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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Western Australia
Community Protection (Offender Reporting)
Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
CONTENTS
Part 1 -- Preliminary
1. Short title 2
2. Commencement 2
Part 2 -- Community Protection
(Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
3. Act amended 3
4. Long title amended 3
5. Part 5A inserted 3
Part 5A -- Publication of information
about offenders
Division 1 -- Preliminary
85A. Terms used 3
85B. Delegation by Commissioner 4
85C. Commissioner not required to publish or
provide information 4
85D. Restriction on information about protected
witnesses 4
Division 2 -- Commissioner may publish information
85E. Application 4
85F. Commissioner may publish personal
details of certain reportable offenders 4
85G. Commissioner may publish photograph
and locality of certain persons 6
85H. Removal of photograph and locality from
website 9
85I. Commissioner may take into account
certain matters 10
236--1 page i
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Contents
85J. Commissioner may inform child's parent
or guardian whether specified person is a
reportable offender 11
85K. Protection as to publication and other
provision of information 12
Division 3 -- Offences
85L. Conduct intended to incite animosity
towards or harassment of identified
offenders 13
85M. Publication, display and distribution of
identifying information 14
6. Section 115 amended 15
Part 3 -- Other Acts amended
Division 1 -- Criminal Investigation (Identifying
People) Act 2002 amended
7. Act amended 16
8. Section 73 amended 16
Division 2 -- Dangerous Sexual Offenders
Act 2006 amended
9. Act amended 16
10. Section 18 amended 16
page ii
Western Australia
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Community Protection (Offender Reporting)
Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Community Protection (Offender Reporting)
Act 2004 and to make consequential amendments to the Criminal
Investigation (Identifying People) Act 2002 and the Dangerous Sexual
Offenders Act 2006.
The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:
page 1
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 1 Preliminary
s. 1
1 Part 1 -- Preliminary
2 1. Short title
3 This is the Community Protection (Offender Reporting)
4 Amendment Act (No. 2) 2011.
5 2. Commencement
6 This Act comes into operation as follows --
7 (a) Part 1 -- on the day on which this Act receives the
8 Royal Assent;
9 (b) the rest of the Act -- on a day fixed by proclamation.
page 2
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 3
1 Part 2 -- Community Protection (Offender Reporting)
2 Act 2004 amended
3 3. Act amended
4 This Part amends the Community Protection (Offender
5 Reporting) Act 2004.
6 4. Long title amended
7 In the long title after "may commit," insert:
8
9 to enable information to be published about certain
10 offenders,
11
12 5. Part 5A inserted
13 After section 84 insert:
14
15 Part 5A -- Publication of information
16 about offenders
17 Division 1 -- Preliminary
18 85A. Terms used
19 In this Part --
20 DSO supervision order means a supervision order
21 under the Dangerous Sexual Offenders Act 2006;
22 locality, of a person, means a description of the general
23 locality, such as the town or suburb, in which the
24 person resides;
25 publish, except in section 85M, means make available
26 for inspection by members of the public on a website
27 maintained by the Commissioner.
page 3
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 2 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
s. 5
1 85B. Delegation by Commissioner
2 The Commissioner may delegate under section 110 a
3 power of the Commissioner under Division 2 only to a
4 police officer who holds or is acting in the office of
5 Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner.
6 85C. Commissioner not required to publish or provide
7 information
8 Nothing in this Part requires the Commissioner to
9 publish or provide information about any reportable
10 offender or other person.
11 85D. Restriction on information about protected
12 witnesses
13 Nothing in this Part authorises the Commissioner to
14 publish or provide information about a person to whom
15 Part 3 Division 10 applies.
16 Division 2 -- Commissioner may publish information
17 85E. Application
18 This Division has effect despite any written or other
19 law to the contrary.
20 85F. Commissioner may publish personal details of
21 certain reportable offenders
22 (1) In this section --
23 personal details, in relation to a reportable offender,
24 means the information listed in section 26(1) and --
25 (a) includes a photograph or digital image of the
26 offender; but
27 (b) does not include any details that the offender
28 reports under section 26(1)(e) or any other
29 details that would identify a child.
page 4
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 5
1 (2) The Commissioner may publish any or all of the
2 personal details of a reportable offender, other than a
3 reportable offender who is a child, if --
4 (a) the Commissioner is satisfied that the
5 reportable offender --
6 (i) has failed to comply with any of his or
7 her reporting obligations; or
8 (ii) in purported compliance with Part 3, has
9 provided information that is false or
10 misleading in a material particular;
11 and
12 (b) the reportable offender's whereabouts are not
13 known to the Commissioner.
