The Counter-Terrorism legislation Amendment Bill 2019 covers amendments to fortify Australia's counter-terrorism legislation. The amendments are in two categories :-
- amendment of Crimes Act 1914 restrictions on provision bail and parole.
- amendments to continuing detention order (CDO) provision under Division 105A of the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
The Bill amends the Crimes Act 1914 introducing exceptional circumstantial test for persons alleged or convicted of a terrorism, persons under control order aas well as persons who performed as aid or advocating for terrorist acts. Further, there is a presumption against bail and parole besides severe test to be satisfied.
The similar provision would apply while contouring whether exceptional circumstances exist to reason departure from the minimum non-parole period for when the offender is under the age of 18 years and also while deciding whether exceptional circumstances exist to justify the release of a young offender on parole.
The Bill also proposes to amend the Criminal Code Act 1995 to provide that terrorist offenders serving a term of imprisonment and another offence would be eligible for kind consideration of a continuing detention order (CDO) when their term concludes.
The Law Council of Australia introduced new amendments for the protection of the public at large as well as not to let young offenders become recidivist.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
