| *NSW Sentencing Council Publications | Summary and responses
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| Alcohol-Related Violence | Examines the current principles and practices governing sentencing for offences committed while an offender is intoxicated, as well as those principles and practices governing sentencing for alcohol-related violence, including violence offences where a glass or bottle is used as a weapon (commonly known as ‘glassing’).
Report on Sentencing for Alcohol-related Violence (PDF, 729KB) |
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| Annual Report | Each year the NSW Sentencing Council compiles a report on its activities and on sentencing trends and practices.
Report on Sentencing Trends and Practices 2008- 2009
Report on Sentencing Trends and Practices 2007- 2008
Report on Sentencing Trends and Practices 2006-2007
Government response:
Question without notice: 15 May 2008
Sentencing Trends (PDF, 18KB)
Report on Sentencing Trends and Practices 2005-2006
Report on Sentencing Trends and Practices 2004-2005
Report on Sentencing Trends and Practices 2003-2004 |
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| Fines: | In 2006-07, the Sentencing Council conducted an evaluation of fines as a sentencing option which consists of: |
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| Judicial Perceptions of Fines as a Sentencing Option | A judicial survey examined how court-imposed fines are being imposed. Published in August 2007.
Download: Judicial Perceptions of Fines as a Sentencing Option: A Survey of NSW Magistrates (PDF, 454KB) |
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| The Effectiveness of Fines as a Sentencing Option: Court-imposed fines and penalty notices | The Council was asked to consider the effectiveness of fines as a sanction, and the consequences for those who do not pay them. The Council was specifically directed to examine the use of driver license sanctions to enforce fine default, and to explore any possible connection to increased imprisonment rates arising out of sections 25 and 25A of the Road Transport (Driver Licencing) Act 1998. Interim Report, published October 2006.
Download: The Effectiveness of Fines as a Sentencing Option: Court-imposed fines and penalty notices (PDF, 837KB)
Government response:
Disadvantaged People to Work Off Their Fines (PDF, 31KB)
Attorney General's Media Release: 26 November 2008
Homeless and Disadvantaged People Fines Debt (DOC, 26KB)
Question without notice: 26 November 2008
Improving the Effectiveness of Fines in NSW (PDF, 30KB) Attorney General's Media Release: 25 August 2007 |
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| Good Behaviour Bonds and Non-Conviction Orders | The Council was asked to examine the use of good behaviour bonds and non-conviction orders. The report examines trends in the use of these non-custodial options and issues arising from their imposition.
The report is now available here:
Good Behaviour Bonds and Non-Conviction Orders: A report of the NSW Sentencing Council. |
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| Periodic Detention, Review of | The Council was requested to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of periodic detention when compared with other sentencing options, whether the scheme should be modified or replaced with an alternative sentencing option, and whether the scheme was compatible with the direction outlined in the State Plan, Priority R2: Reducing re-offending.
Published in December 2007.
Download: Review of Periodic Detention (PDF, 1.2MB) |
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| Government response:
In October 2008, the Attorney General released a consultation paper in response to the Sentencing Council's recommendations regarding the abolition of periodic detention and the establishment of a new sentencing order, the Intensive Corrections Order.
Download: An Intensive Corrections Order for NSW: Consultation Paper (PDF, 86KB)
Download: Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) - Legislative and Operational Model (PDF, 63KB)
Media release: Community Views Sought on New Sentencing Option (PDF, 30KB)
Question without notice (22 October 2008) (PDF, 73KB) |
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| Public Confidence In The Criminal Justice System | A joint paper with the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research which surveyed public attitudes on levels of sentencing and whether the NSW criminal justice system is achieving its various aims. Published August 2008.
Download: Public confidence in the New South Wales criminal justice system (PDF, 656KB)
Media release: New South Wales Sentencing Council (PDF, 23KB)
Media release: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (PDF, 16KB) |
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Published in May 2009, this report reviews the key findings and explores the issues identified in the joint paper. The report examines public confidence initiatives from this and other jurisdictions with a view to developing strategies to redress the public's lack of confidence in the NSW criminal justice system.
