Attorney-General for the State of Queensland v Donovan

In the case of Attorney-General for the State of Queensland v Donovan, the central issue before the court was whether the respondent, Anthony James Donovan, could demonstrate that the adequate protection of the community could be ensured despite his breaches of a supervision order made under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (DPSOA). Donovan had contravened certain conditions of his supervision order, including the detection of non-prescribed substances in his urine samples and his cessation of prescribed medication against medical advice. Despite these breaches, Donovan argued that he should be released under the existing supervision order, which had, in his case, served its purpose in the community over the past 25 years without any sexual offences being committed.

The court was tasked with determining whether Donovan's contraventions of the supervision order, which did not involve the commission of a sexual offence, warranted his continued detention or if the adequate protection of the community could still be ensured under the existing supervision order. The psychiatric evidence presented was crucial in this regard. Dr Josephine Sundin, a consultant psychiatrist, considered Donovan's risk of sexual recidivism to be moderate to high, but she believed the supervision order effectively reduced this risk to moderate through external controls. Dr Scott Harden, another consultant psychiatrist, assessed Donovan's unmodified risk of sexual reoffending in the community as high but noted that a supervision order would mitigate this risk to moderate. Both psychiatrists recommended ongoing psychiatric treatment, mental health and drug and alcohol services, and in Dr Sundin's view, the consideration of depot antipsychotic medication.

The court ultimately found that Donovan had not demonstrated any new or escalating risk factors that would justify his continued detention. Donovan had agreed to take antipsychotic medication by depot, which the court deemed a satisfactory measure to mitigate his risk. The court was satisfied, to the requisite standard, that the adequate protection of the community could be ensured by Donovan's release on the existing supervision order, as it had previously served its purpose in the community without any sexual offences being committed. Consequently, the court ordered Donovan's release from custody and his continued subjection to the supervision order made on 17 February 2020, with additional directions for the applicant to provide relevant psychiatric reports to Donovan's treating psychiatrist and Queensland Health.