Penalties and Sentences Act 1992

Subsections (2) to (4) apply if—

a complaint or an indictment for a charge for an offence states the offence is also 1 of the following offences (each a relevant domestic violence offence)—

a domestic violence offence;

a domestic violence offence committed against a child;

a domestic violence offence that exposed a child to domestic violence; and

the offender is convicted of the offence.

If a conviction is recorded in relation to the offence, it must also be recorded as a conviction for a relevant domestic violence offence.

If no conviction is recorded in relation to the offence, the offence must be entered in the offender’s criminal history as a relevant domestic violence offence.

However, a matter must not be recorded or entered under subsection (2) or (3) in relation to the offence if the court makes an order to the effect it is not satisfied the offence is also a relevant domestic violence offence.

If a court convicts an offender of an offence for which a matter must be recorded or entered under subsection (2) or (3) or of an offence against the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012, part 7, the prosecution may apply to the court for an order that an offence, stated in the application, of which the offender has previously been convicted (a previous offence)—

for a previous offence for which a conviction was recorded—also be recorded as a conviction for a relevant domestic violence offence; or

otherwise—be entered in the offender’s criminal history as a relevant domestic violence offence.

The application—

may be made in writing or orally; and

must include enough information to allow the court to make a decision about whether it is appropriate to make the order.

The court may ask the prosecutor for further information for it to decide whether to make an order under subsection (8).

If, after considering the application, the court is satisfied a previous offence is a relevant domestic violence offence, the court must order that the offence—

for a previous offence for which a conviction was recorded—also be recorded as a conviction for a relevant domestic violence offence; or

otherwise—be entered in the offender’s criminal history as a relevant domestic violence offence.

Each of the following persons is not compellable as a witness in proceedings before the court to decide the application—

a person against whom the relevant domestic violence offence was committed;

for a relevant domestic violence offence that exposed a child to domestic violence—the child.

If a court is satisfied an error has been made in recording or entering an offence as a relevant domestic violence offence, the court may, on an application or its own initiative, correct the error.

For this section, proof that an offence is a relevant domestic violence offence lies on the prosecutor.

To remove any doubt, it is declared that this section does not require a matter to be recorded or entered in an offender’s traffic history under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995.