What the Law states - Breach of community-based order

Sentencing Act 1991 - SECT 47

Breach of community-based order

47. Breach of community-based order

(1) If at any time while a community-based order is in force the offender fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any condition of it or with any requirement of the regulations made for the purposes of this Subdivision, the offender is guilty of an offence for which he or she may be proceeded against on a charge filed by a prescribed person or a member of a prescribed class of
persons.

(1A) A proceeding for an offence under subsection (1) may be commenced at any time up until 3 years after the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.

(2) Despite anything to the contrary in the Magistrates' Court Act 1989-

(a) on the filing of a charge referred to in subsection (1), an application under section 28(1) of that Act for the issue of a summons to answer to the charge or a warrant to arrest may be made to the
registrar at any venue of the Magistrates' Court;

(b) a summons to answer to the charge issued on an application referred to in paragraph (a) must direct the defendant to attend-

(i) at the proper venue of the Magistrates' Court, if the community-based order was made by the Magistrates' Court; and

(ii) at the Supreme Court or the County Court, if the community-based order was made by that court- to answer the charge;

(c) a warrant to arrest issued on an application referred to in paragraph
(a) authorises the person to whom it is directed to bring the defendant when arrested before a bail justice or before the court by which the community-based order was made to be dealt with according to
law.

(3) Despite anything to the contrary in this or any other Act or in any rule of law, the Supreme Court or the County Court may, if the community-based order was made by it, hear and determine without a jury an offence against subsection (1) and, subject to any rules of court, the practice and procedure
applicable in the Magistrates' Court to the hearing and determination of summary offences applies so far as is appropriate to the hearing of the offence.

(3A) If on the hearing of a charge under subsection (1) the court finds the offender guilty of the offence, it may impose a level 10 fine and in addition may-

(a) vary the community-based order; or

(b) confirm the order originally made; or

(c) cancel the order (if it is still in force) and, whether or not it is still in force, subject to subsection (4), deal with the offender for the offence or offences with respect to which the order was made in
any manner in which the court could deal with the offender if it had just found him or her guilty of that offence or those offences.

(4) In determining how to deal with an offender following the cancellation by it of a community-based order, a court must take into account the extent to which the offender had complied with the order before its cancellation.

(5) This section applies also to a community-based order made under Division 4 in default of payment of a fine or an instalment under an instalment order but if the court considers that the orders that it may make under this section in respect of such a community-based order are not adequate in the light of-

(a) the nature of the offence; and

(b) the characteristics of the offender; and

(c) the offender's wilful refusal to pay the fine or instalment and to perform unpaid community work-

the court may impose a sentence of imprisonment of 1 day for each penalty unit or part of a penalty unit then remaining unpaid up to a maximum of 24 months.

(6) A fine imposed under this section-

(a) does not affect the continuance of the order, if it is still in force; and

(b) must be taken for all purposes to be a fine payable on a conviction of an offence.