The weight of authority strongly supports a liberal construction of 'special circumstances' under s 5 of the Sentencing Act 1989 (and by extension s 44 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999), encompassing factors making imprisonment significantly more burdensome (such as protective custody and first imprisonment) and other considerations such as early plea and assistance to authorities, even where those factors have already been taken into account in setting the full term. An offender who assists authorities at an early stage, thereby strengthening the Crown case, should not have the value of a subsequent plea of guilty as evidence of contrition diminished by that assistance. The range for discount for assistance to authorities in NSW is 20 to 50 per cent.
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