Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia v Ghazzawy (Final)

The Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia sought an extended supervision order against Ghazzawy under Division 105A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Ghazzawy, who had previously been convicted of making a document connected with preparation for a terrorist act when he was 18 years old, was the subject of this application. The court had to decide whether the Attorney-General could demonstrate on the balance of probabilities that Ghazzawy posed an unacceptable risk of committing a serious Part 5.3 offence if he were released from supervision. This decision required the court to interpret the temporal requirements of the statutory test.

The court considered whether the Attorney-General had satisfied the crucial test on the balance of probabilities that Ghazzawy would commit a serious Part 5.3 offence within the period of the order sought. The court examined the evidence, including expert opinions, previous misconduct in custody, and Ghazzawy's renunciation of extremist views. While the court acknowledged a potential risk of recidivism, it concluded that there was no satisfaction on the balance of probabilities that such a risk would develop. Furthermore, the court found that the risk, if it did exist, would not come to fruition within the period of the order sought. Consequently, the court determined that the statutory test was not fulfilled.

As a result of this determination, the amended summons was dismissed. The court found that the Attorney-General had not met the required threshold to impose an extended supervision order on Ghazzawy. The court highlighted the difficulties in making predictions about the risk of recidivism and the limitations of evidence in this regard. The court also emphasised the importance of considering the temporal aspects of the risk in relation to the duration of the proposed supervision order.