Download: Public confidence in the NSW criminal justice system - Research report (PDF, 257KB)
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| Sentencing: | |
| Abolishing Prison Sentences Of Six Months Or Less | The Sentencing Council’s report considers a number of problems with prison sentences of six months or less. For example, a major criticism of short prison sentences is their limited rehabilitative value. Published August 2004.
Download: Abolishing Prison Sentences of Six Months or Less (PDF, 934KB)
Government response:
Sentencing Council Prison Sentences Report (PDF, 18KB)
Question without notice: 17 November 2004
NSW Sentencing Council begins work (PDF, 82KB)
Attorney General's Media Release: 18 June 2003 |
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| How Best to Promote Consistency in Sentencing in the Local Court | Throughout this report, the Council considers that the Local Court should promote consistency of approach to sentencing, rather than, for example, uniformity in outcome.
Published in June 2004.
Download: How to Best Promote Consistency in Sentencing in the Local Court (PDF, 694KB)
Government response:
Sentencing Council to Make Local Courts More Accountable (PDF, 98KB)
Attorney General's Media Release: 25 September 2002 |
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| NSW Sentencing Council | Prepared by the Hon Alan Abadee RFD QC and presented by the Hon James Wood AO QC for the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council conference - Sentencing and the Community: Politics, Public Opinion and the Development of Public Opinion, Melbourne, April 2006.
Download: The NSW Sentencing Council (PDF, 108KB) |
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| Provisional Sentencing for Children | This Report, prepared for the NSW Sentencing Council, deals with the exercise of sentencing an exceptional group of offenders: children aged between 10 and 14 who commit serious crime. The report considers the views of the courts, criminal justice agencies and various stakeholders in respect of a proposal to develop a special category of sentencing known as ‘provisional sentencing’ when responding to young offenders dealt with after conviction or plea for serious criminal offences.
Download: Provisional Sentencing for Children (PDF, 202 KB) |
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| Reduction in Penalties at Sentence | This report reviews the current principles and practices governing reductions in sentence and examines the way in which factors leading to a discount on sentence are taken into account. The report focuses on a number of specific discounting factors, such as guilty pleas and assistance to authorities, and also considers the use of charge negotiation and the Form 1 procedure. Attention is also given to the application of the totality principle to offenders being sentenced for multiple offences.
Download: Reduction in Penalties at Sentence (PDF, 781KB)
Government response:
Media Release: Moves to restrict sentence discounts for police informants and sex offenders (PDF, 34KB) |
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| Role of Sentencing Advisory Councils | Paper prepared and presented by the Hon Alan Abadee RFD QC for the National Judicial College of Australia Conference - Sentencing: Principles, Perspectives and Possibilities, Canberra, February 2006.
Download: The Role of Sentencing Advisory Councils (PDF, 229KB) |
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| Seeking a Guideline Judgment on Suspended Sentences | Published in June 2006, this report explores whether a guideline judgment could clarify the correct approach that a Court should take when deciding to suspend a sentence. The Report also explores the likelihood of the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal issuing a guideline judgment for suspended sentences on an application by the Attorney General.
Download: Seeking a Guideline Judgment on Suspended Sentences (PDF, 661KB) |
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| Sentencing Aborignal Offenders in New South Wales | Released in February 2010, this report provides a comprehensive review of the development of the current common law principles in relation to sentencing Aboriginal offenders against a backdrop of increasing rates of imprisonment of Aboriginal offenders in NSW. The report identifies various reasons for the overrepresentation of Aboriginal offenders in NSW prisons and examines alternative sentencing models and criminal justice strategies from this and other jurisdictions.
