When exercising the discretion to record a conviction, a sentencing judge must consider all relevant mitigating factors, including the offender's age, prior good character, and the material adverse impact a conviction would have on the offender's social and economic wellbeing. Recording a conviction solely to reflect the seriousness of the offence, without weighing these countervailing factors, constitutes a miscarriage of the sentencing discretion. Separately, the fact that an offence is not declared a domestic violence offence does not preclude reliance on general deterrence in the context of domestic violence prevalence, provided the court does not treat those matters as a circumstance of aggravation under s 9(10A) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld).
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