Attorney-General for the State of Queensland v Vizzard

The case of Attorney-General for the State of Queensland v Vizzard involved a dispute over the interpretation and application of the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 in relation to a supervision order. The respondent, who was subject to a supervision order, was incarcerated for a period during the currency of the order. The applicant, the Attorney-General for the State of Queensland, sought a declaration that the duration of the supervision order had been extended by a period equivalent to the time the respondent was in custody. The Court was required to determine whether the effect of the operation of sections 23 and 24 of the DPSOA on the supervision order ought to be the subject of declaration.

The legal issues before the Court were whether the time spent in custody by the respondent was to be added to the term of the supervision order under section 24 of the DPSOA and whether the court should declare the extension of the supervision order. The Court considered the nature of the supervision order, which vests significant powers upon Corrective Services officers, imposes significant obligations on the person subject to supervision, and provides criminal sanction for breach and other consequences. The Court held that the period under which the person must be under supervision is extended by force of the statute, not by judicial power. The Court further noted that it is usually desirable to declare any time by which a supervision order is extended by force of sections 23 and 24 of the DPSOA.

The Court found that the parties had agreed that the effect of the respondent’s incarceration was to extend the supervision order from 3 February 2021 to 11 June 2021. Given that the respondent did not resist the application, the Court considered it appropriate to make the declarations and did so. The Court declared that pursuant to section 24(2) of the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003, the period of the respondent’s supervision order made on 1 February 2016 had been extended from 3 February 2021 to 11 June 2021, and that the supervision order expires on 11 June 2021.