R v Ahmic [2022] NSWDC 372

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Ahmic [2022] NSWDC 372 Hearing dates: 18 August 2022 Date of orders: 25 August 2022 Decision date: 25 August 2022 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Scotting DCJ Decision: 1 The accused is fit to stand trial. Catchwords: MENTAL HEALTH — Criminal proceedings — Person fit to be tried Legislation Cited: Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 Cases Cited: Eastman v Director of Public Prosecutions (ACT) (2003) 214 CLR 318 Eastman v The Queen (2000) 203 CLR 1 R v Dashwood [1943] 1 KB 1 R v Rivkin (2004) 59 NSWLR 284 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Ekrem Ahmic (Offender) Representation: Counsel: T O'Rourke (Offender)

Solicitors: Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) File Number(s): 2018/373223 Publication restriction: None

Judgment

Introduction 1. This is an inquiry into the accused's fitness to stand trial. 2. At the date of the hearing of the inquiry, two eminently and highly respected forensic psychiatrists agreed that the accused was fit to stand trial, on the basis that some modifications could be made to the trial process to facilitate the accused's understanding and effective participation in the trial. 3. For the reasons that follow, I am satisfied that the opinion of the psychiatrists should be accepted and that the accused is fit to stand trial.

The Charges 1. The indictment presented, charges the accused with participating in a criminal group and dealing with money that he knew was the proceeds of crime, based on his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme to issue certificates to students which they could use to apply for a trade licence. 2. The Crown case is that the accused was the director of a company ESTB Management Pty Ltd (ETSB) that operated a business that trained and assessed students on their competency in carpentry, small business management and building and construction. ETSB was contracted to provide training and assessment services to Daily Update Pty Ltd trading as Green Skills Australia (GSA). GSA was a registered training organisation (RTO) entitled to deliver vocational education and training (VET). GSA was authorised by its registration with the Australian Skills Quality Association (ASQA) to issue certificates on completion of a VET course that allowed a student to apply for a trade licence. Cameron Russell was the director of GSA and Fay Russell, his spouse, was the secretary. 3. Once a student had been trained and assessed by the accused on behalf of ETSB, he would send documents to GSA for verification and issue of the appropriate certificate. The certificate was issued in the name of GSA, had a unique identifying number and bore the electronic signature of Mr Russell. 4. On 25 June 2015 GSA's authorisation to issue certificates was revoked by ASQA after it failed a compliance audit. ASQA directed that GSA provide it with a list of names of students it had trained and assessed between 2011 and 2015. Mr Russell complied with this direction and sent a list to ASQA. The list contained the names of genuine students who were trained and certified before 25 June 2015. The names of students who were provided with fraudulent certificates (because they were not trained and/or assessed) were not included on the list. 5. GSA continued to issue certificates after 25 June 2015. It is alleged that the certificates were backdated so that they would be accepted by licencing authorities. It is alleged that Mr and Mrs Russell and the accused acted in a joint criminal enterprise to issue certificates in the period 25 June 2015 to November 2018. 6. The Crown case relies on telephone intercept material, evidence from an undercover operative (UCO) who was issued with three fraudulent certificates in November 2018 in return for payment of $25,000 and evidence recovered on the execution of a search warrant identifying the issue of 592 fraudulent certificates by GSA to 242 people enrolled by ETSB.