29ACourt or judge may declare offender to be serial family violence perpetrator

29A Court or judge may declare offender to be serial family violence perpetrator

[Section 29A Inserted by No. 21 of 2022, s. 10, Applied:30 Jun 2024]

(1)  This section applies to a court or a judge before whom an offender is –

(a) convicted of a family violence offence; or

(b) brought up for sentence after being convicted of a family violence offence.

(2)  The court or judge is to declare the offender to be a serial family violence perpetrator if –

(a) the offender has attained the age of 18 years; and

(b) the offender has –

(i) on that conviction, been convicted of at least 2 indictable family violence offences, with at least 2 of those offences being committed on different days; or

(ii) on that conviction, been convicted of at least 3 family violence offences, whether indictable or summary, with at least 3 of those offences being committed on different days; or

(iii) on that conviction or a previous conviction, been convicted of persistent family violence under section 170A of the Criminal Code; and

(c) the court or judge is of the opinion that the declaration is warranted.

(3)  In determining under subsection (2)(c) whether to declare an offender to be a serial family violence perpetrator, the court or judge is to have regard to the following:

(a) the nature and circumstances of the family violence offences referred to in subsection (2) ;

(b) the risk that the offender may commit further family violence offences;

(c) the offender’s antecedents and character;

(d) any other matter that the court or judge considers relevant.

(4)  For the purposes of , each of the family violence offences taken into account must have been committed within the 10-year period immediately preceding the declaration, unless the court or judge is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist that make it appropriate to make a declaration under this section.