The utilitarian value of a guilty plea is a relevant sentencing consideration for Commonwealth offences, and a discount should be specified in the interests of transparency. The Thomson; Houlton guideline range of 10-25% provides useful guidance for Commonwealth offences but must not be treated as a judicially-determined norm. A plea entered on the date set for trial attracts a discount at the low end of the range (10%). The De Simoni principle does not apply to offences taken into account under s 16BA, but a sentencing judge must not impute elements of the offence on the indictment into the assessment of the seriousness of s 16BA offences.
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