Local Courts Bench Book Update 143 published

The following changes have been incorprated in this update:

Specific penalties and orders has been updated as a result of the following recent developments:

  • Firearms Regulation 2017 has been amended to incorporate Firearms Amendment (Exemptions and Compliance Requirements) Regulation 2021
  • Electricity Supply Act 1995 has been amended to incorporate Energy Legislation Amendment Act 2021

[2-000] Road transport is amended by the Road Transport Legislation Amendment Act 2021 which replaces s 69 of the Road Transport Act, creating an offence of obtain/renew registration or unregistered vehicle permit by fraud, etc, (maximum penalty for an individual – 20 pu, and for a company – 100 pu) at [2-040].

[16-000] General orders is amended to include:

  • a note at [16-340] to clarify that a sentence is part-heard where a sentencing report is requested to assess the offender’s suitability for a home detention condition
  • a sample order for the taking of particulars of identification at [16-440]
  • the custodial sentences table at [16-460] clarifies that a sentence is part-heard where a sentencing report is requested to assess suitability for a home detention condition.

[38-000] Children’s Court — Criminal jurisdiction has been amended to include notes throughout the chapter for sample orders involving conviction to indicate a child under 16 cannot be convicted: Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 s 14(1). It has also been amended to address some of the recommendations in the Family is Culture Review Report 2019, noting in the “Joint Protocol to reduce the contact of young people in residential out-of-home care (OOHC) with the criminal justice system” that facilitating connection to family, community and culture improves a child’s wellbeing, and that the parties to the Protocol are to be culturally sensitive and relevant in their responses in providing care at [38-340].

[40-000] Children’s Court — Care and Protection Jurisdiction has been amended to address some of the recommendations in the Family is Culture Review Report 2019. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Principles are made up of five elements aimed at enhancing and preserving Aboriginal children’s sense of identity, as well as their connection to their culture, heritage, family and community: (i) prevention; (ii) partnership; (iii) placement; (iv) participation; and (v) connection. The decision of Hackett (a pseudonym) v Secretary, DCJ [2020] NSWCA 83 has also been included, which, although dealing with the Adoption Act 2000, provides guidance regarding the application of s 5 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act. Reference has also been added to the late identification, and the de-identification, of children by DCJ having consequences for planning and placement so that, in such cases, the court will be assisted by timely evidence from the parties.