The De Simoni principle does not apply where the uncharged offence and the offence of conviction carry the same maximum penalty and neither has a standard non-parole period — in such cases, the uncharged conduct may be taken into account as a relevant contextual circumstance in assessing objective seriousness. The relative seriousness of offences for De Simoni purposes is determined exclusively by the statutory signposts of maximum penalty and standard non-parole period, not by an assessment of relative moral culpability. The obiter dictum of Basten JA in Cassidy v R suggesting that relative moral culpability could be used to compare offence seriousness was held to be contrary to principle.
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