Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.

Overview of Bill

The object of this Bill is to amend the Crimes Act 1900 to make miscellaneous
reforms of the criminal law. In particular, the Bill:

(a) increases the penalty for recklessly causing grievous bodily harm from 7 years
to 10 years (and from 10 years to 14 years in the case of an offence committed
in company), and

(b) removes “malicious” as a fault element for offences under the Act and replaces
it with the modern fault element of “intention” or “recklessness”, and

(c) replaces existing blackmail/extortion offences with offences based on the
Model Criminal Code, and

(d) ensures that for all offences under the Act the infliction of grievous bodily
harm includes causing a person to contract a grievous bodily disease, and

(e) extends the offence of breaking and entering dwelling-houses or certain other
commercial or government buildings and committing (or intending to commit)
a serious indictable offence to buildings of any kind.

The Bill also makes a number of amendments by way of statute law revision
(including the repeal of superseded offences and spent procedural provisions, and the
re-arrangement of offences in the Act).

Outline of provisions

Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.

Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act. The amendment
increasing the penalty for the reckless infliction of grievous bodily harm is to
commence on assent.

Clause 3 is a formal provision giving effect to the amendments to the Crimes Act
1900 set out in Schedules 1 and 2.

Clause 4 is a formal provision giving effect to the consequential amendments of
other Acts set out in Schedule 3.

Clause 5 is a formal provision that declares that explanatory notes in the proposed
Act do not form part of the Act.

Clause 6 provides for the repeal of the proposed amending Act once all of its
amendments have commenced.

Schedules 1–3 contain the amendments to the Crimes Act 1900 and other Acts. An
explanation of each amendment is set out in the Schedule after the amendment
concerned.

Note: If this Bill is not modified, these Explanatory Notes would reflect the Bill as passed in the House. If the Bill has been amended by Committee, these Explanatory Notes may not necessarily reflect the Bill as passed.

 

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