Download: Sentencing Aboriginal Offenders in New South Wales (PDF, 238KB) |
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| Sentencing Information Package – a guide to sentencing | Jointly produced with Victims Services and the Criminal Law Review Division of the Department of Justice and Attorney General, the Sentencing Information Package is a plain language booklet designed to help victims of crime understand the sentencing process. Topics covered include:
- When is an offender sentenced?
- Purposes of sentencing
- Relevant factors determining a sentence
- Sentencing options
- Understanding the sentence
- Appeals
The booklet was first produced in 2004 and was revised in February 2010.
Download: Sentencing Information Package |
Sentencing Powers of the Local Court |
This report responds to two terms of reference provided to the Council by the Attorney General. The first requested that the Council examine personal violence cases finalised in the Local Court to determine whether the court's jurisdictional limit produced a significant number of sentences that are not commensurate with the objective seriousness of the offence. The second asked the Council to examine the relative merits of increasing the sentencing powers of the Local Court in respect of:
(a) the maximum penalty that may be imposed in relation to a single offence from two to five years imprisonment; and
(b) the maximum property value in relation to indictable 'break and enter' offences that may be dealt with summarily from $15,000 to $60,000.
The report is available here: An examination of the sentencing powers of the Local Court in NSW
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| Sexual Offences, Penalties for | Released in August 2008, this report examines whether the penalties currently attaching to sexual offences in New South Wales are appropriate. The Council looks at whether there are any gaps or anomalies in the current framework of sexual offences and penalties and offers suggestions as to how these might be addressed.
Volume 3 of this report was released in May 2009.
Download: Penalties Relating to Sexual Assault Offences in New South Wales, Volume 1 (PDF, 1.8MB)
Download: Penalties Relating to Sexual Assault Offences in New South Wales, Volume 2: Statistics (PDF, 439KB)
Download: Penalties Relating to Sexual Assault Offences in New South Wales, Volume 3 (PDF, 1.4MB)
Government responses:
Media release: Report backs NSW approach to serious sex offenders (PDF, 18KB)
Government response to recommendations (PDF, 15KB)
Media release: House-breaking child sex offenders to face life (7 May 2009) (PDF, 26 KB)
Question without notice: Pornography (5 May 2009) (Word, 25 KB)
Media release: Major Government Crackdown on Sex Offences (25 October 2008) (PDF, 37KB)
Question without notice: Sexual Assault Penalty Reform (28 October 2008) (PDF, 73KB) |
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Standard Non-Parole Sentencing Scheme (SNPPs):
Standard Non-Parole Periods - A background report by the NSW Sentencing Council. | The NSW Sentencing Council has considered a number of issues relating to SNPPs.
In December 2011 the Council finalised its report in relation to the background and operation of the SNPP scheme, issues arising from the scheme generally, and issues surrounding the introduction of SNPPs in relation to certain sexual offences.
The report has now been approved for release and is available here. |
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| Attempt and Accessorial Offences | Published March 2005, this report looks at the current sentencing principles and issues relating to attempt and accessorial offences and recommends that they not be included in the SNPPs.
Download: Whether Attempt and Accessorial Offences Should be Included in the Standard Non-Parole Sentencing Scheme (PDF, 286KB) |
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Dangerous Driving Offences
Firearms Offences | This report considers whether the offences of dangerous driving occasioning death or grievous bodily harm (and the applicable aggravated offences) should be included in the SNPP scheme.
Download: Standard Non-Parole Periods for Dangerous Driving Offences
Published in May 2004, this report considered recent firearms offences and sentencing trends and practices and made a number of recommendations, including adding offences to the SNPPs.
Download: Firearms Offences and the Standard Non-Parole Sentencing Scheme (PDF, 611KB)
Government response:
Extract from Hansard: Firearms and Crimes Legislation Amendment (Public Safety) Bill - Second Reading: 12 November 2003 (PDF, 25KB)
Fairfield Area Shooting Incidents (PDF, 22KB)
Question without notice: 15 October 2003 |
