The Territory Labor Government is committed to ensuring better safety within our communities, and has today passed the Serious Sex Offenders Amendment Bill 2021.
The Bill will continue to provide greater community safety and protection, while assisting serious sex offenders with appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.
It will amend the Serious Sex Offenders Act 2013 and the Information Act 2002 to ensure that safety and caution comes first and foremost when addressing serious sex offenders in the community.
The Bill address five areas:
- It increases the maximum length of an interim detention order to six months
- It ensures certain Commonwealth offences are serious sex offences or offences of a sexual nature for the purposes of the Serious Sex Offenders Act 2013
- It grants police power to arrest a supervisee without a warrant for an offence contravening a supervision order
- It ensures that a medical report must set out an expert’s opinion of the risk, as opposed to the likelihood, of the person committing another serious sex offence
- The Commissioner of Correctional Services will establish information-sharing guidelines
The amendments were developed in consultation with NT Correctional Services, NT Police, the Top End Mental Health Service and the Solicitor for the NT.
They will also bring the Territory into line with other provisions introduced in other jurisdictions.
Quotes from Attorney-General, Selena Uibo:
“All Territorians deserve to feel safe in their homes and communities – and all Territorians deserve to live and raise children in safe environments.
“The amendments to this Bill have been developed with a range of stakeholders, to ensure we are providing the best safety and support services.
“The Territory Labor Government will continue to do everything we can to keep our community safe.”
