Attorney-General for the State of Queensland v Waghorn

In the case of Attorney-General for the State of Queensland v Waghorn, the respondent, a person with a significant history of serious sexual offences against children, applied for a continuing supervision order under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act. The court was required to consider whether the imposition of a supervision order would render the risk of sexual reoffending in the future no longer unacceptable, particularly in light of the respondent's psychiatric conditions and the introduction of pharmaceutical intervention as a means to manage these conditions.

The legal issues before the court were whether the respondent's risk of reoffending could be sufficiently mitigated by a supervision order and pharmaceutical intervention, and if such measures would render the risk of reoffending no longer unacceptable. The court considered the respondent's history of serious sexual offences, diagnosed psychiatric conditions, and the presence of risk factors for sexual violence in its deliberations.

The court found that the imposition of a supervision order, combined with pharmaceutical intervention, would sufficiently mitigate the respondent's risk of reoffending. The court acknowledged the seriousness of the respondent's past offences but considered the measures in place to be adequate to ensure the safety of the community. Accordingly, the court rescinded the previous continuing detention order and released the respondent under a supervision order until 12 February 2026. The court affirmed the earlier decision that the respondent was a serious danger to the community without an order, but found that with the measures in place, the risk was no longer unacceptable.