For repeat offenders convicted of driving whilst under suspension, imprisonment is the ordinary disposition from the second or third offence onwards, and suspension of the sentence will only be appropriate in unusual cases such as genuine emergency or truly trivial driving. Section 39 of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) does not require a court to give a 'last chance' suspended sentence before imposing immediate imprisonment. Where offences are dealt with out of chronological order due to listing anomalies, the sentencing court may have regard to subsequent offending when assessing the offender's conduct, while also taking into account compliance with any suspended sentence already imposed.
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