Proceeds of Crime & Confiscation

Collins Chambers acts in restraining order, forfeiture, pecuniary penalty, and unexplained wealth proceedings under the Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic) and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth).

The firm has substantial experience in large-scale confiscation matters, including proceedings involving significant property portfolios, business interests, and complex asset structures.

Confiscation proceedings run alongside, and sometimes entirely apart from, criminal prosecution. They are civil in form but penal in effect, and they move quickly: restraining orders are typically obtained without notice, and the practical consequences — frozen accounts, restrained property, appointed receivers — arrive before the respondent has been heard. The early period is decisive. Applications for exclusion, for the variation of restraining orders, and for provision of legal and living expenses must be made promptly and on proper evidence.

The firm’s work includes acting for persons whose property is restrained (whether or not they are charged with any offence), acting for third parties — spouses, family members, business partners, corporate entities — whose interests are caught by orders directed at others, contesting forfeiture and pecuniary penalty applications, and responding to unexplained wealth proceedings, which reverse the conventional onus and require the respondent to establish the lawful origin of their wealth.

This work demands both criminal and commercial competence: the tracing of funds through corporate and trust structures, the proper characterisation of business assets, and the forensic reconstruction of financial history. The firm’s position within the Madison Branson Group provides direct access to that commercial capability.

Persons served with a restraining order, or who become aware that one is anticipated, should seek advice immediately. Time limits in this jurisdiction are short and strictly applied.