Local Court Bench Book Update 154 published

Update 154 amends the Bench Book to update and revise various chapters and incorporate recent legislative developments. The following chapters have been revised:

Specific penalties and orders has been updated as follows:

• Explosives Act 2003 to incorporate an amendment to s 32 by the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2023, and inclusion of the Explosives Regulation 2024.
• Surveillance Devices Act 2007 to incorporate an amendment to s 56 by the Bail and Other Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence) Act 2024.

General orders

• Updated to reflect commencement of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Regulation 2024 which remade, with minor amendments, the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Regulation 2017 at [16-160], [16-170], [16-200], [16-320], [16-340].

Commonwealth offences

• [18-000] Overview updated reference to Sentencing of federal offenders in Australia: a guide for practitioners, 7th edn, July 2024.

Committal proceedings

• [28-040] Nature of, and steps involved in, committal proceedings updated to set out requirements in s 59(1)(a) and (b) Criminal Procedure Act 1986 relating to oral and written explanations of the committal process and sentencing discount scheme.

Contempt of court and disrespectful behaviour in court

Chapter reviewed and updated, including the following:

• [48-020] Contempt in the face of the court updated to include additional examples of contempt in the face of the court
• [48-140] Penalty updated to include sentencing considerations
• [48-180] Offence of disrespectful behaviour updated to clarify the mental element for the offence.

The Index, Table of Cases and Table of Statutes have been updated to Update 154.