Sentencing Act 1995

A court convicting an offender of a family violence offence (category B) may declare the offender to be a serial family violence offender if —

the offender has, on that conviction, been convicted of at least 2 prescribed offences which may only be tried on indictment, with at least 2 of those prescribed offences having been committed on different days; or

the offender has, on conviction, been convicted of at least 3 prescribed offences, with at least 3 of those prescribed offences having been committed on different days.

For the purposes of subsection (1) —

the victim of each offence may, but need not be, the same person; and

the offences need not be the same offences; and

the offences need not to have occurred in the State as long as 1 of them did; and

1 or more of the convictions may have been convictions by a court outside the State; and

it is immaterial in which order the offences were committed; and

an offence will not be taken into account if the offence was committed by a person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was under 18 years of age; and

each of the offences taken into account must have been committed within a period of 10 years of each other unless the court is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist that make it appropriate to make a declaration under this section (after taking into account the matters referred to in subsection (4) and such other matters as the court may consider to be relevant).

A declaration may be made by the court on its own initiative or on an application by the prosecutor.

Without limiting any other matter that a court dealing with an application under this section may consider to be relevant, the court must have regard to the following —

the level of risk that the offender may commit another family violence offence (category B);

the offender’s criminal record;

the nature of the prescribed offences for which the offender has been convicted.

In addition, the court may —

before it makes a declaration, order an assessment of the offender by an approved expert; and

take the report of that assessment into account when deciding whether to make the declaration.

In connection with the operation of subsection (5) —

an approved expert is authorised by this subsection to examine and assess the offender and to report in accordance with this section; and

the report may indicate —

the approved expert’s assessment of the level of risk that the offender may commit another family violence offence (category B); and

the reasons for this assessment;

in preparing the report, the approved expert may —

take into account any other information or report provided to, or obtained by, the approved expert; and

include in the report any other assessment or opinion, or address any other matter, that the approved expert considers to be relevant in the circumstances;

the approved expert may prepare the report even if the offender does not cooperate, or does not fully cooperate, in any examination associated with the assessment.