Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force v TM [2023] NSWCA 75

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force v TM [2023] NSWCA 75 Hearing dates: 1 November 2022 Date of orders: 24 April 2023 Decision date: 24 April 2023 Before: Ward P at [1] Kirk JA at [2] Simpson AJA at [3] Decision: 1. Leave to appeal granted; 2. Appeal allowed; 3. The orders of the Supreme Court of 25 March 2022 (as varied on 8 April 2022) set aside; 4. In lieu thereof, the amended summons filed in the Supreme Court on 23 August 2021 dismissed. Catchwords: CRIME – appeal and review – juvenile offender convicted of three counts of possession of child abuse material under Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91H(2) – whether offender a "registrable person" under s 3A of the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW) – whether exception under s 3A(2)(c)(ii) applies – meaning of "arising from the same incident" – interaction of s 3(3) and s 3A(5) – whether possession of child abuse material is an offence "committed against" a person – primary judge erred in "disapplying" s 3(3) to s 3A(5) STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – departure from literal meaning by primary judge – inadvertence by legislature – desire to avoid "incoherent results" – that a provision has unfair results an insufficient justification for entirely refusing to apply statutory text – limited qualification on operation of provision sufficient to avoid incoherence STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – amendment and repeal – references to amended or repealed statute – Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) s 68 – reference in earlier version of Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW) s 3A(2)(c)(ii) to Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 578B – Crimes Act s 91H and s 578B (repealed) are corresponding provisions for the purposes of Interpretation Act s 68(3) Legislation Cited: Child Protection (Offenders Prohibition Orders) Act 2004 (NSW) ss 4, 5, 6, 7 Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW) ss 2A, 3, 3A, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14A, 14B, 17, 19 Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) s 33 Classification (Publication, Films and Computer Games Act 1995 (Cth) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) ss 91FB, 91H, 578B Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Amendment (Statutory Review) Act 2014 (NSW) Crimes Amendment (Child Pornography and Abuse Material) Act 2010 (NSW) Crimes Amendment (Child Pornography) Act 2004 (NSW) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) s 10 Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) ss 8, 68 Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) ss 69, 75, 101 Cases Cited: Cooper Brookes (Wollongong) Pty Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1981) 147 CLR 297; [1981] HCA 26 Kelly v The Queen (2004) 218 CLR 216; [2004] HCA 12 TM v Commissioner of NSW Police [2022] NSWSC 337 State of New South Wales v Kaiser [2022] NSWCA 86 Taylor v Owners – Strata Plan 11564 (2014) 253 CLR 531; [2014] HCA 9 Whiley v R [2010] NSWCCA 53 Woolworths Ltd v Lister [2004] NSWCA 292 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force (Applicant) TM (First Respondent) Local Court of New South Wales (Second Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Dr D Kell SC/J Davidson/A Sapienza (Applicant) P Coady/A Bhasin (First Respondent)