Hi Melissa,
Which State or Territory are you in?
Knowingly and voluntarily making a false statement to police, leading to an investigation or your statement being relied upon as evidence toward a guilty verdict is a criminal offence that may expose you to imprisonment.
To give you some idea:
In Victoria, making false reports to police, leading to an investigation, is a summary offence under
Section 53 of the
Summary Offences Act 1966. This has a penalty of up to 1 year imprisonment.
In South Australia, if there was a judicial proceeding involved, making a false statement under oath constitutes perjury under
Section 242 of the
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA). This has a penalty of up to 7 years imprisonment.
The penalty, and elements for the offence, differs amongst States and Territories. Further, it is up to the police in what they decide to charge you with, and in which court they decide to initiate proceedings. Depending on the severity of the statement, how many times you made it, what the statement lead to, any victims and damages the victims suffered, the actual penalty sought by the police/State may differ.