Under the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), s 13(b), family members of a deceased victim are defined as 'victims' and are entitled to give victim impact statements in homicide cases; the NSW position in Previtera that such statements can never be relevant to sentence does not apply in Western Australia. Facts in victim impact statements that constitute aggravating circumstances must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. The same admissibility rule applies to victim impact statements as to Crown statements of material facts: the sentencing judge may rely on them unless challenged, in which case aggravating facts must be proved. There is no tariff or fixed percentage discount for a guilty plea; the discount depends on all the circumstances.
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