New South Wales Consolidated Acts

DRUG COURT ACT 1998 - SECT 5A

5A Definition of “eligible convicted offender”

(1) A person is an eligible convicted offender if:

(a) the person is convicted of an offence, other than an offence referred to in subsection (2), and

(b) the person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for the offence to be served by way of full-time detention and the unexpired non-parole period in relation to that sentence is:

(i) at the time the Drug Court is determining whether to make a compulsory drug treatment order with respect to the person-a period of no more than 3 years, and

(ii) at the time that the sentence was imposed-a period of at least 18 months, and

(c) the person has, in the 5-year period immediately before the person was sentenced, been convicted, under a law of this State or under a law of the Commonwealth or another State or Territory or of another country, of at least 2 other offences, not being offences arising out of the same circumstances, that resulted in any one or more of the following:

(i) a sentence of imprisonment (including a sentence of imprisonment that was suspended),

(ii) the making of a community service order (however described),

(iii) the entry into a good behaviour bond or recognizance (however described), and

(d) the person has a long-term dependency on the use of prohibited drugs (within the meaning of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 ) or other drugs prescribed by the regulations, and

(e) the facts in connection with the offence for which the person has been sentenced, together with the person’s antecedents and any other information available, indicate that the offence was related to the person’s long-term drug dependency and associated lifestyle, and

(f) the person satisfies such other criteria as are prescribed by the regulations.

(2) A person is not an eligible convicted offender if the person has been convicted at any time of the following:

(a) murder, attempted murder or manslaughter,

(b) sexual assault of an adult or child or a sexual offence involving a child,

(c) any offence involving the use of a firearm,

(e) an offence under section 23 (2), 24 (2), 25 (2), 26, 27 or 28 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 involving a commercial quantity or large commercial quantity of a prohibited plant or prohibited drug within the meaning of that Act,

(f) any offence prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.

(3) A person is not an eligible convicted offender if, in the opinion of the Drug Court:

(a) the person suffers from a mental condition, illness or disorder that:

(i) is serious, or

(ii) leads to the person being violent, and

(b) the mental condition, illness or disorder could prevent or restrict the person’s active participation in a drug treatment program.