Police v JJ (a pseudonym) [2022] NSWLC 17

Police v JJ (a pseudonym) [2022] NSWLC 17

Section 17 of the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW) is concerned with the act of reporting required information, not its accuracy or correctness. A person does not commit an offence under s 17 by innocently providing incorrect information; criminal liability for knowingly providing materially false information is separately proscribed in s 18. Further, advance notification of changes is permitted under s 11. The accused, having notified police of the internet service provider based on information from the landlord (which was later discovered to be incorrect), was not in breach of s 17. Even if a breach had occurred, a reasonable excuse existed due to the...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
23 September 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Trial and Judgment
Outcome
Charge dismissed; verdict of not guilty.
Legal Topics
['child Protection (offenders Registration) Act 2000 (nsw)' 'reporting Obligations' 'reasonable Excuse' 'incorrect Information' 'criminal Procedure']
['criminal Law'] ['child Protection (offenders Registration) Act 2000 (nsw)' 'reporting Obligations' 'reasonable Excuse' 'incorrect Information' 'criminal Procedure']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal / Trial and Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether provision of incorrect or inaccurate relevant personal information to police by a registrable person constitutes an offence under s 17 of the Act' 'Whether the Act permits a registrable person to notify a change in personal information in advance of the change coming into effect' "Whether 'reasonable excuse' is established under s 17(2) of the Act"]

Ratio Decidendi

Section 17 of the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW) is concerned with the act of reporting required information, not its accuracy or correctness. A person does not commit an offence under s 17 by innocently providing incorrect information; criminal liability for knowingly providing materially false information is separately proscribed in s 18. Further, advance notification of changes is permitted under s 11. The accused, having notified police of the internet service provider based on information from the landlord (which was later discovered to be incorrect), was not in breach of s 17. Even if a breach had occurred, a reasonable excuse existed due to the...

Court Disposition

Charge dismissed; verdict of not guilty.

Orders

  • ['Charge dismissed' 'Non-publication order: name of accused and any material tending to identify the accused is not to be published']