Confiscation of proceeds of crime laws are civil actions rather than criminal. Therefore, a person will not have a criminal record attached to their name, therefore, the court must only be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the relevant property is tainted, rather than the criminal standard of proof which is beyond reasonable doubt.

Property that is considered tainted may be a car used in connection with an offence or any property derived from the commission of an offence. The connection between the relevant property and the offence must be actual, but not always substantial, as was noted in Haddad v R (1989) 16 NSWLR 476.