NSW Appointment Powers for Analysts Providing Evidence on Plant and Substance Analysis

Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023

12 Sep 2023: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

criminal justice drug policy drug testing drug trafficking evidence standards forensic analysis forensic evidence

Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust can appoint qualified people to provide certificates for plant or substance analysis.
The law validates appointments made before this Act started; they are treated as if they were always valid.
Certificates given by those previously appointed are now treated as valid evidence.
The Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust can appoint qualified people to provide certificates for plant and substance analysis.
These certificates act as evidence in court.
The bill validates past appointments of analysts made before the Act started.
It also validates any evidence certificates issued by those analysts.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Susan Carter LIB

“I indicate that the Opposition will be supporting the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023. It addresses an issue that has arisen due to machinery of government changes and ensures the safety of prior drug convictions.”

Official source →

Jeremy Buckingham LCP

“After wading through that morass, I make a contribution to debate on the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023.”

Official source →

Sue Higginson GRN

“I contribute to debate on the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023. I will not go too much into the absurdity of the prohibition on cannabis because this House has just had a good case put forward in the contribution of the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham.”

Official source →

Anthony D'Adam ALP

“I thank the Hon. Susan Carter, the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham and Ms Sue Higginson for the contributions. I do not propose to deal with the arguments advanced by Ms Sue Higginson in the second reading debate; we will come back to them in the Committee of the Whole. I commend the bill to the House.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023

Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2023-08-02

The bill addresses an issue that has been identified by the NSW Police Force, the Department of Regional NSW and the Department of Communities and Justice with the validity of appointments of persons to give evidentiary certificates under section 43 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. Under section 43 (4) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985, the production in legal proceedings of a certificate purported to be signed by a suitably qualified person appointed under the Act is prima facie evidence of the identity and quantity or mass of cannabis plant or cannabis leaf.