The State of Western Australia v Rao

The State of Western Australia sought an order that James William Rao be detained in custody while the court determined contravention proceedings. The court was required to decide whether Rao should be detained in custody while the contravention proceedings were pending. The court considered the relevant provisions of the High Risk Serious Offenders Act 2020 (WA) and determined that Rao was not required to establish exceptional circumstances to justify his release. The court found that the State had to establish that Rao be detained pending the contravention proceedings. The court assessed the application and determined that the alleged contraventions did not establish that Rao should be detained. The supervision order imposed a strict regime that adequately managed the risk of Rao committing a serious offence. The court found that Rao would substantially comply with the supervision order if released. The court refused the State's application and Rao will remain in the community being subject to the supervision order.

The final orders of the court are as follows: (1) the application for detention order pending contravention proceedings is refused; and (2) the contravention proceedings will be heard on 21 June 2022.