14 (3) The Commissioner may at any time --
15 (a) remove any or all of the personal details of a
16 reportable offender from the website on which
17 they are published under subsection (2); or
18 (b) again publish under subsection (2) any or all of
19 the personal details of the reportable offender
20 after their removal under paragraph (a).
21 (4) If --
22 (a) the Commissioner has published any personal
23 details of a reportable offender under
24 subsection (2); and
25 (b) the reportable offender subsequently reports his
26 or her whereabouts to the Commissioner under
27 Part 3,
28 the Commissioner must, as soon as is practicable after
29 receiving the report, remove those personal details
30 from the website on which they are published.
page 5
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 2 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
s. 5
1 85G. Commissioner may publish photograph and locality
2 of certain persons
3 (1) In this section --
4 Department of Corrective Services means the
5 department of the Public Service principally assisting
6 the Minister in the administration of the Prisons
7 Act 1981;
8 photograph includes a digital image;
9 prescribed offence means a Class 1 offence, a Class 2
10 offence or a sexual offence, as defined in the Evidence
11 Act 1906 section 36A.
12 (2) Subject to this section, the Commissioner may publish
13 a photograph and the locality of a person, other than a
14 person who is a child --
15 (a) if the person is subject to a DSO supervision
16 order and that order does not provide that the
17 person's photograph and locality are not to be
18 published under this section; or
19 (b) if --
20 (i) the person, after becoming a reportable
21 offender, commits and is found guilty of
22 a prescribed offence; and
23 (ii) any offence committed by the person,
24 including the prescribed offence, is a
25 Class 1 offence or an offence committed
26 against a child under The Criminal Code
27 section 323 or 324;
28 or
29 (c) if --
30 (i) the person has been found guilty of an
31 offence punishable by imprisonment for
32 5 years or more; and
page 6
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 5
1 (ii) on application by the Commissioner,
2 that publication is authorised by the
3 Minister on being satisfied that the
4 person poses a risk to the lives or sexual
5 safety of one or more persons, or
6 persons generally.
7 (3) If the Commissioner proposes to publish the
8 photograph and locality of a person under
9 subsection (2), the Commissioner --
10 (a) must give the person written notice of the
11 proposal and the reasons for it; and
12 (b) must inform the person in that notice that he or
13 she has a specified period (of not less than
14 21 days) to make submissions or be heard in
15 relation to the proposal; and
16 (c) if subsection (2)(a) applies in relation to the
17 person, must give written notice of the proposal
18 to the chief executive officer of the Department
19 of Corrective Services.
20 (4) Before publishing the photograph and locality of the
21 person, the Commissioner must have regard to --
22 (a) any submission made, or information or
23 document provided, by the person within the
24 period referred to in subsection (3)(b); and
25 (b) if notice is given under subsection (3)(c), any
26 submission made by the chief executive officer
27 of the Department of Corrective Services
28 within the period of 21 days after that notice is
29 given.
30 (5) For the purposes of subsection (2)(c), it is not
31 necessary that the Minister be able to identify a risk to
32 a particular person or particular persons or a particular
33 class of persons.
page 7
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 2 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
s. 5
1 (6) In determining whether to authorise publication under
2 subsection (2)(c), the Minister may take into account
3 the following --
4 (a) any medical, psychiatric, psychological or other
5 assessment relating to the person;
6 (b) any information indicating whether or not the
7 person is likely to commit a prescribed offence
8 in the future;
9 (c) whether or not there is any pattern of offending
10 behaviour on the part of the person;
11 (d) the person's antecedents and the seriousness of
12 his or her total criminal record;
13 (e) the person's age and the age of any victims of
14 any offences committed by the person at the
15 time those offences were committed;
16 (f) the difference in age between the person and
17 any victims of those offences;
18 (g) any other matter the Minister considers
19 relevant.
20 (7) The Commissioner must provide with an application
21 under subsection (2)(c) any information available to the
22 Commissioner that is relevant to the Minister's
23 determination whether to authorise publication.
