New ACT laws will expand the ACT Drug and Alcohol Court’s eligibility criteria, meaning more people with lower sentences will be eligible for Drug and Alcohol Treatment Orders (DATO) as an alternative to prison. The government expects the change will make the Drug and Alcohol Court available to more women who, generally, are more likely to serve shorter sentences.

The ACT Legislative Assembly passed the Sentencing (Drug and Alcohol Treatment Orders) Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 this week.

The agreed reforms are in line with recommendations of an independent review of the diversionary program in 2022 and will:

• Expand the eligibility criteria to allow a person with sentences of under a year each to be eligible for a DATO, if the sum of their sentences totalled one to four years;
• Allow the court to backdate a DATO to take into account time already served in custody, which will result in more fairness when sentencing an offender; and
• Improve the ability of the treatment and supervision team to make alcohol and drug testing a core condition of DATOs and expand the court’s flexibility to deal with DATO breaches, limiting the risk that a person might have their DATO cancelled due to non-compliance.

“This is a welcome outcome as the ACT Government continues to provide criminal justice responses to address the causes of offending, and to reduce recidivism, through therapeutic drug and alcohol rehabilitation and intensive sentencing options,” Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said.

The changes follow a further investment of $8.4 million in the Court, which expanded its capacity by 20 per cent.

“We know that it is better to treat drug and alcohol addiction as a health issue because it targets the heart of the problem, rather than simply the outcome,” Mr Rattenbury said. “That leads to a reduction in re-offending and ultimately improves community safety.

“Diverting offenders towards treatment programs and away from prison also saves money.

“An independent review by the Australian National University in 2022 found the court may have saved the Canberra community $14 million in avoided prison time.”