Policy Bulletin 2024/11 Commonwealth Community Safety Order scheme matters

17 September 2024

The Legal Aid NSW Board has approved a new policy for people subject to the new Commonwealth Community Safety Order (CSO) scheme.

Background

In November 2023, the High Court ordered the immediate release of NZYQ, a stateless man convicted of child sex offences. The High Court unanimously found that indefinite detention was unlawful in matters where there is no real prospect of the non-citizen being removed from Australia in the reasonably foreseeable future. In addition to NZYQ, the Government also released 149 other non-citizens affected by the judgment.

In December 2023, in response to the NZYQ decision, the Government passed the Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions and Other Measures) Bill 2023 which amended the Commonwealth Criminal Code to introduce the new CSO scheme. The CSO scheme applies to non-citizens who have no real prospect of removal from Australia in the foreseeable future and pose an unacceptable risk of committing a serious violent or sexual offence. 

  • What has changed?

    The new policy provides that legal aid is available to applicants who are responding to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs’ application for a community safety order under Division 395 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

    To be eligible for legal aid the applicant must satisfy the Means Test.

    These are civil law proceedings that are administered as a criminal law grant.

    The details of the policy are set out in the Criminal Law Policy - Control Orders at 2.3.3.7.

Start date

This change applies to applications determined on or after 17 September 2024.

Contact

For further information, contact the Client Eligibility Unit at: T-CEU@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.