New court powers and evidence rules for child sexual offence proceedings
Statutes Amendment (Criminal Procedure and Evidence) Bill 2026
1st House
2nd House
Law
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Director of Public Prosecutions can now apply for intervention orders.
Superior courts can issue intervention orders for indictable offences without separate evidence if the prosecution and defendant agree.
Trial judges cannot tell juries that doubt about one part of a victim's evidence must affect how they view the victim's evidence generally.
Evidence of a defendant's sexual interest in children is presumed to have strong probative value in child sexual offence trials.
Courts cannot ignore evidence of child sexual offences just because the acts or victims differ, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Defendants no longer need to show an appeal is likely to end a prosecution to appeal an interlocutory judgment.
Youths can only appeal interlocutory judgments if specific conditions are met, such as the judgment staying the proceedings.
The Court of Appeal can confirm, change, or reverse interlocutory judgments.