R v EB

In the case of R v EB, the offender was convicted of engaging in preparatory acts for a foreign incursion into a foreign country for the purpose of committing hostile activities, under sections 119.1 and 119.4 of the Criminal Code. The offender, who was 16 and 17 years of age at the time of the offending, made telephone calls to obtain assistance for a co-offender to cross from Turkey to Syria. The offender's actions were underpinned by an adherence to extremist ideology, but no assistance was ultimately obtained. The offender was sentenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The legal issues the court had to decide included the appropriate sentence for the offence, given the low level of objective seriousness, and whether special circumstances justified the offender's detention as a juvenile after the age of 18 years. The court considered the subjective circumstances of the offender, including the risk of re-offending and the potential for psychological harm if the offender was not detained as a juvenile.

The court found that the offender's actions were preparatory to a foreign incursion, rather than terrorist acts directed towards the Australian community. The court also found that the offender's adherence to extremist ideology and the risk of re-radicalisation justified detention as a juvenile offender. The court held that the offender's detention was necessary to prevent an unacceptable risk of the offender suffering psychological harm. The court also noted that there were no developed risk assessment protocols based on actuarial studies to guide its decision.

The court ordered that the offender be detained as a juvenile offender until the age of 21 years, and that the offender be subject to a supervision order for a further two years following release. The court also ordered that the offender participate in a rehabilitation program to address his extremist ideology and reduce the risk of re-offending.