Sex Offenders Registration Act – Changes to Length of Reporting Times

Clients are consulting me after police have served them with paperwork saying they are on extended periods of reporting obligations. Example: from 8 years to life. This applies even if the offence was committed before the commencement of this Act (section 34(2) Sex Offenders Registration Act).
If you have these kind of problems, you should ring me on 0438 670 198.
As from 1 July 2017 (per section 2 Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act 2016, the length of reporting periods for registered sex offenders has changed.
Section 34 – Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004
(1) A registrable offender must continue to comply with reporting obligations imposed by this Part for –
(a) 8 years, if he or she has only ever been found guilty of a single Class 2 offence; or
(b) 15 years, if he or she –
(i) has only ever been found guilty of a single Class 1 offence (other than an offence referred to in item 2 or item 4 of Schedule 1); or
(ii) has ever been found guilty of 2 Class 2 offences; or
(c) the remainder of his or her life, if he or she –
(i) has ever been found guilty of 2 or more Class 1 offences; or
(ia) has ever been found guilty of a single offence referred to in item 2 or item 4 of Schedule 1; or
(ii) has ever been found guilty of a Class 1 offence and 1 or more Class 2 offences; or
(iii) has ever been found guilty of 3 or more Class 2 offences.
(1A) A reference in subsection (1) to an offence extends to an offence committed as a child.
(2) A reference in subsection (1) to an offence extends to an offence committed before the commencement of that subsection.
(3) For the purposes of this section –
(a) 2 or more offences arising from the same incident are to be treated as a single offence; and
(b) 2 or more offences arising from the same incident are to be treated as a single Class 1 offence if at least one of those offences is a Class 1 offence
(4) For the purposes of this Division, a person subject to a sex offender registration order –
(a) if found guilty of a Class 3 offence is deemed to have been found guilty of a Class 1 offence; and
(b) if found guilty of a Class 4 offence or any other offence other than a Class 3 offence is deemed to have been found guilty of a Class 2 offence
Notes
1. If every single registrable offence for which a person has been found guilty is committed when he or she is a child, the reporting period is reduced – see section 35. If one or more of the offences for which a person has ever been found guilty is committed when that person is an adult, the reporting period specified in section 34 apply as if the Act did not contain section 35.
2. A life-long reporting obligation may be suspended under Division 6.

Brendan Wilkinson
0438 670 198
brendanwilkinson@bigpond.com

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