Completed Statutory Reviews

This page contains descriptions and reports of completed statutory reviews.

​​Civil law statu​​​tory reviews (completed)

Statutory Review of Part 4AF of the Crimes Act 1900

Report on Part 4AF (Major facilities) Crimes Act 1900 (PDF, 598.1 KB)

Part 4AF of the Crimes Act was enacted in 2022 in response to civil disruptions that closed or caused significant obstructions to major roads, bridges and facilities.

The report concludes that the policy objectives of Part 4AF of the Crimes Act remain valid and that its terms remain appropriate for securing those objectives, subject to repealing provisions which were declared invalid by the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Kvelde v State of New South Wales [2023] NSWSC 1560.

The report was tabled in Parliament by the Attorney General on 27 November 2024.

Submissions were received from a range of organisations, including unions and legal stakeholders. These submissions can be accessed in pdf format below. Any private individual who has made a submission who would like their submission to be published may contact the Department at policy@dcj.nsw.gov.au to request publication.

Statutory revie​​w o​​f the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act) & the associated Government Information (Information Commissioner) Act 2009 (the GIIC Act)

Report on the GIPA Act and GIIC Act Statutory review [PDF, 958 KB]

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act), and the associated Government Information (Information Commissioner) Act 2009 (the GIIC Act), were enacted to foster change in the way New South Wales agencies make government information available to members of the public, and to contribute to a cultural shift in the way agencies and members of the public think about 'open government'.

The report concludes that the GIPA Act and GIIC Act are generally well-supported, the new pathways the GIPA Act created to access government information are useful and effective, and the Acts are operating efficiently. The objectives of both Acts remain valid, and their terms remain appropriate for securing those objectives.

The report makes a number of recommendations to provide greater clarity about the operation and objectives of the GIPA Act and GIIC Act for both agencies and applicants, and to

help ensure the Acts continue to promote open government in New South Wales.

Statutory revie​​w o​​f the Civil Procedure Act 2005

Criminal law statutory reviews (completed)​​

Review of the ​​​​​Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002 (2018)

Statutory Review Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002 (2018) (PDF, 957.2 KB)

Statutory review of the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (2017)

Report on the Review of the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006

Report on the statutory revie​​w of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007

Rep​ort on the statutory revie​​w of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007​ [PDF, 711kb] (PDF, 710.8 KB)

The Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (the Act) creates​ the legislative framework for apprehended violence orders in NSW, both apprehended domestic violence orders and apprehended personal violence orders. It allows an immediate, civil response to domestic and personal violence in a way that prioritises the future safety of the person in need of protection.

Section 104 of the Act requires a review of the Act be undertaken within three years of its assent to ensure that the terms of the Act remain appropriate to ensuring its objectives.

The focus of this statutory review was on apprehended domestic violence orders, as a separate report addressing issues concerning apprehended personal violence orders was tabled in the NSW Parliament on 10 September 2013. View the separate report addressing issues concerning apprehended domestic violence orders [PDF] (PDF, 1.1 MB).

Overall, the review concluded that the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and its terms mostly remain appropriate for securing those objectives. The report contains 17 recommendations proposing legislative amendments to improve the operation of the Act and to better protect people from domestic violence. All of the recommendations have been accepted by the NSW Government. ​

The Discussion Paper that was issued during this review is also available: Discussion Paper on the statutory review of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (PDF, 175.3 KB)

Report on the review of Chapter 9A​​​ of the Coroners Act 2009 (Domestic Violence Death Review)

Report on the review of Chapter 9A​​​ of the Coroners Act 2009 (Domestic Violence Death Review)​ [PDF, 622kb] (PDF, 626.2 KB)

Chapter 9A was inserted into the Coroners Act 2009 (the Act) in 2010 and established the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team (DVDRT). The policy ob​​jective of establishing the DVDRT is to examine domestic violence related deaths with a view to reducing the incidence of such deaths in NSW and facilitate improvements in systems and services.