Powers to order random drug and alcohol testing confirmed

Amendments to the Bail Act and the Domestic and Family Violence Act, together with associated Regulations, come into force on 5 February 2014.  Here is an extract from the Second Reading Speech:

Amendments to the Bail Act are necessary as a number of magistrates have been refusing to order tests and conditions which would oblige a person to undergo compliance testing such as a breath analysis that seeks to ensure they are complying with a condition that they not consume alcohol. The refusal to make these orders arose following a decision of a single judge in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Lawson v Dunlevy [2012] NSWSC 48.

…These amendments will put beyond doubt the ability of courts and police to make domestic violence orders and bail conditions that seek to ensure compliance with other orders and conditions.