24 (8) The fact that an offence in respect of which a person
25 has been found guilty becomes spent does not affect
26 the consideration of the offence as part of the person's
27 total criminal record for the purposes of
28 subsection (6)(d).
page 8
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 5
1 85H. Removal of photograph and locality from website
2 (1) The Commissioner may at any time --
3 (a) remove the photograph and locality of a person
4 from the website on which they are published
5 under section 85G(2); or
6 (b) again publish under section 85G(2) the
7 photograph and locality of a person after their
8 removal under paragraph (a).
9 (2) If --
10 (a) the Commissioner has published a photograph
11 and the locality of a person under
12 section 85G(2)(a); and
13 (b) the person ceases to be subject to the DSO
14 supervision order; and
15 (c) neither section 85G(2)(b) nor (c) applies in
16 relation to the person,
17 the Commissioner must, as soon as is practicable,
18 remove the photograph and locality from the website
19 on which they are published.
20 (3) If --
21 (a) the Commissioner has published a photograph
22 and the locality of a person under
23 section 85G(2)(b); and
24 (b) the person's reporting obligations expire; and
25 (c) neither section 85G(2)(a) nor (c) applies in
26 relation to the person,
27 the Commissioner must, as soon as is practicable,
28 remove the photograph and locality from the website
29 on which they are published.
page 9
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 2 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
s. 5
1 85I. Commissioner may take into account certain
2 matters
3 (1) In determining whether or not --
4 (a) to publish any personal details of a person who
5 is a reportable offender under section 85F(2) or
6 a photograph and the locality of a person under
7 section 85G(2) (the identifying information);
8 or
9 (b) to remove the identifying information from a
10 website under section 85F(3) or 85H(1),
11 the Commissioner may take into account the matters to
12 which this section applies.
13 (2) This section applies to these matters --
14 (a) whether the publication of the identifying
15 information about a person would interfere
16 with --
17 (i) an investigation by police officers in
18 relation to the person; or
19 (ii) the person's compliance with the
20 reporting obligations of this Act; or
21 (iii) the operation of a community order
22 under the Sentencing Act 1995, a DSO
23 supervision order or any other order or
24 requirement under a written law to
25 which the person is subject;
26 (b) whether the publication of the identifying
27 information about the person might identify a
28 victim of an offence, or the school attended by
29 a victim of an offence, committed by the
30 person;
31 (c) the effect that the publication of the identifying
32 information about the person might have on a
33 victim of an offence committed by the person;
page 10
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 5
1 (d) whether, in statements made by the victim to
2 the Commissioner, the publication of the
3 identifying information about the person has
4 been supported or opposed by a victim of an
5 offence committed by the person;
6 (e) whether the publication of the identifying
7 information about the person would increase
8 the risk of the person committing offences;
9 (f) the Commissioner's assessment of the benefit
10 to the community of the publication of the
11 identifying information about the person;
12 (g) if the identifying information is about a person
13 who is awaiting trial on a charge of an
14 offence -- whether the publication of the
15 identifying information might prejudice the fair
16 trial of the person;
17 (h) any other matter the Commissioner considers
18 relevant.
19 85J. Commissioner may inform child's parent or
20 guardian whether specified person is a reportable
21 offender
22 (1) A person may apply to the Commissioner to be
23 informed whether or not a person specified in the
24 application (the specified person), other than a person
25 who is a child, is a reportable offender.
26 (2) The application must be made in a manner approved by
27 the Commissioner.
28 (3) The applicant must provide, in support of the
29 application, any evidence required by the
30 Commissioner to be satisfied that the specified person
31 has regular unsupervised contact with a child of whom
32 the applicant is a parent or guardian.
page 11
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 2 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
s. 5
1 (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a person does not
2 have regular unsupervised contact with a child unless
3 he or she has unsupervised contact with the child for at
4 least 3 days (whether consecutive or not) in any period
5 of 12 months.
6 (5) If the Commissioner is satisfied that the specified
7 person has regular unsupervised contact with a child of
8 whom the applicant is a parent or guardian, the
9 Commissioner may inform the applicant whether or not
10 the specified person is a reportable offender.
11 85K. Protection as to publication and other provision of
12 information
13 (1) In this section --
14 information includes the identifying information
15 referred to in section 85I.
16 (2) If the Commissioner determines in good faith --
17 (a) to publish or provide any information under this
18 Division; or
19 (b) not to publish or provide any information under
20 this Division,
21 no civil or criminal liability attaches to the
22 Commissioner or the State by reason of publishing or
23 providing that information or omitting to publish or
24 provide that information.
