A lawyer can give you specialised advice if your money, property or other assets are frozen as a result of a court order. They can also apply on your behalf to the court to have confiscated property returned to you.

A lawyer can help you to understand your rights and responsibilities and the extensive powers given to the government under the assets confiscation regime. Your lawyer is able to provide advice concerning a number of wide-ranging issues you may experience including:

• the nature of restraining orders;
• the types of orders available under Commonwealth and state or territory laws and their effect;
• forfeiture applications;
• unexplained wealth orders;
• pecuniary penalty orders (fines); and
• the relationship between confiscation and court sentencing.

A lawyer will explain to you the way in which each of these processes operates. Your lawyer will tell the court your side of the story and protect you from the wrongful forfeiture of your property. The onus rests on you to prove how you have obtained your wealth. Proceeds of crime laws can be broadly applied and there is no requirement for you to be linked to an offence. A court has no discretion in this area. It must order forfeiture once it has been established that your property has been accumulated through proceeds of unlawful activity. The court cannot factor in any hardship that you or your family may experience.