Where a sentencing judge proceeds on an incorrect maximum penalty, the sentencing discretion necessarily miscarries and the sentence must be quashed and the offender resentenced. Under s 19B(4)(d) of the Children's Court of Western Australia Act 1988, a child convicted of an indictable offence in the Children's Court is taken to have been convicted on indictment for the purposes of punishment, attracting the higher maximum penalties applicable to indictable offences. In sentencing young offenders for serious driving offences, while the principles of juvenile justice require consideration of rehabilitation and custody as a last resort, the need for general and specific deterrence and community protection may require substantial custodial sentences, particularly where the offender has an extensive criminal history and has breached all previous court orders.
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