Local Court Bench Book Update 138 published

Local Court Bench Book Update 138 contains the following:

Specific penalties and orders

This chapter has been updated as a result of the following recent amendments:

  • Court Security Act 2005 by the Stronger Communities Legislation Amendment (Courts and Civil) Act 2020
  • Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 by the Justice Legislation Amendment Act (No 2) 2018
  • Work Health and Safety Act 2011 by the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Review) Act 2020.

[2-000] Road transport legislation has been amended as follows:

  • the increased upper limit of the maximum penalty provided for in s 200(3) for offences against ss 188(1), 188(2) and 189(4) has been included at [2-000]
  • a new paragraph on the increased time to commence proceedings for certain offences has been included at [2-000]
  • Road Rules 2014 r 10-2(4), (5A) has been included at [2-000] and provides for taking a suspension into account when imposing a disqualification for speeding offences >30kms/hr
  • the table Speeding offences — Road Rules 2014 at [2-040] has been amended by Road Amendment (Miscellaneous) Rule 2020 by adding r 10-2(5A)
  • the paragraph on Defences under the Heavy Vehicle National Law at [2-040] is updated.

[8-000] Evidence by domestic violence complainants has been updated at [8-040], [8-060] and [8-080] to remove references to the pre-30 April 2018 committal procedure.

[20-000] Bail has been updated at [20-520] to take into account amendments arising from the Stronger Communities Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Act 2020 in relation to detention applications to the Supreme Court after a grant of bail for a serious offence (s 40).

[22-000] Apprehended violence orders has been amended at [22-120] by including information on Apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) and indefinite orders under ss 79A and 79B of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

[24-000] AVO proceedings involving children has been amended at [24-040] by providing information about setting the duration of apprehended personal violence orders (APVOs) and ADVOs under ss 79 and 79A of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

[38-000] Children’s Court Criminal jurisdiction has been amended as follows:

  • Kindermann v JQ [2020] NSWSC 1268 is included at [38-020] clarifying that a hearing or representation is not required for an interim order under s 33 Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000
  • [38-060] refers to the process under Part 3, Div 3A Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, which creates separate committal procedures for children charged with certain indictable offences, and mirrors the process in the adult jurisdiction, except for the mandatory discount scheme for sentencing which does not apply to a person who is both under 18 at the time of the offence and under 21 at the time of charge: s 25A(1)(b) CSPA. The Children’s Court Practice Note 12 is referred to
  • references to the pre-30 April 2018 committal procedure at [38-060] have been removed
  • reference to victim impact statements has been included at [38-080] for offences involving child abuse material offences, certain voyeurism offences and offences involving intimate images; a prescribed sexual offence; or certain offences which result in death or actual physical bodily harm to any person or which involve actual or threatened violence
  • CO v DPP [2020] NSWSC 1123 has been included at [38-100] which states that failure to obtain a background report when sentencing a young person is an error of law.

[58-000] Crimes (Forensic Procedure) Act 2000 has been amended at [58-000] by including Kindermann v JQ, above, which provides that, in relation to final orders, where the suspect is a child, an incapable person or identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and is present at the hearing, an interview friend must be present and the suspect has a right to legal representation. A suspect, including a child, does not have a right to a hearing when an interim order is made; the special requirements which apply to a child (as well as certain others) for a final order do not apply to interim orders. Also at [58-040], the procedure under s 30(8) whereby the interview friend may be excluded if they unreasonably interfere with or obstruct the hearing is included.

[66-000] Right of appearance has been amended by removal of repealed Sch 1 Fines Act 1996.

Local Court Practice Notes the Local Court Practice Note Crim 1 Case management of criminal proceedings in the Local Court has been amended and updated.

The Index, Table of Statutes and Table of Cases have been updated to Update 138.