The Department of Justice and Attorney-General, in response to recommendations of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce Hear her voice, Report Two, is establishing a Sexual Offence Expert Evidence Panel (Panel). The Panel will operate as a two-year pilot in two locations - Brisbane and Townville.

One of the functions of the Panel is to provide experts who will prepare written reports and give expert evidence in sexual offence proceedings as to whether the defendant has a cognitive or mental health impairment that impacts on their ability to communicate and, if so, whether that impairment was a substantial cause of the defendant not doing or saying something necessary to determine whether another person consented to the sexual activity.

Applications will be sought from individuals with qualifications in psychiatry, neuro-cognitive psychology, or other field relevant to assessing cognitive or mental health impairment and the effect of such an impairment on a person’s ability to communicate.

Experts will be required to:

1. undertake assessments of defendant
2. provide written reports to the referring party; and
3. give evidence as to their findings if required.

Experts will be required to liaise with the Panel’s Program Team who will provide training to experts appointed to the panel; manage the referral process; and match the expert to a matter based on the expert’s field of expertise and the facts of a case.

Experts will be engaged via a Letter of Engagement for each matter allocated to them.

Please note that during this tender and tender response evaluation period, Queensland Government will be in Caretaker Mode and relevant conventions apply. We draw your attention to Clause 13.4 of the Service Agreement – Suspending or Stopping Funding. In the event of an incoming government (either existing or new) not wishing to proceed with this project, we reserve the right to invoke this Clause. Please note that the Caretaker period ends when the incoming government is sworn in.

BRIEFING SESSION

A briefing session is scheduled for 12.00pm - 1.00pm AEST on Wednesday 9 October 2024 via MS Teams. Details are contained in the Cover Sheet on how to register for this session.