The case confirms that an applicant bears the onus of establishing, on the balance of probabilities, that assistance was provided to law enforcement authorities if seeking the benefit of that mitigating factor under s 16A(2)(h) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) or s 23(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). Volunteering the existence of additional devices containing child abuse material to police has limited mitigating value where police would likely have discovered the material through routine investigation. A total effective sentence of 3 years and 10 months for combined Commonwealth access and State possession offences involving several hundred images (approximately 50% Category 1) was upheld as within the discretionary range where objective seriousness was assessed as below mid-range.
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