Penny Crofts. Criminal Law Elements. Australia, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2018.

There are four requirements for criminal liability: a person must have legal capacity to commit a criminal offence; that person must have committed the conduct elements of the offence, ie, the actus reus; the fault elements, or the mens rea, which form part of the offence, must have been present at the time of the actus reus; and the absence of any defences of excuse or justification which would negative liability. This section will consider legal capacity, and the actus reus and mens rea elements of an offence.