The ACT Court of Appeal held that where two offences of culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm arose from a single driving incident with two victims, the Magistrate erred in making the sentences partially cumulative rather than concurrent. The Court confirmed that while there is no inflexible rule requiring concurrent sentences for multiple offences arising from one act, the ordinary practice favours concurrency, and cumulative sentences are reserved for cases where concurrent sentences would be inadequate to address the offender's criminality. The Court also held that general deterrence remains a paramount sentencing consideration for culpable driving offences notwithstanding the offender's youth and mental health problems, and that immediate full-time custody was appropriate on the facts.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 7 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 7 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.