The s 8 preliminary hearing test under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld) requires only satisfaction that there are reasonable grounds for believing the prisoner is a serious danger to the community; the evidentiary demands of s 13(3) (acceptable, cogent evidence to a high degree of probability) are irrelevant to the s 8 test and must not be imported into it. The existence of countervailing evidence supporting a rival belief does not per se negate the reasonableness of the grounds relied upon by the Attorney-General. Historical findings of dangerousness and past offending remain powerful considerations at the preliminary hearing stage, even where recent indicators are favourable.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 21 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 21 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.