Bills

Criminal Law Consolidation (Defences—Intoxication) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:21): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Criminal Law Consolidation Act. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:22): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased to introduce the Criminal Law Consolidation (Defences—Intoxication) Amendment Bill 2025, colloquially known as Synamin's Law. On 12 March 2022, Ms Synamin Bell was killed in an horrific manner by her partner. That man was charged with Ms Bell's murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced on the basis that he had acted in excessive self-defence due to his belief that she intended to kill him, a drug-induced delusion caused by his consumption of illicit drugs.

On 6 September 2024, the court sentenced Synamin's killer to 11 years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of eight years and 10 months. This case highlighted that a person who has been charged with murder can rely on the partial defence of excessive self-defence, reducing their criminal liability from murder to manslaughter based on their genuine belief that their conduct was necessary and reasonable to defend themselves even if that belief was formed on the basis of delusions or hallucinations caused by self-induced intoxication.

It is clear from the public's reaction to the killing of Ms Bell that it is inconsistent with community expectations that a person may rely on their self-induced intoxication to reduce their murder charge to manslaughter. Synamin's Law seeks to address this by amending the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 to exclude the availability of excessive self-defence when a person's genuine belief that their conduct was necessary and reasonable to defend themselves has arisen from the voluntary and non-therapeutic consumption of a drug.

Part 2 of the bill makes the following amendments to the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935:

Clauses 3 and 4 insert new sections 15(2a) and 15A(2a) to exclude the availability of excessive self-defence in relation to a charge of murder if the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant's genuine belief that their actions were necessary and reasonable for a defensive purpose was substantially affected by the voluntary and non-therapeutic consumption of a drug. The exclusion of the partial defence of excessive self-defence in these circumstances will apply to both the defence of persons and of property to ensure a consistent application of the partial defence.

A 'drug', for the purposes of the new section, includes alcohol or any other substance capable of influencing mental functioning. The consumption of a drug is taken to be non-therapeutic if it was not prescribed and/or consumed in accordance with the medical practitioner's and/or the manufacturer's instructions. This definition allows a partial defence of excessive self-defence to remain available to a person whose genuine belief is affected by intoxication caused by an unexpected reaction to a prescribed or an over-the-counter medication that has been taken in accordance with the relevant instructions.

In order to address stakeholders' concerns that this bill is criminalising domestic or family violence victims by removing the partial defence of excessive self-defence for people who kill their abusive partner to protect themselves, the bill inserts a note in clauses 3 and 4. The note provides some guidance on the application of the new provisions, namely, that it does not prevent the operation of section 15B of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, which addresses offences committed in circumstances of family violence.

In particular, the note clarifies that it may be that the genuine belief of a defendant is not substantially affected by the consumption of a drug or alcohol where there is evidence of other matters substantially informing or affecting the belief; for example, if the offence occurred in circumstances of family violence.

To put it otherwise, the purpose of the note is to ensure that, in determining the availability of the partial defence of excessive self-defence where a person kills a family member, the court can take into account any evidence of family violence in the determination of whether the defendant's belief was genuine or substantially affected by the consumption of a drug, or whether the background of family violence has substantially informed or affected the belief.

It is intended that these changes will address the community's concerns about a defendant's ability to reduce the murder charge to manslaughter through excessive self-defence in circumstances where their actions were a direct result of their voluntary and non-therapeutic consumption of a drug, and deter the consumption of substances that may affect mental functioning and result in the commission of violent acts.

I commend the bill to the chamber and seek leave to insert the explanation of clauses in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935

3—Amendment of section 15—Self defence

The proposed amendments to section 15 provide that a defendant is not entitled to rely on a defence under section 15(2) in relation to a charge of murder if the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that the genuine belief of the defendant, that the conduct to which the charge relates was necessary and reasonable for a defensive purpose, was substantially affected by the voluntary and non-therapeutic consumption of a drug.

4—Amendment of section 15A—Defence of property etc

The proposed amendments to section 15A provide that a defendant is not entitled to rely on a defence under section 15A(2) in relation to a charge of murder if the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that the genuine belief of the defendant, that the conduct to which the charge relates was necessary and reasonable for a purpose referred to in section 15A(2)(a), was substantially affected by the voluntary and non-therapeutic consumption of a drug.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. H.M. Girolamo.