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Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill
2009
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Clause Notes
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
Clause 1 sets out the purpose of the Act, which is to amend a range of
legislation related to the criminal justice system.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Act on the day after the
day on which it receives Royal Assent.
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF THE CRIMES ACT 1958
Clause 3 Section 45 of the Crimes Act 1958 (the Act) establishes the
offence of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16.
It provides three different penalties for this offence.
Which penalty applies is determined by the age of the victim,
and the relationship between the accused and the victim.
Clause 3 of this Bill amends section 45 of the Act to alter the
age ranges which define these penalty provisions.
Subclause 3(1) amends section 45(2)(a) of the Act so that the
maximum penalty of 25 years gaol will apply to an offence
against a child where the court is satisfied beyond reasonable
doubt that, at the time of the offence, the child was under the age
of 12.
Subclause 3(2) amends section 45(2)(b) of the Act so that a
penalty of 15 years gaol will apply to an offence against a child
where the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that, at the
time of the offence, the child was aged between 12 and 16, and
under the care, supervision or authority of the accused.
Subclause 3(3) amends section 45(2)(c) of the Act so that a
penalty of 10 years gaol will apply to an offence under this
section in any other case.
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Subclause 3(4) amends section 45(3)(a) of the Act to ensure that
the defence of marriage can only apply if the child is aged
between 12 and 16.
Subclause 3(5) amends section 45(4) of the Act to ensure that the
other defences provided for by the Act can only apply if the child
is aged between 12 and 16.
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF THE CRIMES (CONTROLLED
OPERATIONS) ACT 2004
Clause 4 amends section 38(1) of the Crimes (Controlled Operations)
Act 2004 (the Act) to change the dates on which the chief officer
of each law enforcement agency must submit a report to the
Special Investigations Monitor. These dates are changing from
"after 31 March and 30 September in each year" to "after 30 June
and 31 December, but no more than two months after each date".
This is to better align the reports from law enforcement agencies
with the Special Investigations Monitor's responsibility to
prepare an annual report covering the activities of law
enforcement agencies for each financial year.
Clause 5 amends section 39(1) of the Act to make it clear that the Special
Investigations Monitor is not required to prepare the annual
report required by that section until he or she has received the
report of 30 June from the Chief Office of a law enforcement
agency.
Clause 6 provides for the transitional arrangements for the change in
reporting dates. The aim of the provisions is to ensure that,
regardless of when the Crimes Legislation Amendment Act
commences, the next report that the Special Investigations
Monitor receives from the Chief Officer of a law enforcement
agency will cover the entire period of time since the last report
received from that law enforcement agency. This is intended to
assist the Special Investigations Monitor to meet their obligation
to prepare an annual report.
PART 4--AMENDMENT OF THE EVIDENCE
(MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1958
Clause 7 replaces the existing section 3(2) of the Evidence
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1958 dealing with references to
copies of documents with the wording from clause 8 of Part 2 of
the Evidence Act 2008 Dictionary. In combination with the
definition of document in the Evidence (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 1958, this will ensure consistency of operation
between the definition of document in both Acts.
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PART 5--AMENDMENT OF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE
PROTECTION ACT 2008
Clause 8 extends the expiry date for Division 2 of Part 3 of the Family
Violence Protection Act 2008 from two years after
commencement to three years after commencement.
This Division establishes family violence safety notices. It will
now expire in December 2011.
PART 6--AMENDMENT OF THE FISHERIES ACT 1995
These amendments mirror the amendments made by Part 3 of this Act.
Clause 9 amends section 131S(1) of the Fisheries Act 1995 (the Act) to
change the dates on which the Secretary of the Department of
Primary Industries must submit a report to the Special
Investigations Monitor. These dates are changing from "after
31 March and 30 September in each year" to "after 30 June and
31 December, but no more than two months after each date".
This is to better align the reports from the Secretary with the
Special Investigations Monitor's responsibility to prepare an
annual report covering the activities of law enforcement officers
under the Act for each financial year.
Clause 10 amends section 131T(1) of the Act to make it clear that the
Special Investigations Monitor is not required to prepare the
annual report required by that section until he or she has received
the report of 30 June from the Secretary of the Department of
Primary Industries.
Clause 11 provides for the transitional arrangements for this change in
reporting dates. The aim of these provisions is to ensure that,
regardless of when the Crimes Legislation Amendment Act
commences, the next report that the Special Investigations
Monitor receives from the Secretary of the Department of
Primary Industries will cover the entire period of time since the
last report received from the Secretary. This is intended to assist
the Special Investigations Monitor to meet the obligation to
prepare an annual report.
PART 7--AMENDMENT OF THE SENTENCING ACT 1991
Clause 12 corrects numbering errors in the Sentencing Act 1991.
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PART 8--AMENDMENT OF THE WILDLIFE ACT 1975
These amendments mirror the amendments made by Part 3 of this Act.
Clause 13 amends section 74O(1) of the Wildlife Act 1975 (the Act) to
change the dates on which the Secretary of the Department of
Sustainability and the Environment must submit a report to the
Special Investigations Monitor. These dates are changing from
"after 31 March and 30 September in each year" to "after 30 June
and 31 December, but no more than two months after each date".
This is to better align the reports from the Secretary with the
Special Investigations Monitor's responsibility to prepare an
annual report covering the activities of law enforcement officers
under the Act for each financial year.
Clause 14 amends section 74P(1) of the Act to make it clear that the Special
Investigations Monitor is not required to prepare the annual
report required by that section until he or she has received the
report of 30 June from the Secretary of the Department of
Sustainability and the Environment.
Clause 15 provides for the transitional arrangements for this change in
reporting dates. The aim of these provisions is to ensure that,
regardless of when the Crimes Legislation Amendment Act
commences, the next report that the Special Investigations
Monitor receives from the Secretary of the Department of
Sustainability and the Environment will cover the entire period
of time since the last report received from the Secretary. This is
intended to assist the Special Investigations Monitor to meet the
obligation to prepare an annual report.
PART 9--REPEAL OF AMENDING ACT
Clause 16 provides for the repeal of the Crimes Legislation Amendment Act
one year after its commencement. This will not affect the
continuing operation of the amendments it contains.
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