For sexual offences committed by registered health professionals against patients, the offender's professional registration is relevant not as a separate aggravating factor but as informing the seriousness of the breach of trust. The offender's knowledge of non-consent, where it arises from the breach of trust itself (e.g., tricking the victim into compliance), should not be treated as a separate feature adding to gravity but is largely bound up with the breach of trust. An age differential between an adult offender and an adult victim does not of itself add to the seriousness of a sexual assault; the relevant difference is in the parties' respective positions. Where a head sentence is towards the lower end of the range, it will be difficult to sustain a non-parole period very significantly less than the statutory proportion. The question of whether 'exceptional circumstances' must be shown before hardship to third parties can mitigate sentence was left open.
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