This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.

Overview of Bill

The objects of this Bill are as follows:

(a) to amend the Bail Act 1978 to create a presumption against bail in respect of
certain offences under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 relating to
the cultivation of commercial quantities of prohibited drugs or plants or the
cultivation or manufacture of prohibited drugs or plants for a commercial
purpose (including where a child is exposed to the cultivation or
manufacturing process),

(b) to amend the Child Protection (Offenders Prohibition Orders) Act 2004 to
omit a redundant requirement that a person arrested under that Act be brought
before an authorised person,

(c) to amend the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 to update a
cross-reference to the Crimes Act 1900,

(d) to amend the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 to make it clear that
enforcement actions in respect of a breach of a good behaviour bond may be
taken after the bond has expired,

(e) to amend the Civil Liability Act 2002:

        (i) to make it clear that the exclusion from the operation of that Act of civil
liability in respect of an intentional act that is done with intent to cause
injury or death or that is sexual assault or other sexual misconduct
applies only in relation to the civil liability of the person who carried out
the intentional act to a person who suffered from that act, and
        (ii) to make it clear that the term “offender in custody” or “offender” where
used in Part 2A of that Act includes persons who were “inmates”,
“prisoners”, “periodic detainees”, “offenders for whom a home
detention order was made” or “persons performing community service
work under, or attending a place in compliance with the requirements
of, a community service order” under legislation that preceded the
Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999,

(f) to amend the Civil Procedure Act 2005 to extend the rule-making power to
cover obtaining access to information, documents or things relating to court
proceedings,

(g) to amend the Coroners Act 1980 to extend the powers of police and other
persons to establish coronial investigation scenes, investigate a place and
preserve evidence,

(h) to amend the Crimes (Local Courts Appeal and Review) Act 2001:

        (i) to ensure that the revocation of a good behaviour bond, and orders made
as a consequence of that revocation, are treated as part of an offender’s
sentence under that Act, and
        (ii) to extend the provisions of the Act that allow a person to apply for an
annulment of a conviction or sentence, to allow a person to apply for an
annulment of a finding of guilt (whether or not a conviction is made)
and any order made as a consequence of that finding,
        (i) to amend the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999:

        (i) to allow a court that convicts a person of an offence to dispose of the
proceedings without imposing any further penalty, and
        (ii) to ensure that the setting of a non-parole period, and other functions of
a sentencing court under Part 4 of that Act, are exercised in relation to
a suspended sentence only if the good behaviour bond relating to that
sentence is revoked by the court, and
        (iii) to provide for additional members and functions of the New South
Wales Sentencing Council,

(j) to amend the Criminal Appeal Act 1912:

        (i) to ensure that the revocation of a good behaviour bond, and orders made
as a consequence of that revocation, are treated as part of an offender’s
sentence under that Act, and
        (ii) to revise the system of appeals against sentences imposed by the Drug
Court,

(k) to amend the Criminal Procedure Act 1986:

        (i) to establish an evidentiary presumption in respect of persons acting in
their official capacity as public officers, and
        (ii) to make it clear that certain persons have sufficient authorisation under
that Act to commence proceedings, and
        (iii) to enable a court attendance notice issued by a police officer to be
served by a prosecutor, and
        (iv) to remove the requirement that an endorsement of service be filed with
the court together with a court attendance notice, and
        (v) to exempt children from having to endorse certain written statements
provided as evidence in committal proceedings, and
        (vi) to give a Magistrate discretion to admit prosecution evidence in
committal proceedings despite a non-compliance with certain
requirements relating to adducing such evidence, and
        (vii) to clarify the circumstances in which a person who provides a written
statement that is proposed to be tendered as part of prosecution evidence
in committal proceedings may be directed to attend to give oral
evidence, and
        (viii) to extend the limitation period within which proceedings for summary
offences that involve a coronial investigation must be commenced, and
        (ix) to make provision for the expiration of arrest warrants issued under that
Act,

(l) to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1986 to make it clear that
the Director of Public Prosecutions may take over proceedings relating to the
freezing of assets brought under the Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act
1989,

(m) to amend the District Court Act 1973:

        (i) to ensure consultation between the Chief Judge and the Attorney
General before substantial alterations are made to the Court’s sitting
calendar, and
        (ii) to achieve consistency in respect of the procedures relating to
subpoenas between jurisdictions,

(n) to amend the Drug Court Act 1998:

        (i) to provide that when imposing an initial sentence on a Drug Court
participant, the Drug Court is not obliged to fix a non-parole period or
comply with certain formalities, and
        (ii) to make further provision with respect to proceedings for breaches of
conditions of good behaviour bonds, and
        (iii) to modify the power of the Drug Court to deal with offences that have
not been formally referred to the Court,

(o) to amend the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985:

        (i) to create a new offence relating to the possession of a tablet press, and
        (ii) to create new offences relating to the exposure of children to things
done on drug premises, and
        (iii) to extend the provisions of the Act that permit the pre-trial destruction
of prohibited drugs so that they also apply to prohibited plants, and
        (iv) to extend the regulation-making power in relation to the sale and storage
of precursors to include apparatus capable of being used in the
manufacture or production of a prohibited drug,

(p) to amend the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 to enable an electronic case
management system to be established that provides for the exchange of
information relating to court proceedings between bodies or persons
prescribed by rules of court,

(q) to amend the Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act 1998 to enable
persons required to attend bail proceedings occurring during a weekend or on
a public holiday to do so by way of audio visual link,

(r) to amend the Evidence (Children) Act 1997 to make it clear that a recording of
an interview with a child is not required to be served on a party to proceedings,

(s) to amend the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 to extend the preliminary
conference provisions under section 34 of that Act to all Class 3 matters of the
Court,

(t) to amend the Local Courts Act 1982 to ensure consultation between the Chief
Magistrate and the Attorney General before substantial alterations are made to
the Court’s sitting calendar,

(u) to amend the Summary Offences Act 1988:

        (i) to give lawful effect to any arrangements with respect to a public
assembly that are agreed between the Commissioner of Police and the
organiser, and
        (ii) to update the method by which notices may be served under that Act,
        (v) to amend the Telecommunications (Interception) (New South Wales) Act 1987:

        (i) to change the name of the Act so that it mirrors the name of the
corresponding Commonwealth Act, and
        (ii) to confer reporting functions on the Ombudsman that mirror the
functions of the Commonwealth Ombudsman under the corresponding
Commonwealth Act,

(w) to amend the Witness Protection Act 1995 to allow arrangements relating to
the establishment of a new identity under that Act to be extended to former
participants in the witness protection program operated by police before that
Act commenced,
        (x) to make other minor and consequential amendments to the above Acts,
including for savings and transitional purposes.

Outline of provisions

Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.

Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act. The provisions of the
Act commence on the date of assent, except as otherwise indicated in the
amendments set out in Schedule 1.

Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Acts
specified in Schedule 1.

Clause 4 makes it clear that the explanatory notes contained in Schedule 1 do not
form part of the proposed Act.

Clause 5 provides for the repeal of the proposed Act after all the amendments made
by the proposed Act have commenced. Once the amendments have commenced the
proposed Act will be spent and section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987 provides
that the repeal of an amending Act does not affect the amendments made by that Act.

Schedule 1 Amendments
Schedule 1 makes the amendments to the Acts described in the Overview. The
amendments to each Act are explained in detail in the explanatory note relating to the
Act concerned set out in the Schedule.

Note: If this Bill is not modified, these Explanatory Notes would reflect the Bill as passed in the House. If the Bill has been amended by Committee, these Explanatory Notes may not necessarily reflect the Bill as passed.

 

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