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
Equivalent offences committed in another Australian State, Territory or overseas that would constitute a relevant offence if committed in Queensland.
Whether a person is legally a recognised offender is a critical element of the offence. The prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that each person with whom the defendant is alleged to have consorted was a recognised offender at the relevant time. If the prosecution cannot prove that element, the defendant must be acquitted.
What must police prove?
To obtain a conviction under section 77B, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:
you habitually consorted with at least two recognised offenders
you had already received an official warning relating to each recognised offender
after receiving those warnings, you consorted with each recognised offender on at least one further occasion.
The legislation also provides that a person does not habitually consort with another person unless they have associated with that individual on at least two occasions.
Every element must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
What is an official police warning for consorting?
Under section 53BAC of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld), a police officer who reasonably suspects that a person has consorted, is consorting, or is likely to consort with one or more recognised offenders may stop that person and require them to remain at the place where they are stopped for the time reasonably necessary to confirm or deny that suspicion and, where appropriate, issue an official warning. Before giving the warning, the officer must consider whether it is appropriate to do so, having regard to the legislative objective of disrupting and preventing criminal activity by deterring recognised offenders from establishing, maintaining or expanding criminal networks.
An official warning is defined by section 53BAA of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld). It must be given in person, either orally or in writing, and must state that a specified person is a recognised offender and that further consorting with that person may lead to the commission of the offence of habitually consorting with recognised offenders under section 77B of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld). Under section 53BAB, police cannot issue an official warning to a child.
If an official warning is given orally, section 53BAC(5) requires police to confirm the warning in the approved form within 72 hours. If they fail to do so, the warning ceases to have effect after 72 hours under section 53BAD(2). A written warning must be in the approved form and may be served personally, electronically or by post in accordance with section 53BAC(4)–(6).
Police may issue an official warning before, during or after a person has consorted with a recognised offender. However, receiving an official warning does not itself constitute an offence. To be convicted of consorting in Queensland, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that, after receiving an official warning in relation to each recognised offender, the defendant subsequently consorted with each recognised offender on at least one further occasion.
Under section 53BAD(1), an official warning generally remains in effect until the person named in the warning ceases to be a recognised offender. However, if the warning relates to a person who is not in fact a recognised offender, it ceases to have effect 24 hours after it is given under section 53BAD(3).
Whether a valid official warning was given is often a significant issue in defended consorting prosecutions. An experienced Brisbane criminal lawyer will carefully examine whether police had the reasonable suspicion required by section 53BAC, whether the warning complied with the statutory requirements in sections 53BAA and 53BAC, whether it was properly served, and whether the person named in the warning was, in fact, a recognised offender. Any deficiency in these requirements may significantly affect the prosecution's ability to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
Can police make me leave if I am with a recognised offender?
Section 53BAE of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) gives police additional powers after an official warning has been issued. If a police officer has given a person an official warning and reasonably suspects that the person is consorting at that place with the recognised offender identified in the warning, the officer may direct the person to leave the place and not return or remain within the place for a stated reasonable period of up to 24 hours.
Failing to comply with that direction may constitute an offence under section 791 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld). However, under section 53BAE(3), police cannot require a person to leave if doing so would endanger the safety of that person or another person. In addition, section 53BAE(4) provides that a person does not commit an offence under section 791 if the court is not satisfied that the police officer had the statutory power to issue the direction at the time it was given.
Whether police lawfully exercised these powers, including whether they had the required reasonable suspicion under section 53BAE(1), may become an important issue in subsequent criminal proceedings. An experienced criminal defence lawyer will carefully examine the circumstances in which the direction was given and whether the statutory requirements were satisfied.
Can police stop me just to issue a consorting warning?
Yes, in some circumstances. Section 53BAC of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) gives police power to stop a person whom they reasonably suspect has consorted, is consorting, or is likely to consort with recognised offenders.
After considering whether it is appropriate, police may issue an official warning relating to a recognised offender.
Receiving an official warning does not mean you have committed an offence. However, it is a necessary step if police later allege further acts of consorting.
When is associating with someone legally allowed?
The legislation recognises that there are many legitimate reasons why people associate with others who have criminal convictions.
Section 77C requires certain acts of consorting to be disregarded where the association was reasonable in the circumstances.
Examples include:
spending time with close family members
lawful employment
conducting a lawful business
education or training
obtaining education for a dependent child
receiving health services
obtaining health services for a dependent child
obtaining legal advice
complying with a court order
lawful custody.
These provisions are important safeguards within the legislation. However, the association will not be regarded as reasonable if one of its purposes relates to criminal activity.
What happened in R v Barbaro?
One of the leading Queensland decisions concerning consorting is R v Barbaro; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2019] QCA 286.
The respondent had been charged with habitually consorting with recognised offenders after police issued a single official warning identifying 15 recognised offenders. One of the people named in the warning was later found not to be a recognised offender. The Magistrates Court held the warning was invalid and acquitted the respondent.
On appeal, the Queensland Court of Appeal held that a single official warning may validly identify multiple recognised offenders and that the legislation does not require separate warnings for each person. The Court also held that if one person named in the warning is not actually a recognised offender, only that part of the warning ceases to have effect. The remainder of the warning continues to operate in relation to the other recognised offenders.
The decision provides important guidance on the interpretation of the official warning provisions in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) and confirms that the validity of an official warning will depend on the particular circumstances of each case.
What is the penalty for consorting in Queensland?
As of 30 June 2026, the maximum penalty is:
300 penalty units, or
3 years imprisonment.
The maximum penalty does not mean every person convicted will receive a prison sentence. When determining sentence, courts consider factors including:
the nature of the offending
the number of occasions of consorting
whether organised criminal activity was involved
your criminal history
your personal circumstances
any plea of guilty
evidence of rehabilitation.
The appropriate sentence depends entirely on the individual facts of each case.
How to defend a consorting charge in Queensland?
Depending on the evidence, possible issues may include:
whether the alleged associates were legally recognised offenders
whether police issued valid official warnings
whether there were sufficient occasions of consorting
whether the alleged conduct actually amounted to consorting
whether a statutory exception applies
whether the prosecution can prove each element beyond reasonable doubt.
Our Brisbane criminal defence lawyers will analyse the charge, evidence, and the police procedures before advising the best strategy for your case.
What happens if I am charged with consorting in Queensland?
Consorting charges are heard in the Magistrates Court. The case usually progresses through several stages, including:
your first court appearance
disclosure of the prosecution evidence
review of the evidence
discussions or negotiations with the prosecution through our criminal lawyers where appropriate
sentence (guilty) or hearing (not guilty) if the matter proceeds.
Early preparation and advice is critical for serious offences in Queensland.
Choosing the best Brisbane criminal lawyers for consorting charges
If you have been charged with habitually consorting with recognised offenders, obtaining legal advice as early as possible can make a significant difference to the outcome of your case.
Our Brisbane criminal defence lawyers appear daily in the Magistrates Court, District Court and Supreme Court defending serious criminal charges throughout Queensland. We provide practical advice, careful preparation and strategic representation from the earliest stage of the investigation through to the final resolution of your matter.
The information on this website is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our Brisbane criminal lawyers for advice specific to your circumstances.
Last updated June 2026.
