New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 54J

54J Review of Division

(1) The Minister must review this Division to determine whether--

(a) the policy objectives of the Division remain valid, and

(b) the terms of the Division remain appropriate for securing those objectives.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a review under this section must consider the following--

(a) whether section 54D(1)(c) should be extended to cover recklessness,

(b) whether this Division should apply to relationships other than current and former intimate partner relationships,

(c) the impact of this Division on Aboriginal people, culturally and linguistically diverse people and LGBTQI+ people,

(d) whether victims of an offence under this Division may be misidentified as perpetrators,

(e) whether the penalty for the offence under section 54D(1) should be extended,

(f) the types of behaviour in relation to which prosecutions for an offence under section 54D(1) are proceeding, including whether charges are being laid in relation to non-physical forms of abusive behaviour,

(g) the extent to which the offence under section 54D(1) is being charged on its own or in combination with other charges,

(h) the use of the defence under section 54E, including how often and the circumstances in which the defence is being used,

(i) whether there are variations in the use of the offence under section 54D(1) in different police regions, commands and districts,

(j) the operation of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence Act 2007 , section 6A to assess whether the definition of domestic abuse in that section--

(i) has had an impact on the education of the community about domestic abuse, and

(ii) has improved police practice in responding to domestic and family abuse,

(k) in relation to particular areas in the State and types of courts--

(i) the number of cases for which proceedings for an offence under section 54D(1) have been commenced, and

(ii) the number of convictions for an offence under section 54D(1), and

(iii) the average period between service of a complaint or an indictment for an offence under section 54D(1) and a finding or verdict as to guilt, including a plea guilty.

(3) In conducting a review under this section, the Minister must have regard to--

(a) the transcripts of criminal trials, conducted during the period to which the review relates (the
"review period" ), that relate to an offence under section 54D(1), and

(b) the training that has occurred during the review period in relation to the offence under section 54(1), including--

(i) the type of training, and

(ii) the number and kinds of persons to whom the training has been provided, including police officers, judicial officers and legal practitioners, and

(iii) the effectiveness of the training.

(4) A review under this section is to be undertaken--

(a) for the first review--as soon as possible after the period of 2 years from the commencement of this Division, and

(b) for the second and third reviews--as soon as possible after the period of 2 years from the last review under this section.

(5) A report on the outcome of a review under this section is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within--

(a) for a report about the first review--within 3 years after the commencement of this Division, and

(b) for a report about the second review--within 3 years after the report about the first review was required to be tabled under paragraph (a), and

(c) for a report about the third review--within 3 years after the report about the second review was required to be tabled under paragraph (b).