The implications of uncertainty in the law of criminal causation for the one-punch homicide offence in Western Australia

'One-punch homicides' and proposed methods to address them are prevalent in the media today. Part I focuses on the introduction of the Western Australian 'unlawful assault causing death' offence and concludes it was not a necessary reform. Part II identifies domestic violence homicides where perpetrators were charged with the offence resulting in unjustly short sentences. The paper looks at an attempt to fix this injustice by the unsuccessful Criminal Code Amendment (Domestic Violence) Bill and concludes the Bill was a 'band-aid solution' and that this issue still needs resolution.