A significant barrier preventing child sex offenders from being held to account and leading to ‘unwarranted acquittals’ will be removed under landmark reforms introduced into NSW Parliament.
Attorney General Mark Speakman said NSW was the first Australian jurisdiction to introduce the agreed legislation, enabling greater admissibility of tendency and coincidence evidence.
“These crucial reforms will help deliver justice for survivors of child sexual abuse – one of the most despicable and damaging crimes to confront the justice system,” Mr Speakman said.
“While maintaining an accused person’s right to a fair trial, these reforms will help to ensure that offenders don’t evade justice through the exclusion of relevant evidence,” he said.
“We can’t undo the horrors of the past, but we can make sure that our legal system offers a fairer and more effective response for victims and survivors.”
Mr Speakman said the Evidence Amendment (Tendency and Coincidence) Bill 2020 introduced a new rebuttable presumption that evidence of a defendant having a tendency to have a sexual interest in a child or children would have ‘significant probative value’ to the relevant proceedings, as well as limiting what courts can consider in rebutting that presumption.
He said the reforms also lowered an additional threshold for the prosecution to use tendency and coincidence evidence against the defendant.
Child Abuse Royal Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said consistent, nationwide reform on this issue was one of the most important recommendations of the Royal Commission.
The eight-page bill can be accessed at this PS News link.
