The New South Wales Supreme Court has awarded Luke Brett Moore $456,000 after finding he was maliciously prosecuted and wrongfully imprisoned on the basis of a fabricated statement by former police officer Daniel Keneally, the son of former NSW premier and senator Kristina Keneally.
Justice Richard Cavanagh found that Keneally and another officer maliciously prosecuted Moore after Keneally falsely told police that Moore had threatened to kill an officer during a phone call at Newtown Police Station. Moore was remanded in custody for 22 days before the prosecution was ultimately dropped months after he was bailed against police advice.
The court heard that Moore had secretly recorded the call and repeatedly asked police to listen to the recording while he was in custody. An officer did play the recording on Moore's 13th day behind bars but, the court found, failed to take appropriate steps after doing so. The Supreme Court concluded the failure to act and the fabricated statement together amounted to malicious prosecution.
Keneally was convicted of fabricating evidence in February 2024 and in February this year was sentenced to a 15‑month intensive correction order. He is no longer employed by the NSW Police Force. The state government had earlier conceded Moore had been maliciously prosecuted but had argued responsibility rested only with Keneally.
In handing down the damages award, Justice Cavanagh noted the distress and difficulty Moore suffered while imprisoned, and that his pre‑existing paranoia, mania and other mental health problems were aggravated by the experience. The judge said the state's response, including the absence of remorse for wrongly imprisoning him, increased Moore's stress and hurt.
Moore had sought in excess of $3 million in compensation, a claim the judge rejected as unsupported by the medical evidence, which the court found did not establish a long‑term psychological condition caused by the illegal jailing. The judgment also recorded that this was Moore's third successful compensation claim against the state arising from police conduct.
The arrest of Moore followed a complaint made by the Fixated Persons Unit after Keneally told colleagues Moore had issued a death threat during the recorded telephone conversation. Keneally was charged in October 2022 after the New South Wales Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) investigated an internal police probe that had initially cleared him. The LECC's report, released in August 2024, recommended introducing telephone systems in police stations that can record conversations; Newtown Police Station already had that capability, the report said, but found Keneally was not aware of it.
Legal representatives for Moore argued at trial that police missed multiple opportunities to resolve the matter while he was in custody. The court found that an officer who listened to the recording failed to take appropriate steps to rectify the situation earlier, contributing to the duration of Moore's detention.
The case highlights scrutiny of police procedures around handling complaints and the importance of recorded evidence in custody matters. The LECC recommendation for telephone recording systems was intended to reduce the risk of similar incidents by ensuring contemporaneous records are available to investigators.
Daniel Keneally is one of three children of Kristina Keneally, who served as New South Wales premier from 2009 to 2011 and later represented the state in the federal Senate from 2018 until 2022. Court documents and the LECC investigation did not implicate Kristina Keneally in her son's actions.
The judgment may prompt further review of police practices and oversight mechanisms in New South Wales. The NSW government and police have previously acknowledged criticism arising from the LECC inquiry and a series of related cases, and the court's findings add to ongoing calls for reforms to ensure timely review of evidence and accountability when internal investigations identify misconduct.
Moore's lawyers said the damages reflected the harm caused by the wrongful imprisonment and the failure of police to act on available evidence. The state has not indicated whether it will appeal the Supreme Court's decision.