Four in ten people subject to NSW's consorting laws are Indigenous, according to a review which raised questions about their application.
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The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission tabled its discussion paper to parliament on Tuesday as part of its review of amendments to the law in 2019.
Consorting laws make it an offence for someone to associate or communicate with at least two people who have been convicted of an indictable offence.
NSW Police say the laws aim to disrupt organised criminal activity that build criminal networks.
The LECC was tasked with reviewing changes including an expansion of the definition of indictable offence to include convictions in other states.
Other amendments it reviewed were excluding people aged under 14, outlining what a warning should contain, set time frames for the warnings to remain current and expanding the definition of "family members" to recognise Indigenous kinship systems.
The commission said there were "questions around whether some of the people issued with warnings were convicted of an indictable offence" and noted that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 40 per cent of those subject to consorting law.
Indigenous people account for 3.4 per cent of the NSW population.
A person has to be warned that the person they are with is a convicted offender and that habitually consorting with a convicted offender is an offence before they can be charged, however the warning can be given verbally or in writing.
Warnings cease to be effective after two years, or six months for people under 18.
Consorting laws don't apply if it's "reasonable in the circumstances", which includes consorting with family members, at work, at school or while accessing health or welfare services.
The LECC found between February 2019 and June 2020, no child under 14 was subject to the laws and there had been a reduction in the number of people under 18.
However, it also raised questions about the application of consorting laws, noting it was unclear how police determined if an offence committed in another state would be an indictable offence in NSW or considered the relevant defences when issuing a warning.
The LECC is seeking submissions "from those with an interest in the amendments".
Australian Associated Press
