A court may decline to make a Division 3 order under s 13(5) of the DPSOA despite finding that a prisoner is currently a serious danger to the community, where the order would have no utility because the prisoner is serving an intervening sentence and the evidence cannot establish to the requisite standard that the prisoner will remain a serious danger at the time of eventual release many years hence. The Attorney-General bears the onus not only of proving the prisoner is a serious danger (s 13(1)) but also of persuading the court that a specific order under s 13(5) should be made. The DPSOA may contain a gap where a prisoner serving an intervening sentence for non-sexual offences cannot be the subject of a fresh application prior to release.
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