Penalties for assaults on public officers
The Council is reviewing penalties for assaults on police and other frontline emergency service workers, corrective services officers and other public officers in response to Terms of Reference issued to the Council by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, the Honourable Yvette D’Ath MP, in early December 2019.
- Terms of Reference
- Issues Paper
- Summary of Issues Paper
- Literature review
- Submissions
- Media release – 6 December 2019
- Media release – 13 January 2020
- Media release – 29 January 2020
- Media release – 27 February 2020
- Media release – 30 April 2020
- About assault, offences and mandatory sentencing
- Sentencing @ a glance – Serious assault
The Council is due to report back to the Attorney-General by 31 August 2020.
In April 2020, the Attorney-General granted the Council additional time, extending the Council’s reporting date from 30 June 2020 to 31 August 2020. The extension was granted on the basis of the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Council’s concerns about the need for stakeholders to have additional time to respond given their necessary focus on delivering essential services to the community during this challenging period.
Issues Paper
The Council has published an Issues Paper that explores the themes raised in preliminary submissions and is supported by the Council’s analysis of sentencing trends and reforms introduced in other Australian and overseas jurisdictions.
A high-level summary of the Issues Paper is provided and includes questions of particular interest to the Council. These questions can also be found in the full report.
A separate literature review commissioned by the Council and prepared by the Griffith Criminology Institute, has informed the Council’s work and is available for review.
Following health advice concerning COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, we invite feedback from stakeholders through written submissions, with any meetings or consultation sessions to take place by telephone or video link rather than in person. Please contact info@sentencingcouncil.qld.gov.au if you require more information.
Submissions
Submissions are being called as part of the Council’s review of penalties for assaults on public officers.
You are invited to make a submission based on:
- the questions and options presented in the Issues Paper
- any issues arising from the Terms of Reference.
Submissions close on Thursday 25 June 2020, 5.00pm.
Preparing submissions
The issues and questions presented address key concerns under the Terms of Reference referred to the Council by the Attorney-General.
You are invited to respond to some or all of the questions and to provide your views on options presented.
To assist in analysing responses, please identify the relevant question/s in your submission.
Try to keep your responses succinct and focused on the question/s or issue you are responding to.
If you wish to provide attachments, please indicate which question/s your attachment refers to and, if you have more than one attachment, please number these and note the number within the response to the question they apply.
Make a submission
To submit via email, please include ‘Penalties for assaults on public officers review submission’ in the subject line of your email.
Please email your submission to submissions@sentencingcouncil.qld.gov.au.
Post
To make a postal submission, please include the following in your correspondence: ‘Penalties for assaults on public officers review submission’.
Post your submission to:
Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council
GPO Box 2360
Brisbane Qld 4001
How your submission will be used
All submissions to this issues paper, as well as additional consultation conducted with key stakeholders, will inform the Council’s response to the Terms of Reference.
This issues paper reflects the Council’s commitment to listening to interested stakeholders and community members.
Generally, submissions will be considered public and published on the Council’s website unless clearly marked ‘confidential’.
Public submissions may be published on the Council’s website, but with certain personal information redacted to protect the privacy of those making the submission.
Submissions marked as ‘anonymous’ will have all identifying details removed (including the name or names of those making the submission) prior to publication.
The Council does not publish submissions that are received anonymously (that is, that do not include the name and contact details of the person making them).
Submissions marked ‘confidential’ will not be published or referred to in publications. The Council treats confidential submissions as for the Council’s information only.
Any personal information provided by individuals identified in this public consultation process will be collected only for the purpose of the review. Personal information will not be used in the Final Report. However, unless you explicitly request, details provided in your submission (other than personal information) may be directly or indirectly quoted in the Final Report, or other products associated with the Final Report.
For more information about how information provided to the Council is used, please read our Privacy Policy.