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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-05 Daily Xml
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Statutes Amendment (Attorney-General's Portfolio) Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:29): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Bail Act 1985, the Burial and Cremation Act 2013 and the Correctional Services Act 1982. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:31): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I rise to introduce the Statutes Amendment (Attorney-General's Portfolio) Bill 2022. To ensure that the government and related legislation continue to operate, the Attorney-General's portfolio bill is required to rectify minor errors, omissions and other deficiencies identified in the legislation committed to the Attorney-General.

As is typical of these portfolio bills, this bill makes various amendments to a small number of acts within the Attorney-General's portfolio, as well as further justice-related amendments to give effect to certain reforms that were previously contained in the Statutes Amendment (Attorney-General's Portfolio and Other Justice Measures) Bill 2021. That bill was introduced to parliament last year but unfortunately did not pass under the former government before the end of sittings.

This bill seeks to implement a number of those priority amendments contained in the former bill. These amendments are minor or technical changes which are intended to address anomalies or other issues that have the potential to cause confusion or inefficiency. The government agrees that it is appropriate to progress these amendments without further delay to ensure the proper and efficient functioning of the justice system. Further consideration will be given to the need to progress any other amendments from the previous bill in due course.

Turning to the substance of the bill, part 2 of the bill amends the Bail Act 1985 to allow for the court to prescribe the wording and form of certain documents used in bail proceedings where the court is the relevant bail authority. These amendments replace existing requirements for those documents to be in a prescribed form.

The courts have indicated that they would prefer to have the flexibility to prescribe the form of these documents. This would allow for greater harmonisation with the broader rollout of the Electronic Courts Management System to the criminal and protection jurisdictions of the court. These amendments will support the operation of the Electronic Courts Management System ahead of its intended commencement in July 2022. The requirement for all other bail agreements to be in a prescribed form remains the same.

Part 3 of the bill amends the Burial and Cremation Act 2013 to remedy an inconsistency between the Burial and Cremation Act and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 in relation to the certificate requirements for the issue of a cremation permit.

Section 10(5)(b)(i) of the Burial and Cremation Act currently provides that the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages must not issue a cremation permit unless the application is accompanied by two death certificates issued under section 36 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, being:

one certificate signed by a medical practitioner who was responsible for the deceased's medical care immediately before death, or who examined the body of the deceased after death; and

a second certificate signed by another medical practitioner.

This is inconsistent with the existing requirements of section 36 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, which only contemplates the provision of one death certificate, being a certificate from a doctor who was responsible for the deceased person's medical care immediately before the death or who examined the body after death.

To avoid confusion, the bill amends the Burial and Cremations Act to clarify that, while two death certificates are still required to issue a cremation permit, only one death certificate needs to be provided under section 36 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, with the second death certificate to be in a form determined by the registrar.

Part 4 of the bill amends section 66 of the Correctional Services Act 1982 to remove obsolete references to a repealed definition of 'serious drug offence' within the Sentencing Act and reinserts the repealed definition into the Correctional Services Act 1982. This amendment will rectify a procedural anomaly caused by amendments to the Sentencing Act 2017 overtaking the Correctional Services (Accountability and Other Measures) Amendment Act in parliament last year.

The practical effect of these amendments is to ensure prisoners who have been sentenced to imprisonment for less than five years in respect of a serious drug offence are not entitled to automatic release on parole at the end of their non-parole period. Instead, parole in these cases will be at the discretion of the Parole Board.

While the bill contains a relatively small number of amendments, it addresses important issues to ensure that our justice system continues to work efficiently and effectively for our community. I commend the bill to members and I 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 Bail Act 1985

3—Amendment of section 6—Nature of bail agreement

This amendment allows a bail agreement, in circumstances where the bail authority is a court, to be in a form determined by the court. The requirement for all other bail agreements to be in the prescribed form remains.

4—Amendment of section 7—Guarantee of bail

This amendment allows a bail agreement, in circumstances where the bail authority is a court, to be in a form determined by the court. The requirement for all other bail agreements to be in the prescribed form remains.

5—Amendment of section 8—Form of application

This amendment allows a bail agreement, in circumstances where the bail authority is a court, to be in a form determined by the court. The requirement for all other bail agreements to be in the prescribed form remains.

Part 3—Amendment of Burial and Cremation Act 2013

6—Amendment of section 10—Cremation permits

This amendment clarifies the requirements for 2 certificates to be provided as set out in section 10(5)(b), the first being a certificate under section 36(3) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 certifying that the deceased died from natural causes signed by a medical practitioner in accordance with the requirements set out in that subparagraph, and the second a certificate in a form approved by the Registrar signed by another medical practitioner.

Part 4—Amendment of Correctional Services Act 1982

7—Amendment of section 66—Automatic release on parole for certain prisoners

These amendments remove a reference to a repealed definition of serious drug offence within the Sentencing Act 2017 and insert the repealed definition into section 66.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S. Lee.

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