Attorney General for the State of New South Wales v Wilde

The case of Attorney General for the State of New South Wales v Wilde involved an application for a continuing detention order for a serious sex offender. The applicant, the Attorney General, sought the order on the grounds that the offender was likely to commit further serious sex offences if not detained. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issues in the case were whether the applicant had discharged the onus of proving that the offender was likely to commit further serious sex offences and whether the application for the continuing detention order constituted an abuse of process. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether the application sufficiently considered the potential conditions of release under supervision.

The court held that the onus on the applicant was not to establish that the offender was of the very worst case but rather that the offender was likely to commit further serious sex offences. The court found that the application did not constitute an abuse of process as the offender had a history of serious sex offences and a demonstrated risk of reoffending. However, the court also noted that the application did not adequately consider the potential conditions of release under supervision that could mitigate the risk of reoffending. As a result, the court granted a further interim detention order pending a more comprehensive consideration of the potential conditions of release.