Crimes (Substituted section 59) Amendment Act 2007 - Six Month Review

On 22 June 2007, the Amendment came into force. Following the commencement, Police agreed to undertake a three month review (23 June to 28 September 2007) of the impact of the Amendment on Police activity. A summary of the three month review findings was released on 20 December 2007.

The current review period of 29 September 2007 to 4 April 2008 has shown a slight increase in the total volume of 'child assault' events Police have attended: (288), compared with the initial three month review period (111). This is to be expected due to the current review period being six months in comparison to the initial three month review period.

This review found there was very minor impact on Police activity over this period, and  there were three "smacking" events and 12 "minor acts of physical discipline" events, all of these were determined to be inconsequential and therefore not in the public interest to prosecute, as per the Commissioner's Circular: 2007/03, Crimes (Substituted section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (Commissioner's Circular).

Police noted that six monthly reviews, leading up to the two year review, would serve as an effective risk management tool and enable Police to proactively respond to issues that may arise. This review is the second of four reviews that will be undertaken in the 24 month period following commencement of the Amendment.