Attorney General of New South Wales v Skerry (Preliminary) [2015] NSWSC 859

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Attorney General of New South Wales v Skerry (Preliminary) [2015] NSWSC 859 Hearing dates: 26 June 2015 Decision date: 26 June 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: R A Hulme J Decision: 1. Pursuant to clause 6(5)(a) of Schedule 1 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 I order that two qualified psychiatrists (to be agreed between the parties) be appointed to conduct separate psychiatric examinations of the defendant and furnish reports to the Supreme Court on the result of those examinations as soon as possible.

2. Direct that the defendant attend upon those examinations.

3. Pursuant to clause 10 of Schedule 1 of the Act, the defendant be subject to an interim extension order from 5 July 2015.

4. Pursuant to clause 11(1) of Schedule 1 of the Act, the above interim extension order be for a period of 28 days.

5. Liberty to apply on three days' notice. Catchwords: CIVIL – Mental Health Forensic Provisions Act 1990 (NSW) – application for interim extension order – forensic patient – limiting term due to expire – whether unacceptable risk of causing serious harm if status as forensic patient ceases – differences between forensic patients and involuntary patients – role of the Mental Health Review Tribunal – risk posed cannot be managed by less restrictive means – interim extension order granted – two qualified psychiatrists appointed to examine defendant Legislation Cited: Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW) Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW) ss 12, 14, 35(5), 47, 56, 58, 67 Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) Pt 5, ss 3(1), 19, 23, Sch 1 Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Amendment Act 2013 (NSW) Cases Cited: Attorney General of New South Wales v McGuire [2013] NSWSC 1862 Attorney General of New South Wales v McGuire (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 288 Attorney General of New South Wales v McGuire [2015] NSWSC 152 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Attorney General of New South Wales (Plaintiff) Michael John Skerry (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr C Birch SC with Ms G Wright (Plaintiff) Mr P Coady (Defendant)