A partly suspended sentence of imprisonment cannot be backdated under the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA); the suspension period begins on the day the suspended component takes effect, not on a date set by the court. Where an offender is convicted under s 304(1) of the Criminal Code (WA) (unlawfully doing an act causing bodily harm), the sentencer must not sentence on the basis that the offender intended to cause the harm actually inflicted, as this would contravene the De Simoni principle by effectively punishing for the more serious offence under s 304(2). The combined physical and psychological impact of incarceration on an unusually vulnerable partner may constitute exceptional hardship warranting mitigation, though the loss of family income and emotional stress are ordinary consequences of imprisonment that do not of themselves meet the exceptional threshold.
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