25 (3) If information is published or provided by the
26 Commissioner under this Division, that publication or
27 provision of information is not to be regarded --
28 (a) as a breach of any duty of confidentiality or
29 secrecy imposed by law; or
30 (b) as a breach of professional ethics or standards
31 or as unprofessional conduct.
page 12
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 5
1 Division 3 -- Offences
2 85L. Conduct intended to incite animosity towards or
3 harassment of identified offenders
4 (1) In this section --
5 animosity towards means hatred of or serious contempt
6 for;
7 harassment includes threat, serious and substantial
8 abuse and severe ridicule;
9 identified offender means --
10 (a) a person whose personal details are published
11 by the Commissioner under section 85F; or
12 (b) a person whose photograph and locality are
13 published by the Commissioner under
14 section 85G; or
15 (c) a person in relation to whom the Commissioner
16 provides the information under section 85J that
17 the person is a reportable offender;
18 public place includes --
19 (a) a place to which the public, or any section of
20 the public, has or is permitted to have access,
21 whether on payment or otherwise; and
22 (b) a privately owned place to which the public has
23 access with the express or implied approval of,
24 or without interference from, the owner,
25 occupier or person who has the control or
26 management of the place; and
27 (c) a school, university or other place of education,
28 other than a part of it to which neither students
29 nor the public usually have access.
30 (2) A reference in subsection (4) or (5) to conduct includes
31 a reference to conduct occurring on a number of
32 occasions over a period of time.
page 13
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 2 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
amended
s. 5
1 (3) For the purposes of subsection (4) or (5), conduct is
2 taken not to occur in private if it --
3 (a) consists of any form of communication with the
4 public or a section of the public; or
5 (b) occurs in a public place or in sight or hearing of
6 people who are in a public place.
7 (4) A person must not engage in any conduct, otherwise
8 than in private, by which the person intends to create,
9 promote or increase animosity towards, or harassment
10 of, a person as an identified offender.
11 Penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.
12 (5) An offence under subsection (4) is a crime.
13 (6) A person must not engage in any conduct, otherwise
14 than in private, that is likely to create, promote or
15 increase animosity towards, or harassment of, a person
16 as an identified offender.
17 Penalty: imprisonment for 2 years.
18 85M. Publication, display and distribution of identifying
19 information
20 (1) In this section --
21 display means display in or within view of a public
22 place, as defined in section 85L(1);
23 distribute means distribute to the public or a section of
24 the public;
25 identifying information means information that is
26 identifiable as --
27 (a) the personal details of a person published by
28 the Commissioner under section 85F; or
29 (b) the photograph and locality of a person
30 published by the Commissioner under
31 section 85G; or
page 14
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 Part 2
amended
s. 6
1 (c) the information that a person is a reportable
2 offender provided by the Commissioner under
3 section 85J;
4 publish means publish to the public or a section of the
5 public.
6 (2) A person must not, without having first obtained the
7 written approval of the Minister, publish, distribute or
8 display any identifying information.
9 Penalty: imprisonment for 2 years.
10
11 6. Section 115 amended
12 (1) After section 115(1) insert:
13
14 (2A) The Minister must carry out a review of the operation
15 and effectiveness of the amendments made to this Act
16 by the Community Protection (Offender Reporting)
17 Amendment Act (No. 2) 2011 as soon as is practicable
18 after the third anniversary of the coming into operation
19 of section 5 of that Act.
20
21 (2) In section 115(2) delete "the review" and insert:
22
23 each review
24
page 15
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011
Part 3 Other Acts amended
Division 1 Criminal Investigation (Identifying People) Act 2002 amended
s. 7
1 Part 3 -- Other Acts amended
2 Division 1 -- Criminal Investigation (Identifying People)
3 Act 2002 amended
4 7. Act amended
5 This Division amends the Criminal Investigation (Identifying
6 People) Act 2002.
7 8. Section 73 amended
8 After section 73(1)(nb) insert:
9
10 (nc) for the purposes of the Community Protection
11 (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 section 85F or
12 85G;
13
14 Division 2 -- Dangerous Sexual Offenders Act 2006 amended
15 9. Act amended
16 This Division amends the Dangerous Sexual Offenders
17 Act 2006.
18 10. Section 18 amended
19 After section 18(2) insert:
20
21 (3) Without limiting subsection (2), the supervision order
22 may provide that the photograph and locality of the
23 person are not to be published under the Community
24 Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 section 85G.
25
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