Accessories After the Fact
Accessories after the fact are people who were not directly involved in the commission of the offence, but who intentionally rendered assistance to the principal offender or another accessory after the offence.
For example, they may have helped them escape after committing the offence, or may have assisted in hiding evidence of their criminal activity.
For someone to be convicted as an accessory after the fact, the prosecution must prove that they actually knew that the principal offender had committed the offence in question.
This means that a person who simply gives their friend a lift after they had committed a criminal offence, but who did not know that an offence had been committed, will not be an accessory after the fact.
However, there is an important distinction between accessories before and after the fact. While accessories before the fact will be liable to the same maximum penalty if convicted, accessories after the fact will
generally only face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
There are, however,
certain exceptions. Accessories after the fact to murder face a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment, while accessories after the fact to armed robbery, robbery in company or kidnapping face a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. Those convicted of treason also face a lower maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment.
Adit: In QLD Accessories After The Fact to murder face life. The above is from a NSW website