Bickle v Attorney-General

The case of Bickle v Attorney-General involved the appellant, who had been subject to a supervision order made under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld). The order was set to expire on 18 May 2016. The appellant applied for a declaration that he was no longer a serious danger to the community and sought an order to discharge the supervision order. The primary judge found that the risk of the appellant committing a serious sexual offence was low but refused to discharge the supervision order, holding that there was no power under the Act to discharge such an order. The appellant argued that the power to terminate a supervision order could be found in section 48 of the Constitution of Queensland 2001, the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, or rule 668 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld).

The central legal issues were whether the Supreme Court has the power to shorten the duration of a supervision order and whether it has the power to discharge a supervision order. The appellant also argued, in the alternative, that if the Supreme Court did not have the power to discharge a supervision order, it was unconstitutional. The court had to determine if the reasoning and logic of the Supreme Court contradicted the supervision order and whether the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld) was unconstitutional. The High Court of Australia had previously held in Kable v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) that State legislation that substantially impairs the institutional integrity of a court is constitutionally invalid.

The court found that both questions should be answered in the negative and dismissed the appeal. The primary judge had correctly determined that there was no power under the Act to discharge a supervision order. The reasoning and logic of the Supreme Court did not contradict the supervision order, and there was no constitutional defect in the Act. The appeal was dismissed, and the supervision order remained in effect until the expiration date of 18 May 2016.