Secretary to the Department of Justice v Fletcher

The case involved the Secretary to the Department of Justice and the offender, Mr. Fletcher. The dispute centred on an application by Mr. Fletcher to review an Extended Supervision Order (ESO) made under the repealed Serious Sex Offenders Monitoring Act 2005. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Mr. Fletcher sought the revocation of his ESO, arguing that he was not likely to commit a relevant offence. The Secretary opposed the application, maintaining that Mr. Fletcher remained a risk to the community.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the court was satisfied to a high degree of probability that Mr. Fletcher was likely to commit a relevant offence, and which Act should be applied to the review given that the application was filed and part-heard before the repeal of the old Act and the commencement of the new Act. The court had to interpret the transitional provisions of the new Act and determine the function of the Court in reviewing the ESO under the old Act.

The court found that Mr. Fletcher had not established that he was unlikely to commit a relevant offence. In considering the applicable Act, the court held that the accrued rights to review under the old Act should be preserved. The transitional provisions of the new Act indicated that reviews already in progress should continue under the old Act. The court relied on statutory interpretation principles, particularly section 23(1) of the old Act and relevant sections of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984.

The court dismissed Mr. Fletcher’s application for the revocation of the ESO. The transitional provisions of the new Act did not affect the court’s function in this case, and the application was to be determined under the old Act. Consequently, the ESO remained in effect.