Published by Geoff Harrison | 12 October 2023
The Traffic Offender Program (also referred to as the Traffic Offender Intervention Program) commenced on 28 March 2008. The legislation dealing with this Program is set out under Part 9 of the Criminal Procedure Regulation 2017. The objectives of the program are essentially to develop positive attitudes towards driving and safer driver behaviour. The Secretary of Transport for NSW may approve traffic courses for the purposes of the program: r104. The relevant criteria for eligibility to participate in the program are set out under r99 (see below).
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Cases:
Application by the Attorney General under Section 37 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act for a Guideline Judgment Concerning the Offence of High Range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol Under Section 9(4) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (No 3 of 2002) [2004] NSWCCA 303 (8 September 2004): see [121].
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Extracted Legislation:
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 98
Summary of process for participation in program
(1) The following is a summary of the process involved in referring a traffic offender for participation in the program--
(a) The Local Court determines whether a traffic offender may be referred to the program having regard to the matters specified in Division 2.
(b) The Local Court may make a program participation order if it is satisfied that a traffic offender is eligible to participate in the program. The order will specify the approved traffic course that the offender is to undertake or complete.
(c) The traffic offender enters into an agreement to participate in the program as a condition of bail or deferral of sentence.
(d) The traffic offender complies with the requirements of the approved traffic course. A failure to do so may result in the offender being returned to the Local Court for the Court to deal with the offender.
(2) This clause does not affect the meaning or interpretation of any provision of this Part that it summarises.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 96
Program declared to be intervention program
(1) For the purposes of section 347 (1) of the Act, the program of measures described in this Part for dealing with offenders is declared to be an intervention program for the purposes of Part 4 of Chapter 7 of the Act.
(2) Nothing in this Part prevents an offender from undertaking an approved traffic course otherwise than pursuant to a program participation order.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 97
Definitions
(1) In this Part--
"approved traffic course" means a course of study or training conducted by a government agency or an association that is approved under Division 4.
"approved traffic course provider" means the person, association or body that conducts an approved traffic course.
"association" means--
(a) an association registered under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 , or
(b) an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation within the meaning of the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 of the Commonwealth.
"government agency" means any person, department or body exercising executive or administrative functions on behalf of the Government.
"guidelines" means guidelines issued by the Secretary under Division 5.
"program" means the program of measures described in Division 3.
"program participation order" means a grant of bail by, or other order of, the Local Court made in respect of a traffic offender for the purpose of allowing the offender to participate in the program by undertaking or completing an approved traffic course specified by the Court.
Note : An offender may be referred for participation in the traffic offender intervention program at the following points in criminal proceedings--
(a) a court that grants bail to a person may impose a bail condition requiring the person to participate in the program,
(b) a court may defer the sentencing of an offender for the purpose of allowing the offender to participate in the program by an order under section 11 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 .
"referral" means the referral of a traffic offender under a program participation order for participation in the program by undertaking or completing an approved traffic course.
"referred traffic offender" means a traffic offender who is the subject of a program participation order.
"traffic offence" means--
(a) an offence under the road transport legislation (within the meaning of the Road Transport Act 2013 ), or
(b) an offence under the former road transport legislation (within the meaning of Part 2 of Schedule 4 to the Road Transport Act 2013 ).
"traffic offender" means a person who has pleaded guilty to, or has been found guilty of, a traffic offence before the Local Court where that offence is an offence in respect of which an intervention program may be conducted as provided by section 348 of the Act.
"victim" has the same meaning as
"victim of crime" has for the purposes of the Victims Rights and Support Act 2013 .
(2) A reference in this Part to a
"program participation order specifying an approved traffic course" includes a reference to the order specifying a list of approved traffic courses (one of which the offender must nominate for the purposes of the order).
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 99
Eligibility to participate in program
(1) A person is eligible to be referred by the Local Court to participate in the program only if--
(a) the person is a traffic offender, and
(b) the person has not been sentenced for the traffic offence, and
(c) a suitable approved traffic course is available for the person to attend or will become available within what the Court considers is a reasonable time, and
(d) the person enters into an agreement to participate in the program, and
(e) the Court considers that, having regard to the matters referred to in subclause (2), the person is suitable for participation in the program.
(2) The Local Court is to have regard to the following matters in determining whether a traffic offender is suitable for participation in the program--
(a) the extent to which the offender's character, antecedents, age, health and mental condition would be likely to prevent the offender's participation in the program or disrupt the conduct of the program,
(b) the nature of the offence committed by the offender,
(c) any extenuating circumstances in which the traffic offence was committed,
(d) the impact of the offence on the community and the victim of the offence (if any),
(e) the offender's history of convictions for traffic offences (if any),
(f) the offender's previous participation in an approved traffic course (if any),
(g) any other matters that the Court considers relevant.
(3) When considering a traffic offender's history for the purposes of subclause (2), the Local Court is to consider the following--
(a) whether this is the traffic offender's first offence,
(b) if it is not the traffic offender's first offence, the nature and seriousness of any previous offence or offences.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 100
Objective of the program
The objective of the program is to provide a community based road safety educational program for referred traffic offenders--
(a) to provide the offenders with the information and skills necessary to develop positive attitudes to driving and to change driving behaviour, and
(b) to develop safer driving behaviour in the offenders.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 102
Reports to Local Court on compliance
The approved traffic course provider that conducts the approved traffic course to which a referred traffic offender has been referred must report to the Local Court on the extent to which the offender has complied with the requirements of the course--
(a) in the form approved by the Secretary, and
(b) no later than the date fixed by the Court for the offender to re-appear before the Court to finalise the matter.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 107
Evidence of statements generally inadmissible
(1) Evidence of anything said, or any admission made, by a referred traffic offender in the course of participating in an approved traffic course is not admissible in any criminal or civil proceedings.
(2) Subclause (1) does not apply to the criminal proceedings in respect of which a referred traffic offender was referred.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE REGULATION 2017 - REG 108
Prohibition on disclosure of information
(1) An approved traffic course provider that conducts an approved traffic course that is undertaken or completed by a referred traffic offender as part of the program (or any person involved in conducting the course for or on behalf of the provider) must not disclose the name of, or any other identifying information about, the offender that is obtained in connection with the conduct of the program or course.
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units.
(2) Nothing in subclause (1) prevents an approved traffic course provider or person from disclosing information of the kind referred to in that subclause--
(a) in connection with the conduct of the program or an approved traffic course that is undertaken or completed as part of the program, or
(b) for the purposes of any legal proceedings, or
(c) in accordance with a requirement of the Ombudsman Act 1974 or with any request made by the Ombudsman, or
(d) with other lawful excuse.
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